A new law in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, says lever handles are required on all doors and faucets in all new housing construction. That means a doorknob can't be used on a front or inside door. The city removed old Art Deco doorknobs from doors in the historic city hall built in 1936. The pressed glass doorknob was patented in the United States in 1824, but fancy metal knobs were most popular from the 1840s to 1915 and are collected today. (Visit the website of the Antique Doorknob Collectors of America, AntiqueDoorKnobs.org, to learn more.) Why no knobs in new Vancouver houses? To make it easier for a person with a disability to open doors and turn on faucets.
Photo: Antiquedoorknobs.org
They could just attach a lever to the stem of the doorknob, so that either the knob or the lever would open the door. . .they could be made to co-ordinate with the old style of the existing architecture. . .
Frankly, this strikes me as overkill, to require replacing ALL doorknobs with lever door handles, considering the limited number of people who will benefit from the lever handles. A requirement that the seller install levers upon request as a condition of sale strikes me as much more reasonable. I think of the beautiful antique knobs that will be lost and I feel a real sadness. This is another example of saving us from ourselves in a nanny state. Canada is as guilty of it as the UK is, and the US is moving rapidly in that direction.
Maybe the lever is indeed a “better mousetrap.” It will be interesting to see if other jurisdictions adopt this legislation.