How on earth to fix this door handle...?

[linspins]

We bought new internal doors three years ago and I love the look of them. They are oak veneer with some solid wood frame and some chipboard inside. Quite heavy and don't feel flimsy. BUT....the type of door handle we choose keep coming loose and falling off on the two heavily used doors.
The handle itself has a spindle (right word?) that goes through the door and the handle is screwed on to the wood on both sides with metal circular parts that go on top to cover screws. But the door is so thin in this part that there's not enough solid wood to screw in to. And so the handles become loose and eventually fall off!
I have wracked my brain to think how to reinforce this area, or for a solution, but am out of ideas. Help!
The photos attached show a loose handle, ( with the thumb turn lock mechanism under it), the handle area with lots of holes where we've tried to re screw in different positions, and the whole handle and lock taken out of the door.

I will ask DH who is a carpenter when he returns from walking the dog.

Thank you!

Sadly DH says he could do it if he were there to look at it but it's hard to advise properly not being there....he added that really, the handles were wrong to begin with. He mentioned some special screws which screw into each other...one is the recipient of the other and that it would be possible to use these to secure it...but he says you need a carpenter there on site....or new handles.

Get it replaced with one with a backplate, they minimize the stress on the area of the spindle.

@linspins
You won’t like this sorry.
We purchased bungalow 2 years ago and had 3 internal doors where handles kept coming loose exactly as you describe but with a different style handle. We had them inspected by a recommend carpenter who told me (and showed me) that the doors had been put in the wrong way round, which meant the handles were mounted on the wrong side of the door.
When I stopped looking at him like he was mad he explained and demonstrated how the internal door frame is much thicker on one side than the other to securely accommodate lock furniture. Basically some shit head had screwed handles into thin veneer not the nice proper wood frame.
£280 and 3 new doors later the doors are sorted. All very annoying really.

Urgh! It's a nightmare.
A carpenter fitted them for us, but I don't remember seeing anything on the door packaging about making sure to use one side edge for handles instead of the other. I could call in the carpenter but he was jolly expensive and DH and I were hoping to fix them ourselves.
I'm wondering if we could make and fix on thin oak backplate, to give the handles something extra to screw in to.
Meanwhile no one can shut or lock the bathroom door!

Grumpy,
Yes, I would have expected solid wood inside the door edges, for this very reason.

DW & I would have agreed with you. How could the frame be thinner on one side than the other? Yet is is on our doors.
After carpenter left to get quote we went to well known DIY store to look at doors and see if he had been telling us the truth. Alas, yes, on some doors it was very clear. We found proof on packaging or on the top of the actual door frame once we knew what to look for.
We found that the frame on one side was in some cases was thinner, or in one case that there was only a small hard area stuck to narrow frame where handle / lock must go.
Not impressed.

These kind of handles with the circular back plates are usually supplied with back to back fixing bolts to give a firm fitting. Looks like these were fitted with just the 'extra' wood screws

You can get the fitting packs on their own - would suggest Amazon etc

Something like this... amazon.co.uk/Handle-Fixing-Screws-Escutcheons-4Pieces/dp/B07Q2N8QRL]]

should be easy enough to fit.

Oh also the handle stem should have a grubscrew which should be tightened onto the spindle for extra fixing strength

Hope that helps

Oops link fail, try again!

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07Q2N8QRL/ref=sspa_mb_hqp_detail_mobile_aax_0?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8

Sconio123, my initial thoughts were to use something exactly like that, common sense told me the handles needed pulling in together to give them strength. ( I didn't know what the product was though).The problem is that the metal innards of the handle and lock are inside the door, in between the handles on the outside. So one can't put a screw through the entire door...
So still stuck.

Actually....had another look at the metal innards, and there are a few holes that might be designed to line up with the screw holes on the outer section. Investigating further!

easy

you use sleeve nuts. They are widely sold, paired with screws for doorhandles. They go right through the door and fasten on the other side. They can be cut to length on the unthreaded part. Your local locksmith might sell them. Also called connecting screws.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M3-Connecting-Screws-Bolts-with-Sleeves-For-Door-Handle-and-Roses-Chrome-Brass/163050566529?var=462167018865

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20x-Barrel-Nuts-Countersunk-Screw-Bolts-With-Sleeve-For-Escutcheons-Door-Handles/273932493918?epid=25033600852&hash=item3fc7a6245e:g:pGcAAOSwSHBdLxKT

And I can't see the make of your lock, but it will be similar to this

Observe that to either side of the hole for the handle spindle, there is a hole or notch in the casew. This is so that screws can pass through without interfering with the lock mechanism. You had better take out the lock and hold the knob against it to see how many screws you can use (they are designed for two).

Sleeve nuts are very strong and once tightened, you can add additional little screws just for appearance.

Yep, you'll find most lock cases are pierced to allow the fixing bolts to pass through

Special screws now winging their way to me courtesy of Amazon. Hoping these do the job as recommended by lovely Mumsnet hive mind. Thanks everyone.

@Sconio123 @PigletJohn
It worked!!
Bought some of the special screws on Amazon, and husband managed to line them up right with the holes through the locks inside. It's doing the job nicely and it's been some weeks now since they were fixed. No more handles falling noisily off the bathroom door! Just got to retro fit all the other doors how. Very cross the 'professional' joiners who fitted the doors didn't do this.
I love Mumsnet!
Thanks guys.

I love a happy ending!

Yayyy :) glad they did the trick!

Do you think those screws would work on rectangular handles?
I've flipped my doors around (door frames aren't level so easier than cutting down the door to size) and have this exact problem with one door.

yes.