How to easily install the mounting screws for handles?
When installing storm door handles, it can be difficult to guide the mounting screws through the door to reach the screw posts.
Here are a few tricks you can try to make it easier:
- Extend the posts using a straw. First, find a plastic straw. Cut it into half-inch long sections. Put those sections on the screw posts before putting the handle onto the door. The straws will act as post-extensions, making it easier to guide the screw in.
- Bevel the screws. You can use a metal file to make a bevel chamfer on the tip of the screws. This will make them easier to mate into the post holes. Make sure to put a nut on the screws before beveling. That way, when you back out the nut it will correct any threads damaged during the filing.
- Use a longer screw temporally. Another trick is to use one longest screw in the screw pack to temporally fasten the handle with the latch or deadbolt to one post, then use a correct length screw on another post, then change the longest screw back to a correct length screw.