On Aug 20, 10:01*am, Pavel314 wrote:
On Monday, August 20, 2012 9:39:08 AM UTC-4, George wrote:
On 8/20/2012 9:00 AM, Pavel314 wrote: I just had some entry doors installed and it turns out that the door knobs are the lock-out kind. By that I mean that you don't have to unlock the knobs to open the door from the inside. If you happen to forget that they're locked, you can walk out, close the door, and find you're locked out. Is there any way to modify this sort of knob so that it requires actual unlocking before going out? I'd hate to have to replace both knobs. Paul Sounds like a dumb design. You might get better results if you mention more such as the manufacturer and anything else you know.

Schlage locks. We have a similar design at the office.

I kept the old hardware, which were non-lock-out style. Since the manual lock/unlock mechanism is only in the inside knob, if the old inside knobs fit onto the new outside knobs, I can just replace them. May need to have them brass plated to match the new door but that should solve the problem.

Wrong, the thumb turn on the inside knob is basically
just an indicator which fits into the shaft connected
to the inner mechanism inside the outer knob assembly...

Swapping it will make no difference, the function of the
lock depends on how that inner mechanism is configured,
changing the knob will do nothing at all...

Just think at how many more people would be locked out
if you actually had real commercial grade locks installed
with vandal-resistant trims which are free to rotate but not
engaged to the mechanism when locked...

Sounds like you made an upgrade from way older stuff to
modern Schlage locks or from Kwikset to Schlage and
thus were used to the old locks and how they worked...
If lockouts are that much of a problem perhaps you should
install a stand-alone electronic PIN based lock set so
that if people get locked out they can get back in without
a key...