Fitting a door knocker is a relatively simple DIY job, even if you have little experience in fitting door furniture or completely new to DIY, but before rushing out to your local hardware store or searching online for a new door knocker be sure to know the type of door you will be fitting it to as there are several fixing types available, and it’s important to get the right one for your door.

The types of fixing that are most common are surface fix and bolt through. Bolt through door knockers are only suitable for solid wood doors whereas surface fix can be attached to all door types using small fixing screws.

After having purchased the correct type knocker for your door, the next step is to check you have the tools needed. These will include a battery or powered drill, drill bits to drill the bolt holes if fitting a bolt through door knocker, hacksaw, sharp knife, screwdriver, spanner, tape measure and pencil.

Once you’re all set with your tools to hand it’s time to start fitting the door knocker. Consider where you would like to fix the door knocker and use the tape measure and pencil to mark the centre point of the door.

After having marked the centre point, take the knocker and measure the distance between the fixing holes. Measuring from centre to centre of the holes noting the distance for the next step.

Measure out the distance for the fixing holes from the centre mark you made on the door during the first step and mark each point with your pencil. Check the measurements carefully as the fixing holes will be drilled to allow for either the screws or bolts depending on the type of door knocker being fitted.

Now the fixing holes are marked on your door, it’s time to drill them. If fitting a surface fitting door knocker then drill a 2mm pilot hole part way into the door only. If fitting the bolt through type then usually 6mm holes will need to be drilled all the way through the door to accommodate the bolts. Drill as straight as you can, keeping the drill at a right angle, 90 degrees to the door.

Next position the door knocker over the fixing holes and check that all are in alignment. If fitting a surface fixed knocker take the screws and push them through the fitting holes into the pilot holes drilled in the previous step, screwing each one tight as you go. If your door knocker is the bolt through type then attach the bolts to the back of the knocker and push/guide the bolts through the door.

If the bolts protrude a lot from the back of the door you can cut the excess off with a hacksaw, although remember to leave an amount remaining for the nuts to go on and tighten up. Mark the bolts and remove them to cut the excess off, remembering to double check the depth of the door allowing for the bolts to go all the way through and the nuts tighten after cutting them down. Reposition the door knocker guiding the bolts back through the holes before tightening up all nuts using a small spanner. Now that fitting is complete, stand back, check your work and knock it a few times.

Having successfully fitted the door knocker, you may also like to read our article on how to fit a letterbox.