A few years ago, we had H's 2 yr. old niece with us for a couple of days. Her favorite saying at that time was to crow loudly "I'm a genius!".
So - yesterday H and I are getting ready to do something about our front door, still missing an inside doorknob. I had thought the doorknob and the plate with the handle were one piece, but they were not. So H and I debated whether to buy a whole new set, or just replace the knob. Unfortunately, a new set of good enough quality to withstand out salty ocean air, and with the craftsman look we like, was going to be anywhere from $300 on up ($1100 for the nice one!!!!) - and there was a problem because the location of the holes drilled in our door for the lock and the deadbolt did not fit with these modern locksets.
So, we thought perhaps to just replace the knob itself - although it would be difficult to match the patina of the existing handle, and a good-quality knob that would come close would still run $80 to $120 or more.
Anyway, I was waiting for H to be ready to walk out the door with me for an excursion to Home Expo to look at doorknobs - on Sunday, likely to be a 2-3 hour chore, by the time we got there, picked out a knob, returned and replaced it. I decided to take out the trash before we left, and as I exited the garage side door, I got my brilliant idea!!!! The knob set on the side door matched the front door! And I had already bought a replacement knob for the side door that I had planned to install, so that its key would match the kitchen entry knob I just replaced.
SO - we took the old knob from the side door and installed it in the front door, slipped the new knob in the side door, and voila! Problem solved, mucho dinero saved, and more importantly, freed up our Sunday afternoon.
