If you prefer the sound of someone tapping at the door above a doorbell, you can install a door knocker. Door knockers are practical, but they add visual interest. Iron brass nickel and other types of door knockers can be installed on solid wood and metal doors. If you have a hollow metal door, then you can still install a door knocker, but securing the hardware requires special attention.

Choose a door knocker with screws which go all of the way through the door. In a hollow metal door, there is air between the exterior and interior parts of the door, which means you need to use. Measure the depth of the door in inches. The Your Door Knocker site states that many through-the-door knockers match doors which measure between 1-1/2 and 2- 1/4 inches thick. Purchase threaded screws and acorn nuts to fit your dimensions.

Determine the height for your door knocker; they are found at an average adult’s eye level, or approximately 4 1/2 feet in the ground. Place the door knocker and mark the middle of a piece of chalk or the mounts using a pen. Do the very same dimensions on the interior of the door to ensure the holes align properly. Press an awl against each mark and tap the awl gently with a hammer. The small indentions make drilling easier.

Select a drill bit that’s the size of the mounting sleeves and drill from both sides of the door. Before drilling all of the way through, your Door Knocker recommends drilling half way through the door and half way through the door panel. Drill the hole just wide enough for your sleeves to maneuver through.

Hold the door knocker against the door’s outside side and align the knocker using the holes. Slide the mounting sleeves through the door knocker holes and through the door until the sleeves fit. Make sure that the door knocker is flush against the door.

Twist the threaded screws into the mounting sleeves and twist them. Attach into the ends of the screws and tighten with vice grip pliers or a nut driver. Switch the acorn nuts carefully to secure them. The acorn nuts will be visible from the interior of the metal door. When considering the side of the door, acorn nuts have a dome-like finish that provides a finished look to them.

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