Most door handle problems come down to three small parts: the spindle that passes through the door, the screws that hold the handles together, and the sleeves that take up slack between them. Get those right and a handle feels solid for another twenty years.
Measuring your spindle
The spindle is the square steel bar running through the latch. Two measurements matter.
Across the flats. Measure one face of the square with a vernier or steel rule. UK sizes are 5mm, 6mm, 7mm and 8mm. 8mm is the modern UK standard for lever-on-rose and lever-on-backplate handles. 7mm turns up on European-pattern and older UK furniture. 5mm and 6mm are mostly older or budget-fit handles.
Length. Door thickness plus enough to engage both handle hubs fully. Measure the door, add roughly 10–15mm, then round up — a spindle can be cut down, but a short one leaves the handle hanging on two or three millimetres of engagement and it will eventually round off. We stock 30mm to 150mm in 5mm and 10mm steps.
Split spindles: what they are for
A split spindle is two half-length bars rather than one. Each handle turns independently, which is what lets a uPVC or composite entrance door keep the inside handle live while the outside one is locked out.
If your front door has a multi-point lock and the outside handle should stop working when you lift and lock, you need a split spindle — a solid one will defeat the mechanism. Interior doors take a solid spindle.
Sleeve shims: fixing a sloppy handle
If the handle rattles, droops slightly, or has play before the latch moves, the usual cause is a spindle that is under-size for the hub — either worn, or the wrong size fitted in the first place.
Sleeve shims are thin plastic sleeves that slide over the spindle and pack it out. They convert:
- 5mm to 8mm
- 6mm to 8mm
- 7mm to 8mm
- 8mm to 10mm
They cost a fraction of a new handle set and take a minute to fit. Worth trying before you replace anything.
Connecting screws
Handles are held together by male/female connecting screws — also called bolt-through fixings. The male half passes through from one side into the threaded female half on the other.
- M4 is the common size on modern handles, in 60mm and 90mm
- M5 turns up on patio door handles, usually 80–90mm with a tapered shank
- M3 appears on lighter and older backplates
Match the finish to the handle — chrome, brass, bronze or black. On an exposed screw head, a mismatched finish is the first thing anyone notices.
Carriage sleeves and security screws
A carriage sleeve is a tube that surrounds the connecting screw inside the door. It stops the screw pulling through a soft or oversized hole, and stops the handle crushing the door skin as you tighten. Security patterns use a pin-TORX or similar tamper-resistant head so the handle cannot be unbolted from outside.
Grub screws
The grub screw is the tiny headless screw in the handle collar that clamps it to the spindle. When a handle spins freely on the bar without operating the latch, this is nearly always the culprit — either backed out or missing. They are sold in packs and by finish, and replacing one costs less than a cup of coffee.
A quick diagnostic
- Handle spins, latch does not move — grub screw
- Handle wobbles or rattles — sleeve shim, or a worn spindle
- Handle droops and will not return level — spring, not spindle. See our springs guide
- Outside handle still works when locked — solid spindle fitted where a split spindle is needed
- Handles loosen every few weeks — connecting screws too short, or no carriage sleeve
Where to start
Browse Spindles & Sleeves for bars, split spindles and shims, and Door Handle Screws for connecting screws, grub screws and carriage sleeves. Everything is sold in small quantities — you do not need to buy a trade box to fix one door.