What Door Hardware Do I Need for a New Home Build? Complete Australian Checklist (2026)

By Prime Hardware  |  Door Hardware Guides  |  June 2026

Door hardware is consistently one of the most underestimated parts of a new home build. It gets specified late, swapped out under budget pressure, and then interacted with dozens of times every single day for the life of the house.

Get it right early and it saves money, avoids delays and creates a cohesive finish throughout. Get it wrong and you are ordering replacement handles six months after handover.

This guide covers everything you need to spec door hardware for a complete Australian home build — with quantities, compliance notes, product recommendations and a room-by-room checklist you can use before handover.

How Much Door Hardware Does a Typical 4-Bedroom Home Need?

Before diving into each door type, here is a realistic quantity guide for a standard 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom Australian home. Use this as your ordering baseline and adjust for your actual floor plan.

1. Front Entrance Door Hardware

Your front door is the most important security point in your home and creates the first impression of the property. It also receives the most UV, moisture and mechanical wear of any door in the house — so finish durability matters here more than anywhere else.

What you need

• Entrance pull handle — typically 600mm or 800mm, D-pull or straight bar style
• Mortice lock — 85mm CTC, 60mm backset for most Australian entrance sets; accepts a euro cylinder
• Euro cylinder — keyed both sides or keyed one side/thumbturn; keywayed to match your deadbolt if using a single key system
• Deadbolt — separate from the mortice lock for dual-point security
• 3 hinges — 100mm butt hinges minimum; stainless steel for corrosion resistance
• Door seal — perimeter seal and door bottom seal for weatherproofing and energy performance
• Door stop — floor or wall-mounted to prevent handle impact damage

Finish considerations

Brushed Chrome, Satin Stainless and Matte Black are the most popular choices for Australian new builds in 2026. If your home is within 1km of the coast or a waterway, specify marine-grade stainless steel (316 grade) hardware only. Standard zinc alloy or plated brass will corrode within 12–18 months in coastal conditions.

Smart lock option

Smart locks are increasingly specified in new builds, particularly for investment properties, Airbnb rentals and homes with multiple occupants. They offer keyless entry, temporary guest access codes, app-based remote unlocking and access logs. Popular systems include the Yale Assure and Lockwood connected ranges — both integrate with common home automation platforms. Browse smart locks →

2. Internal Passage Doors

Passage hardware is used on any internal door that latches but does not need to lock — bedrooms (where no privacy lock is required), hallways, living areas and home offices. This is typically the largest hardware category by volume in a new build.

What you need per door

• Passage lever set — two lever handles on rose plates (round, square or backplate)
• Tubular latch — 60mm backset suits most standard Australian door prep
• 3 hinges — for both internal and entrance doors as standard
• Door stop — floor or wall-mounted

Finish consistency

Choose one finish and apply it throughout all internal doors, including hinges and door stops. Mixing finishes across door hardware is one of the most common mistakes in new builds and is difficult to fix after installation. Matte Black, Brushed Chrome and Brushed Nickel are all available in the Iver, Zanda, Tradco and Nidus ranges.

3. Bathroom and Ensuite Doors

Bathrooms and ensuites require privacy hardware — the door can be locked from the inside by the occupant, but must be releasable from the outside in an emergency without a key.

What you need per door

• Privacy lever set — thumbturn on inside, emergency release slot on outside
• Privacy latch (tube latch) — 60mm backset; comes with both privacy bolt and latch in the one unit
• 3 hinges
• Door stop

Look for privacy sets that include a visual occupancy indicator (red/green) — these are particularly useful for ensuites in short-term rental properties. The emergency release should accept a standard coin or flat-head screwdriver from the outside.

4. Sliding Doors

Sliding cavity doors are common in wardrobes, bathrooms, home offices and between living areas. They require different hardware to hinged doors, and the track system needs to be selected at framing stage — not at lock-up.

What you need

• Flush pull handles — recessed into the door face; available in round, square and rectangular profiles
• Edge pull — used to pull the door from the frame when flush pulls are not accessible
• Sliding privacy bolt — for bathroom and WC applications; single-sided with emergency release
• Sliding cavity lock — keyed or thumbturn, for home office or storage room applications
• Floor guide — keeps the door tracking correctly at the bottom; often forgotten at order stage
• Track and roller system — must be specified at framing stage; weight capacity must match door weight

5. Hinges — The Item Most Often Underspecified

Hinges rarely feature in finish selections but they have a direct impact on door performance and longevity. A premium lever handle on a door that sags or binds because of inadequate hinges is a daily frustration.

