1970s Aluminum Slider door handle set

Question

Early 1970s era very tall aluminum slider -- looks like commercial storefront; Lock control knob broken, inner lock mechanism fell inside door.  Would like to refurbish or replace sliding door handle and broken inside lock control knob and missing internal lock sliding mechanism. Have two other matching doors with same handle that would like to keep matching on historic home.  Doors themselves need rework to replace rolling mechanism inside frame that have collapsed.

Tom · Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, we aren't able to provide you with a handle set that matches the original. I have seen this set before, but it's just too old. If you're going to find an exact match anywhere, it would be from eBay or somewhere similar.

We can help otherwise, it's just that nothing we recommend will match. The first product to come to mind is our 82-005. This is a surface mount handle, meaning it has its own self contained mortise and does not have to interact with anything inside the door itself. This allows it to install on many, many different kinds of patio doors. I'm sure with a little adaptation you could get it to work on yours, as well.

Two details stick out in my mind as being potential issues. The first is the installation hole spacing; the 82-005 has two screw holes that are 4-15/16" apart, measuring from the center of each hole. I'm not sure what your hole spacing is but I don't think it's quite 4-15/16", so drilling will be necessary.

The second detail is the style of the outer pull. Instead of mounting on the face of the door, yours appears to mount into a very precisely sized recess in the frame. The 82-005 handle doesn't work this way, unfortunately, so you'll need to find a way to cover that recess before you can install our outer handle. Or, if possible, you could simply just reuse your old outer pull. That would definitely make things a lot easier.

I know the 82-005 isn't ideal, especially with a historic home, but it is the only practical option we're able to suggest. I am very sorry that we aren't able to supply a more exact match to your old hardware.