Interior knob loose and floppy. Bathroom privacy lock won't engage. Exterior keyed knob seized from salt air. Aging-in-place switch from knobs to levers for arthritis-friendly operation. We replace every interior and exterior knob or lever - in stock on the van, same-day install.
Door knob + lever replacement in Port St. Lucie - passage (interior, no lock), privacy (bath/bedroom), entry (keyed exterior), dummy (decorative). Knob or lever based on use, accessibility, and aesthetics.
Cost: $80-220 installed per knob/lever depending on grade and finish. Whole-house swaps (8-15 doors) typically $480-1,200 total.
Brands stocked: Schlage F-Series, Kwikset Signature, Yale, Defiant, Brinks. Grade 1 commercial-grade levers for aging-in-place and ADA priorities also stocked (Schlage AL series, Sargent 11 series).
The lever sags. The knob wobbles half an inch in any direction. A tenant left and the inside thumb-turn is hanging off two stripped screws. None of this is a door problem - it is fifteen-year-old residential trim hardware that finally ate through the spindle. Property managers in Magnolia Lakes and Torino see this on every turnover.
The trap is buying a $35 box-store knob, screwing it onto a frame with a non-standard backset, and discovering the latch does not line up. Doctor Lockout shows up with ANSI Grade 2 Schlage AL-series levers and Kwikset Tustin knobs on the van, measures the existing prep, and installs the right one without a second trip to the store.
Lever and knob replacement runs $95-220 including hardware. Call (772) 284-5142 for same-day PSL service.
AL-series levers, Tustin knobs, Plymouth knobs, F-series deadbolts - residential grade in satin nickel and oil-rubbed bronze.
Knob or lever, hardware and labor, quote held on the phone. No 'while we are here' add-ons.
Front, back, garage door - one key works all three. Standard practice for rental turnovers and new homeowners.
Box-store $19 knobs are Grade 3 and fail in 18 months. We install Grade 2 commercial-residential as the floor.
Lever swap on a properly prepped door is a quick job. Three rental-turnover openings done in one visit.
We ask about 2-3/8 vs 2-3/4 backset before dispatch so the right latch rides on the van.
Home Depot sells the hardware. They do not measure your backset, they do not check the strike, and the $19 knob falls apart inside two years. Doctor Lockout brings the commercial-residential grade hardware property managers actually want on their PSL rentals.
Backset, bore, edge-bore depth, strike position. If something does not match, we drill the prep correctly.
Grade 2 levers survive five years of tenant abuse. Grade 3 box-store hardware barely makes it to the first renewal.
Three openings or more on the same property gets a per-door price break. Standard practice for our PM accounts.
We haul off the dead knobs at no charge. No bag of old hardware sitting in your tenant's garage.
The biggest hardware decision when replacing interior or exterior door handles is knob vs. lever. They're functionally similar but different in usability and aesthetic:
Knobs win on:
Levers win on:
The aging-in-place migration. A common PSL job: switching a whole house from knobs to levers when the homeowner enters their 60s or 70s and arthritis starts affecting grip strength. We do this in 4-8 doors per visit, takes 90-180 minutes total, costs $640-1,400 for the whole house including hardware. Customers consistently report the change is more impactful than they expected.
Grade matters for both. ANSI/BHMA grades apply to knobs and levers identically:
Grade 1 (commercial): 800,000 cycles, 8 strikes at 75 lbs. Schlage AL series lever, Sargent 11 series lever. $60-180 hardware. Necessary for high-traffic doors.
Grade 2 (heavy residential): 400,000 cycles, 5 strikes at 75 lbs. Schlage F-Series, Kwikset Signature Series. $30-80 hardware. Right for 80% of residential doors.
Grade 3 (residential): 200,000 cycles, 2 strikes at 75 lbs. Defiant, Brinks, low-end Kwikset. $15-40 hardware. Adequate for low-use doors.
When you say 'door knob' you might mean any of four different functions. The difference matters - swap a passage for a privacy and you can't lock the bathroom.
Passage. Interior knob/lever with no locking mechanism. The handle just turns and retracts the latch. Used on: closet doors, hall doors, pantry doors, laundry doors, any interior door that doesn't need privacy. Cheapest function. $40-90 hardware, $30-60 install per door.
Privacy. Interior knob/lever with a thumb-turn lock on one side (usually a small button or twist), and an emergency release pinhole on the other side. Used on: bathroom doors, bedroom doors, master suite doors. The pinhole release means anyone outside with a hairpin or small screwdriver can unlock the door in an emergency (kids locking themselves in, medical emergency). $50-110 hardware, $30-60 install per door.
Entry. Exterior knob/lever, keyed on the outside, with a thumb-turn or push-button lock on the inside. The handle locks when you push the button or turn the lever. Used on: front door knobs, back door knobs, garage entry door knobs. Often paired with a separate deadbolt 5-1/2 inches above. $60-180 hardware (depending on grade), $80-130 install per door. We key entry knobs alike with each other and with any deadbolts on request - same key for the whole exterior of the house.
