The first key step in choosing the correct handle is to carefully think about the look you are trying to create. You also want to consider the quality of the handle, and we would strongly recommend never choosing a handle with plastic parts. Timber knobs are acceptable but in our experiance handles with woodern centres and metal ends will always fail at some point and the chances are they don't make them anymnore and you have to replace them all.

If you are replacing old handles then the governing factor will be the space between screw hole centres. Measure very carefully as millimetres count here. As you look for new handles you will start to find that the hole centre size means you can probably only have a certain few types of handle. Stainless Steel bar handles offer the widest range of hole centres. You should also consider overall length of handle, but governing factor is the ditsance of the hole centres. With single knobs some of them have a spike as well as the screw so if replacing make sure the new handle will cover the small hole this will leave.

With some handle types it may be possible to elongate the holes with a cordless drill, but be careful to keep the holes in line and not to remove too much material. Also check that the new handle will still cover the larger hole.

You will also ned to know what screw length you require. Most doors are around 18-22mm think so a 25mm M4 screw is fine, but double check what you will need as these are normally free of charge at time of purchase but may cost you more after the sale. Avoid the long snap off type screw like the plague. They are difficult to break off and when you do sometimes the screw bends and sometimes they break near the thread and are difficult to thread into the handle. They are also weaker than a standard screw, but mostly time consuming. We stock 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, 35mm, 40mm and even 50mm.

Be careful who you buy your handles from on Ebay. Avoid the john's bargains type sellers as they are usually the cheapest quality and try and buy from a genuine kitchen company who will be selling the same handles they use on the kitchen they supply and fit. You handles are the most used part of your kitchen and need to be of good quality.

Once you have your handles then it is time to fit them. A little bit of care and caution here is required. Taking a bit of extra time and effort will avoid a possible mistake, as just one mistake means a new door. This will be expensive at best and on an older kitchen may mean you can't replace it. Consider paying a tradesmen and let him have the worry, but also he may have some specialist tools.

It isn't a difficult job however if you follow these instructions.

If drilling new doors see if the door has pilot drills that match your handle. If so great carry on, but if not measure carefully. If you have pilot drills but the handle doesn't match then pick one pilot drill (usually top one on base doors, and bottom one on wall doors) and measure from it an make sure you do the same on every door. If doing a whole kitchen then make yourself a template from a piece of square MDF or other stiff board / metal. Simply drill two holes in the correct place on the template and all the time taken to get this right is then only required once. After that just place your template on the rear of the door and mark with your drill bit. There are adjustable commercially available templates, but they cost around £50.00 making one handle change expensive, but if you have alot of handles to do, or you know someone else willing to go halfs they can save alot of time and be more accurate.

Always drill from the back of the door first, never the front. Place an old piece of wood over the front of the door where the drill will come through as this will avoid excessive splitting of the laminate / timber and even stop you drilling your hand. Some people drill straight through with the finished hole size in one go (usually 4mm) A more cautious method is to drill through with a smaller 2mm drill, and then drill back from the front with the 4mm. I also advise that it is better to choose a drill slightly bigger say 4.5mm. This means that if your hole is not exactly at 90 degrees you will still have a little play to ensure the screw meets the handle.

Never totally tighten one screw until the other screw is also started in the thread. This will make life alot easier and stop cross threading.

Above all you know your own limits. Keep concentration, don't have a chat or even the radio on if you think you might get distracted. It is very easy to handle up 15 doors correctly and then mess the 16th up. Trust me I know!