Probably like many parents with newer homes, I've been getting better at patching sheetrock because of the weird doorknobs that are in my home. The kids open the door, not knowing their strength, and no matter how well I set the door stops, the hole in the sheetrock grows. So I went to the hardware store, and asked if they had any old style doorknobs that didn't have the lock tab protruding, but rather locked simply as you press the doorknob towards the door and rotate it.
No luck, and Charlie--the owner--told me that it was supposed to make life easier for people with disabilities because the old doorknobs needed two actions to lock it instead of one. He also noted that he was selling a lot more spackle than he used to, for obvious reasons.
So when I went home, I tried out my fancy new OSHA and Americans with Disabilities Act approved doorknobs. Press, and turn, just like the old ones, and the "benefit" for the disabled appears to be that instead of being able to use your palm or your fingers to work the old ones, you now need to use your fingers to unlock or lock your bathroom door.
I'm sure the arthritis sufferers of the world appreciate it a lot, and if they could only get their hands into that position, would be giving our government the appropriate, one finger salute for their help. Along with every father who's patched the wall for the tenth time because of those fool things.
The fix, for what it's worth, are little round things that glue right where the doorknob will hit the wall--some of them even featuring an indent just the size of the lock tab. I'll be sending the government a bill for this one....
Know Your Lifts: The Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
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In the Know Your Lifts series, we’ve covered the high-bar back squat, the
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7 comments:
We've had the same problem, only our new wall modifications are caused by a 17-month-old who is obsessed with doors. The door stops you describe will be coming shortly...
Do you have any home salvage places near you? I bet they can sell you old doorknobs that are the kind you want. Cheaper, too, if they have them. (I agree the regulation of doorknobs is absurd, BTW.)
then there are those springy thing door stops that screw into the base boards.
they save my walls, and keep cats entertained throughout the nite.
Gino; got two of 'em on each door. No match with a cheap door for my kids.
Brian; good point, but try to find matching ones that will suit a 2003 home. As much as I love antiques, and I do, dunno if it would work.
(thanks for the visits, y'all)
I like Brian's idea a lot. Which is why I'd love to get myself into an older home one day. For the time being a 1990's parsonage with lots of room works okay (especially since Benjamin isn't slamming doors yet!)
W.B.
just wait til lil Ben is just the right height to walk into the door knobs...
my son had shiners for 6 mos that kept moving from eye to eye, and sometimes both.
Gino, it doesn't take much of my imagination to conjure up that image. And then there's the desk in my office which should start attacking him next summer.
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