Standard residential specification

• 3 hinges per door — for both internal and entrance doors. Two hinges are insufficient for standard residential door weights and will cause premature sagging.
• 100mm butt hinge — suits most standard 35mm and 40mm residential doors
• Stainless steel or matching finish — specify to match lever set finish; exposed hinges on a Matte Black handle set should be Matte Black
• Ball-bearing hinges — recommended for heavy doors and high-traffic openings

Fire door requirements

Any door between a garage and the living area of a home is typically required to be fire-rated under the NCC. Fire-rated doors require certified fire-rated hinges, a self-closing mechanism and an intumescent door seal. Check your certifier's requirements at design stage — retrofitting fire compliance after handover is expensive.

External doors

External hinges must be stainless steel or hot-dip galvanised. Standard zinc plated hinges will rust within months when exposed to weather.

6. Door Stops and Accessories

Small accessories are consistently the most overlooked items on new build hardware schedules. They get missed, cut from budgets, and then sourced last-minute from a hardware chain — often in a different finish.

What to include on every door

• Door stop — floor or wall-mounted; protects wall and handle from impact damage. Floor stops suit most applications; wall stops suit swing doors where floor clearance is limited.
• Door seals — perimeter brush or compression seals for external and laundry doors; acoustic seals for home theatre or study applications
• Magnetic door catches — for cavity slider doors and wardrobe doors that do not have a latch mechanism

Cabinet hardware

If your joiner is not supplying cabinet pulls and knobs as part of their scope, you will need to source these separately. Cabinet hardware is often specified to match the door lever finish — Brushed Gold, Matte Black and Brushed Chrome are the most popular current combinations. The Iver cabinet range includes matching pulls and knobs across the Baltimore, Brunswick, Sarlat, Osaka, Helsinki and Cali collections.

7. Matching Finishes Across the Whole Home

Finish consistency is one of the details that distinguishes a considered architectural build from a volume builder finish. The rule is simple: choose one finish and apply it to every piece of visible hardware in the house — levers, hinges, door stops, cabinet pulls, bathroom accessories and tapware (or as close as your tapware range allows).

The most common finish combinations in Australian new builds in 2026:

New Home Build Hardware Checklist

Use this before finalising your hardware schedule and again before handover to confirm every item is installed.

• Front entrance pull handle, mortice lock, euro cylinder and deadbolt specified
• Door seals and weatherstripping on all external doors
• Passage lever sets ordered for all internal non-locking doors
• Privacy lever sets ordered for all bathrooms, ensuites, WCs and laundry
• Tubular latches ordered at correct backset (60mm standard)
• Sliding door hardware ordered including flush pulls, floor guides and sliding bolts
• 3 hinges per door — finish matched to lever set
• Door stops for every internal and external door
• Garage-to-living fire door compliant: fire-rated hinges, self-closer, intumescent seal
• Coastal properties: marine-grade stainless steel specified for all external hardware
• Smart lock specified for front entrance if required
• Cabinet hardware ordered and finish-matched to door levers
• Single consistent finish applied to all visible hardware throughout
• All items confirmed in stock before lock-up stage

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hinges do I need per door in Australia?

Three hinges per door is the correct standard for residential builds in Australia — for both internal and entrance doors. Two hinges are insufficient for standard door weights and will cause sagging over time. Use ball-bearing hinges for heavy solid-core doors and any high-traffic openings.

What backset should I specify for residential door hardware?

60mm backset is standard for tubular latches and privacy bolts in Australian residential construction. For entrance sets using a euro mortice lock, specify 60mm backset and 85mm CTC (centre-to-centre between latch and lock). Always confirm your door prep before ordering.

What is the difference between a passage set and a privacy set?

A passage set latches but has no locking function — used on bedroom, hallway and living room doors. A privacy set includes a thumbturn on the interior and an emergency release on the exterior — used on bathrooms, ensuites and WCs. The privacy latch includes both a privacy bolt and tube latch in one unit.

Do I need special hardware for coastal homes?

Yes. Any external hardware within approximately 1km of the coast or a significant waterway should be specified in marine-grade stainless steel (316 grade). Standard chrome plating, zinc alloy and electroplated brass will corrode quickly in salt-laden air. Internal hardware is generally not affected, but check any sliding door hardware that is exposed to sea breezes.

What finishes carry a warranty on Iver products?

All Iver products carry a 10-Year Mechanical Warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship. A Lifetime Finish Warranty applies to Polished Chrome, Brushed Chrome, Polished Nickel and Brushed Gold PVD finishes. Living finishes such as Polished Brass and Raw Bronze naturally age and patina over time and are excluded from finish defect warranties. All products are covered by Australian Consumer Law.

How far in advance should I order door hardware for a new build?

Order your hardware schedule no later than lock-up stage, and ideally at frame stage. Some finishes and specialty products have lead times of 3–6 weeks. Ordering late — particularly for entrance sets, sliding hardware and fire-rated items — is one of the most common causes of handover delays on new builds.

Prime Hardware Australia  |  2/249 Annangrove Road, Annangrove NSW 2156  |  1800 329 028