This Old House

Our house is over 100 years old. While there are some cool things about it, there is one infuriating characteristic, a constant you can always count on, and that is “there is no such thing as an easy or simple fix”. About the only thing that doesn't turn into a project is changing a light bulb.

When we had to replace the faucet in our tub, it turned into a small-scale bathroom remodel because we had to replace so many parts. You just can't buy modern parts and expect them to fit into the older stuff. We know this, we've lived this, and still, we always hope that we're wrong, that this time, things will go smoothly.

We've needed a new handle for the front door for a while. Our door is original to the house, and the house was built in 1910. I love our door; it's solid wood, and still has the original leaded glass window.

The window in my door, original to the house

I also have been purposely procrastinating buying a new handle because of our house.

I've had my eye on the electronic handles; the ones with a keypad

where you enter a code instead of having to remember a key. Although it does also have a key. My kids are getting older, and soon I won't have to be home when they get home from school. I figure they can remember a code much more easily than remembering a key. If they forget the code, it doesn't involve a trip to the store to get a new code. If they lose a key, well...

Last week I found a website that had the electronic handles on sale. They were about $40 less than I had seen at Home Depot, or anywhere, for that matter. The site offered free shipping and charged no sales tax. Since the price was the lowest I've seen for this particular handle, I ordered it. I ordered it despite knowing it was going to be a project to install.

I wasn't wrong about the installation being a project, either, though I wish I was wrong.

My husband, God bless him, is wonderful. Truly, I don't have time to list all the glowing adjectives about him. He's been working on putting in this handle since yesterday after he got home from work. The door had the old mortise style lock set,

which means that our door was hollowed out to make room for the original lockset. My husband had to fill in the hollow part and then cut through again in different places to be able to install the modern-style lock.

To make matters more interesting (worse, you could say worse without exaggerating), somehow, nothing lined up like it should (ah, the joys of an old house).

Knowing my husband, he will have this installed today. He has the tenacity of a bulldog (he is stubborn- in a good way).