what it's like to build: keys & locks & handles

People ask me what it's like to build at La Estancia & many more questions about the house design & building process. What are the most important decisions? Why did you decide this versus that? I'm sure people are asking Annette, Beth, Gary, Ginny, Jane, Kent, Penny, & everyone else whose house is finished or underway. So many questions. So many answers.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to post some of the questions we faced & the answers we came to. Everything I say, of course, is completely subjective & may have no relevance for you. Read at your own risk.

I'll begin with a small, simple issue.

What kind of door & window keys, locks, & handles?

bisagra: hinge

cerradura: lock

cerrojo: bolt

llave: key

manija: handle

picaporte: latch
puerta: door

ventana: window

We looked at Argentine door keys: 2.5" long & a separate key for every door, interior & exterior. Not wanting a big llavero (key ring), we looked for a Yale-style key & asked for one key that would fit every exterior door. As is common in most American homes, we wanted interior doors with either no locks or keyless locks.

For exteriors, we found the Kallay marca (brand) of Yale-style keys on the doors of Hotel Colomé:

We saw two choices for closing the screen doors. One is the US type we're used to, an adjustable cylinder mounted near the top of the door. This tends to clog with dust & deteriorate. The other choice is spring-loaded bisagras (hinges), fast or slow. We've asked for the slower model.

Another screen door question is picaporte (latch) or cerrojo (bolt)? We're going with the simple latch. We've no need to lock our screen doors.

For interiors, we looked first for door handles: not knobs but bars because my arthritic hands don't turn knobs easily. We came across Hal handles & the stainless steel Andina line for door handles, interior door locks, & window handles: