DIY Door Handle Upgrade

One aspect of my home decor I've always loathed are these sweet gold door handles.  The door handles are standard builders grade for the developments in Arizona and I really can't stand them.  I'm not a gold girl... well, at least on my doors. :)

So, a plan hatched to give them a makeover.  It truly is so simple to achieve a {HUGE} aesthetic change around your house and even better, it's inexpensive. 

First, with any DIY project, you should price out your project.  Sometimes it really is cheaper and less stressful to buy the retail item or pay a professional.  So time for some math!

Items to be changed: 9 Doors, 3 Closet Doors, Two Door Locks (Dead Bolts). 

Materials to Purchase:
Spray Paint with Primer and Spray Nozzle (for comfort) ~~~ $7.50 each
....................................................................... Need 3  ~~~ $22.50
Sand Sponges (80 gt, easier to use than sandpaper)...... ~~~ $3.00 each
....................................................................... Need 2  ~~~ $6.00

Materials I Had:
Cardboard Boxes and Posterboard
Needle Nose Pliers
Philips Head Screwdriver
Mallet

Total Cost for DIY Project: under $30.00

~~~

Oil Rubbed Bronze Door Handle Replacements from Home Depot

Door Handles..............................................................  ~~~ $25.00 each
....................................................................... Need 9  ~~~ $225.00
Closet Door Circle Handles.........................................  ~~~ $6.50 for two
....................................................................... Need 3  ~~~ $19.50
Dead Bolt Locks.........................................................  ~~~ $30.00 each
....................................................................... Need 2  ~~~ $60.00

Total Cost for Home Depot Project: about $304.50

Total {SAVINGS} for DIY Project: about $274.50

Now!  Let's show you how stinking easy it was!

Instructions

1.  Remove the circular closet door handles.  Use needle nose pliers to grip edge of circle lip.  Hold bottom part of door with knee and top with hand to provide resistance.  Pull straight out toward you - parallel to the ground.

2.   Using your phillips head screw driver, remove the door handle.  Most doors have exposed screws on the inside (room side) of the door.  If you do not, Google is a great way to find out how to remove yours.  If you've never done this before, follow the pictures below.

 To fully remove handle, you may have to push in the latch to release the metal.

3.  Don't forget to remove the strike plate from the wall.

 Finish removing from all your doors and you will have a nice big bucket of hardware!

4.  Sand all of your hardware.  Don't skip this step!!!  Don't worry - this doesn't take as long as you would think.  You just need to mark up the surface enough to ensure spray paint has something to grip too and doesn't just slide across the surface of the handles (this causes that ugly wave/bubble effect).

5.  Prep for painting.  I'm a big fan of recycling cardboard boxes and posterboards for spray painting.  Cardboard boxes are perfect for punching the hardware through so your items stand upright.  I didn't need to make any cuts to help the handles through... they just popped right in.

**Something I messed up on that I would like to save you the trouble with...
Be sure to spray paint your handles standing on their faces first so you get the backside of the handles.  THEN punch them into the box to stand upright.  It will take about an hour or so for the first side to dry but it will save you a lot of time, stress and odds of ruining your handle in the long run.

 6.  Take outside to well-ventilated area and spray! spray! spray!

 This is the exact spray I used from Home Depot

 7.  Allow to dry for about an hour and then check for touch ups.

8.  Once all sprayed, exercise a heavy dose of patience.  Attempting to put the hardware back onto your doors prior to being fully dry can cause the paint to scratch, dent or stick together (remember the door jamb).  Just think of this like waiting for your nails to dry after you've painted them - disaster if you don't wait long enough.

9.  When all your pieces are dry, put your house back together!

 You're all done!  You are OFFICIALLY a DIY-er!

Sit back and enjoy your handy work!