Most smart locks look like smart locks. Bulky keypads, plastic fascias, and a battery cover bolted onto the front of the door are practical enough, but they are hardly what you want greeting visitors at your front entrance, especially on a home where the entry door has been chosen as a genuine design feature.
The McGrath Grange Entrance Pull Handle takes a different approach. It has been built first and foremost as an architectural pull handle: long, slim, and finished to sit comfortably against a statement front door. Only once you look closer does it reveal what it actually is: a fully featured smart lock with fingerprint, PIN code, RFID card, and Bluetooth (BLE) app access, all built into the one handle. There is no separate keypad module and no visible reader plate interrupting the lines of the handle. It simply looks like a beautifully made pull handle that happens to unlock the door for you in whichever way suits you best.
Why a Pull Handle Instead of a Standard Smart Lock
Entrance pull handles are the hero hardware on architecturally designed homes, particularly where the front door is a genuine feature in its own right. Full height pivot doors, oversized single entry doors, and matching double or French door sets are all designed around a long, elegant handle rather than a small lever or knob. Until now, the trade off with a door like this has always been the same: if you wanted smart access control, you had to accept a separate keypad or reader fitted somewhere on the door, which broke up the clean look the handle was chosen for in the first place.
The Grange range removes that trade off by combining both requirements into a single piece of hardware. With one handle, you get:
- Fingerprint access for the fastest day to day entry, ideal for family members who want to walk straight in without reaching for a key, phone, or code
- PIN code entry as a reliable backup, or for issuing temporary codes to tradespeople, cleaners, or house sitters that can be changed or removed at any time
- RFID credential access using a small tag or card, a good option for anyone in the household who prefers a simple tap over remembering a code
- BLE (Bluetooth) app access, letting you lock, unlock, check the door’s status, and manage other users remotely from your phone when you are close to the door
Because all of this is housed inside the handle body itself, there is nothing extra fixed to the door, nothing that clashes with the rest of your hardware, and no obvious sign from the street that the door is even fitted with electronic access control.
Two Finishes, One Design Language
We stock the working Grange smart lock handle in two finishes, so it can be matched to the rest of your door and hardware scheme rather than dictating it.
The McGrath Locks Grange Entrance Pull Handle in Satin Stainless Steel Finish has a brushed, contemporary look that suits coastal homes, Hamptons style facades, and modern minimalist builds. It pairs naturally with other stainless steel hardware such as hinges, kick plates, and window fittings, and holds up well in the sea air common along the Central Coast.
The McGrath Locks Grange Entrance Pull Handle in Black Finish is finished in matte black, which continues to be one of the most popular choices we see specified on new builds and renovations at the moment. It works especially well against timber, dark cladding, or rendered facades where a bold, matte handle is used as a deliberate contrast.
Both handles run exactly the same access technology inside, meaning fingerprint, PIN, RFID, and BLE app access are all standard on either finish. The decision between the two really comes down to appearance and what will sit best alongside your existing door and window hardware, rather than any difference in features or performance.
What About French and Double Doors?
Double and French door entries present a specific challenge for smart locks. In almost every case, only one leaf of the door is wired and fitted with the active locking mechanism, while the second leaf is fixed shut from the inside with bolts. The problem this creates is a visual one: if only one leaf carries a handle, the pair of doors can end up looking unbalanced, particularly on a wide entry where both leaves are meant to read as a matching set.
This is exactly what the McGrath Locks Grange Dummy Entrance Pull Handle in Black Finish has been designed to solve. It is a non locking, fixed companion handle built to match the profile of the working Grange smart lock handle precisely, so that when it is fitted to the inactive leaf of a double door set, the two handles together read as one considered design decision rather than a working lock on one side and an afterthought on the other.
A few specifications worth noting if you are planning to use the dummy handle on a project:
- Suits door thicknesses of 35 to 55 mm, and can be extended up to 100 mm with an additional tailbar for thicker doors
- Outside handle dimensions are 900 mm high by 60 mm wide by 30 mm deep
- Inside handle dimensions are 901.8 mm high by 60 mm wide by 30 mm deep
- Outside handle projection is 67 mm from the face of the door
- Finished in matte black to match the active Grange handle exactly
Choosing the Right Combination for Your Door
For most single door entries, the working Grange handle on its own, in either satin stainless steel or black, is a complete solution. It includes everything needed for day to day access without any additional hardware.
For double or French door entries, the typical approach is to fit one working Grange handle to the active leaf and pair it with the Grange dummy handle on the fixed leaf. This gives you full smart access control on the door you actually use to enter and exit, while keeping the appearance of the entry symmetrical and intentional from the outside.
If you are working through the specification for a new build or a renovation, it is worth considering door thickness, which leaf will be active, and how the finish will sit against your other external hardware before placing an order. We are happy to talk through any of this with you directly, whether you already have drawings in hand or are still deciding on the right approach.
Get the Grange Range Supplied and Fitted Properly
Smart lock hardware is only as good as the installation behind it. Fitting a mortice body correctly, running and terminating wiring where needed, and pairing the handle with the companion app all matter just as much as the handle itself. Avoca Architectural has been supplying and fitting architectural door hardware and smart locking systems across the Central Coast, Newcastle, and Hunter Valley for many years, and our team can talk you through which Grange configuration is right for your door before you commit to an order.
Call us on (02) 4382 1286, visit our showroom at 177 Avoca Dr, Avoca Beach NSW, or enquire directly through any of the product pages linked above to get started.