The Ultimate Guide on How To Take A Door Knob Off Easily

The whole process of removing a lockset is actually not that hard at all. It barely needs a quarter of an hour to get things done. But those who are pretty amateur with such DIY chores, often the removal of doorknob seems a bit confusing and complex to them.

On top of that, there are so many types of door knob lock options these days. With each type, you’ll need to follow dissimilar ways of removal. And that can make the concept even more unclear. So, keeping all those points in mind, today let’s break down how to take a door knob off, based on the types.

Here’s How To Take a Door Knob Off Depending on The Type

The first thing you need to do is determine what type of doorknob you’re going to deal with. That part will be absolutely necessary to understand for picking one of these methods to work. Depending on some common design and mechanism, it’s not hard to tell the difference. I’ll get that covered as well, Keep on Reading…

How To Remove a Door Knob with Visible Screws

Let’s start with the doorknob that is more common than other ones. These come with exposed screws that are usually on the side of the door. The handle surrounding the cover plate should have some screws. If it’s not visible here as well, check the neck or lever area. If you don’t get to see any visible screws yet, relax, there’s a chance of a recessed fastener existing in the handle’s neck. You need to unscrew or depress it.

If screws are on the handle, use a flat head screwdriver or Philips one to unscrew those carefully. You just need to match the screw’s head for using a screwdriver. Go in a counterclockwise motion and the screw should loosen. Keep the screws in a safe place in case you want a door mechanism back to its place.

Now you need to get the knob out of latch mechanism by pulling. The pull needs to be done in opposite direction. This will help to easily slide the knob out. You can then go ahead and find the screws on door side. Unscrew these and gradually pry off the latch plate. After removing the plate it’ll be easier for you to get latch mechanism out.

In case of a Knob with Recessed Fasteners

Now if the knob you own does not come with any exposed screws, then there’s a good chance of finding a tiny hole in lever or neck area. This being present simply means you need to depress a button for releasing the knob. It can also be a tiny screw that needs loosening. And this basically should be inside the hole. Use a flashlight to examine the hole.

To depress the hole, you’ll need a tool. It can be a regular paperclip or a thin tool. Also, this is when you don’t see any screw inside the hole. Simply straighten the paperclip and insert it into a slot. You can insert a pointy, thin tool like awl as well. While you insert paperclip or tool, try to apply a gentle pulling force for getting the knob away from door. The paperclip should let you easily pull the knob out at some point by springing door’s mechanism.

On the other hand, if you see a tiny screw head inside hole, then bring a screwdriver matching it. The screwdriver needs to be small enough for getting through hole and reach screw head. Use counterclockwise motion for rotating the screw and it should loosen up. This will make the knob released.

The handle connecting spindle needs to come out. In case the thing fails to come out, you’ll need to pry it off. Or maybe you’ll need to unscrew and remove the door knob faceplate. This plate usually resides right behind the knob to keep mounting screws covered.

Some screws are hexagon head-shaped. In that case, you’ll need an Allen wrench instead of a screwdriver to get it out. Of course, the wrench needs to be small enough to pass through hole. You want to use the counterclockwise rotation here as well to remove screw. A fold-up pocket set will also work since it comes with many sized Allen wrench.

Taking Off a Knob that has a Cover Plate

Another common confusion on how to remove a door knob with hidden screws is usually due to existence of a cover plate. The part where the plate meets the door with a tiny notch or cutout simply starts by inserting a screwdriver with a flat head here. Use gentle force for prying off the plate. This cover plate should be rectangular or round in shape. It will depend on the design of your knob basically. Now the inner mechanism should expose a few screws at this point.

In the case of a round-shaped cover plate, you need to use a wrench to turn in a counterclockwise manner. You can also use your hands for this. Once the cover plate is loose enough, bring it down the knob’s neck to get those mounting screws behind accessed.

In case you still have the knob in place and screwdriver fails to get between screws and plate, then look for a slot. It should be with the recessed fastener that basically stays hidden by plate. In that case, you need to use the paperclip insertion or inside screw removing method here as well.

Use counterclockwise motion to get all the screws out of door mechanism. At this point, you should be able to get the knob out easily as well as connecting spindle. You can go ahead and detach the latch plate as well as bolt now. Make sure to pry off the plate to get latch mechanism out.

Related Guide You May Check:

• The Complete Guide on How to Remove Door Handle
• How To Open A Padlock Without A Key In 4 Easy Step
• How Door Knobs Work – Door Knob Mechanism
• How to Replace a Front Door Lock with a Keyed Deadbolt

Wrap Up

Looks like now you have a new or fixed doorknob sitting at your door without much problem. And on that note, we are by the end of today’s chat over how to take a door knob off. The various types available of doorknobs should not be confusing and tormenting you by any means.

Through a few findings and knowing how the whole removal steps work, it’s actually pretty simple to accomplish. Just be aware of the type you own and proceed with suitable removal process based on that. At the end of day, you just don’t want to damage or mishandle anything. And that’s the exact motive of this piece of writing, making you well-aware of whatever you need to be aware of.