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Why do you have handles on the outside of the apartment? Weird design choice.
Huh? How else would you open the door?
Edit: although this photo is definitely the interior of a front door.
With the key. You turn it in the lock to release the latch, then push it inwards.
That makes sense if the door opens inwards, I only just realised that the apartments I've lived in are adapted so I probably haven't had a normal apartment door before and never really paid attention, this has been fascinating.
(I have palsies so I can't turn a key anyway without a tool, which I've locked inside my house on too many occasions in my youth so I've always had my front door locks replaced with lever handles if they initially came with knobs or deadlock dials/latches)
In your specific case, I'd suggest installing an electronic door opener that you can trigger with a button on the wall from the inside, and with fingerprint or facial recognition from the outside. Fingerprint activated locks are fairly cheap these days, just not sure if your fine motor skills work sufficiently well to operate them.
That sounds like I'd be locked out during a power outage? I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to basic necessities, I've had so many issues in recent years with the enshitification of the internet and digital devices in general, removing, changing, patching out accessibility, or just making something so bloated and cumbersome/ad riddled to use it becomes inaccessible.
I also make $28K a year (working while disabled really hinders your earning potential) and live in a rented share house with other people. So I'm not even sure where to begin on anything that requires that level of installation. I can swap a doorknob for a lever latch myself (takes me 5 hours, but it's a $50 DIY job)
But that's a really good suggestion for a long term solution.
One thing that surprises me about America is how many automated doors you have there, and the low buttons for opening doors that you can push from a wheelchair. I've never seen one of those buttons on any door in my country, except on some of the newest built accessible bathrooms, and they feel so futuristic compared to everything else around.
Exterior doors swing inward so firemen can break them more easily. This is a metal door that swings in; pictured from the outside. I assume this is a door to a dorm/apartment.
In the second photo you can see the bottom dial for an electronic lock. That portion is the exterior piece. It free spins unless you press the correct combination prior.
although this photo is definitely the interior of a front door.
A front door which opens outside? Never seen that before tbh (Europe).
Welcome to the rest of the world that is outside of North America
not in north America, never seen a door handle outside a house. people just use the key to open the door from the outside.
It’s a matter of safety. Their apartment has the only fire escape in the building.
It looks like a lot of people seem to think the handle is weird, but I've never seen a residential door with only a deadbolt. The only deadbolt only door I have seen was just a shed too.