Funny you mention that—last year I fell in love with these vintage brass pulls from a salvage yard, only to realize they were way too narrow for ADA. Ended up designing a custom backplate to widen the grip without losing the patina. Sometimes it’s less about compromise and more about creative problem-solving, you know?
That’s a clever workaround—honestly, I’ve run into that ADA issue more times than I’d like to admit. Sometimes the best-looking hardware just isn’t practical for public spaces. Curious, did you have any trouble matching the finish on your custom backplate to the original pulls? I’ve tried aging new brass before and it never quite looks right... always ends up a bit too shiny or just off somehow.
I’ve tried aging new brass before and it never quite looks right... always ends up a bit too shiny or just off somehow.
Yeah, matching finishes is a pain. I’ve had to do a few “Frankenstein” jobs where the new backplate just never quite blended in, no matter what trick I tried—vinegar baths, ammonia fumes, you name it. Sometimes I think the patina gods just aren’t on my side. Honestly, I’ve started leaning toward hardware that’s intentionally mismatched or has a lived-in look from the start. It’s less stressful than chasing that perfect match that never really happens.
I hear you on the mismatched hardware—sometimes it just looks more honest, like the house has a story. I’ve never been a fan of over-engineering that “perfect” match anyway; you end up fighting the material’s nature half the time. But here’s something I keep running into: do you think the grip style matters more than the finish? Like, if you’ve got a classic lever in a slightly different patina than the escutcheon, does it really throw things off for you, or is shape more important?