Dummy. A non-functional decorative knob/lever that doesn't actually turn. Used on: double doors where only one side is operational (the dummy is on the inactive panel), French doors, decorative cabinet doors, closet doors that use a roller catch instead of a latch. $25-70 hardware, $20-50 install per door.
Common mistake. Customers sometimes buy 'a door knob' at the hardware store assuming any knob fits any door. Pick the wrong function and you'll find a bathroom with no privacy lock or a closet with a useless thumb-turn. We diagnose function per door on the on-site walk and make sure the hardware you pay for matches what each door needs.
Hand of the lock. All exterior locks and most modern interior locks are reversible (left-hand or right-hand mounted). When you replace, the new hardware adjusts on-site to match the door swing. Cheap Grade 3 hardware sometimes isn't reversible, so we double-check.
| Service | Typical Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Passage knob/lever install (interior) | $80 - $150 | Grade 2 hardware + labor. |
| Privacy knob/lever install (bath/bedroom) | $80 - $160 | Thumb-turn + emergency release. |
| Entry knob/lever install (exterior keyed) | $140 - $260 | Grade 2 keyed entry hardware + labor. |
| Dummy knob/lever install | $60 - $120 | Decorative, non-functional. |
| Grade 1 commercial lever (ADA / aging-in-place) | $180 - $320 | Schlage AL series, Sargent 11 series. |
| Whole-house knob-to-lever swap (8-15 doors) | $480 - $1,200 | Bundled labor, mixed Grade 2 hardware. |
| Keying same-key for all exterior knobs + deadbolts | $60 - $120 | When doing exterior knob install + existing deadbolts. |
| Decision | Doctor Lockout | Home Depot install | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same-day install | Yes | 3-5 day schedule | Yes if you have tools |
| Picks correct function (passage/privacy/entry/dummy) | Yes - diagnosed per door | Sometimes mistaken | Easy to buy wrong |
| Grade 1 commercial levers in stock on van | Yes | Rare - usually only Grade 2/3 | Order online |
| Cost per door (typical Grade 2 swap) | $80-150 | $120-220 | $30-80 hardware + your time |
| Same-key the new entry knob with existing deadbolt | Yes - free | Sometimes - upcharge | Limited DIY skills |
Real person on the phone in under 2 rings. Locksmith on-site in 15-30 minutes. Honest price before any tools come out.
Call (772) 284-5142Interior passage knob/lever: $80-150 installed. Privacy knob for bath or bedroom: $80-160. Exterior keyed entry knob/lever: $140-260. Grade 1 commercial-grade levers for ADA/aging-in-place: $180-320. Whole-house swaps (8-15 doors): $480-1,200 bundled. All include same-day install with hardware on the van.
For most PSL homeowners over 50, yes. Levers can be operated with a closed fist, elbow, or arm - critical when arthritis or grip strength becomes an issue, or when you're carrying groceries. The ADA standard for new construction and any major renovation is levers. The aesthetic argument for knobs only really applies to historical homes (older Bayshore, pre-1980 Stuart) where the period look matters. Whole-house swap runs $480-1,200 in PSL.
A passage knob just latches and unlatches - no locking mechanism. Used on closets, hallways, pantries. A privacy knob has a thumb-turn lock on one side (and a small emergency release pinhole on the other) so the door can be locked from inside. Used on bathrooms and bedrooms. Picking the wrong one is a common DIY mistake - we check each door's function on the on-site walk so the hardware matches.
Yes. Standard practice. When installing exterior entry knobs/levers on multiple doors, we key them alike with each other and (on request) with any existing deadbolts. You end up with one key that opens every exterior lock. We hand off 3 keys per house keyed alike at no extra charge.
Yes for separate doors - just not for the same lock set. Mixing brands on the same door (a Schlage knob and a Kwikset deadbolt above it) means different keyways, so you need two different keys. Mixing brands across different doors (Schlage on the front, Kwikset on the back) works fine if each door is keyed independently. For one-key-fits-all houses, stick to one brand or use a multi-keyway compatible system (Schlage primary with SmartKey-converted Kwikset on secondary doors).
90-180 minutes for a typical PSL 4-bedroom home (8-15 doors). 15-25 minutes per swap when sizes match, plus keying the exterior locks alike. Whole-house jobs done in a single visit, scheduled in 3-hour blocks.
Knob and lever replacement is one of our most-requested services across PSL - knob-to-lever conversions in the older Bayshore and original-PSL-grid homes where aging-in-place is driving upgrades, plus Grade 2 swaps in Tradition, Telaro, Veranda Bay, PGA Verano, and Magnolia Lakes builder-grade homes where the original hardware has worn out.
Last updated: 2026-05-18
