Memoirs of a Late-Blooming Handyman

Today, I spent the majority of the day replacing door knobs.  The old, gold-colored knobs were ugly and badly dated; they were the style of “pretend-to-be-well-off-by-using-faux-gold-whenever-possible.”  I replaced them with brushed nickel, which is much more attractive and is much easier on the brain…the old stuff caused the synapses to misfire regularly.

Because the house was built before the advent of today’s door-knob-hole standard, the holes in most of the doors were too small for readily-available door hardware.  So, I had to slightly enlarge the holes in the doors,using a Milwaukee brand door-lock installation kit.  I was a little leery of starting the project because a “handyman” I hired a year or so ago scarred one of my exterior doors when he was replacing the knob hardware; he let the hole-saw blade get away from him.  I figured he was more experienced than I, if he had trouble, I would have more.  Not so. It wasn’t much of a challenge at all.  I replaced the knobs on ten doors; two of them must have been later additions, because they did not require the holes to be enlarged.  Enlarging the knob-holes on eight doors wasn’t beyond me.

After having done all this, I have to say the house looks much nicer, in general.  I should have done all this years ago, long before we decided to sell the place.  Next house, we won’t wait for the updates; we will do whatever updates it needs immediately.

I had planned on replacing all the faux-gold hinges today, too, using brushed nickel hinges in their place.  However, the hinges I wanted are available online only, so I’ll have to wait until they are delivered.  Twenty-three hinges should be on their way to me in the next day or so.

All of these updates are strictly cosmetic, as the house needs nothing substantive, but they sure make a difference. It’s astonishing what a little paint, a little tile, and a little new hardware can do.  Together, they’re making this place look downright nice!

Onward and upward!  My handyman attributes should have bloomed a few years ago; we would have enjoyed living here a bit more with all the upgrades these last few years.

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes
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