If you’re replacing a door knocked, that’s when it gets even trickier for through the door mountings. For surface mounting, it’s a walk in the park – just find the door knocker that looks best to you and make sure the holes match the one you’re replacing. For replacing through the door knockers, you need to find a replacement that uses the same exact bolt center.

Bolt center measurement is determined by measuring the exact distance from the center of one mounting bolt to the center of another mounting bolt. Sound complex? It is. If you purchase a replacement door knocker whose bolt center measurement is different than your old knocker, you’ll need to drill a new hole through your door. Note that this will leave you with at least one open hole in your door that you’ll then need to fill in or cover.

Now that we’re through the technical aspect, the only thing left is to hang your knocker. But where should it go?

Unfortunately, there aren’t set guidelines to suggest where on the door it should hang. Typically, it’s set in the center of the door; but what if you have something like a stained glass window taking up that spot? Where should it go then? You’ll have to figure out what looks best given the design and style of the door you’re mounting it on. For height, try to put it at eye-level for the typical adult – so somewhere around 5’6”-5’10”. Double check to make sure it’s level and you should be all set.

A door knocker can be a great addition to your house’s design. If you’ve followed this guide and installed it correctly, you won’t have to perform any maintenance on it for many, many years.