Change or rekey · Woodbine Gardens
Deadbolt Installation in Woodbine Gardens
The bolt on the front door is keyed on both sides.
In plain words
Replacing an existing deadbolt is usually a matter of matching rather than cutting. The locksmith measures the cross bore, the edge bore and the backset, checks the door thickness, and picks a bolt that drops into the holes you already have. Where the old lock was a builder-grade unit, the replacement can step up to a heavier grade with a hardened bolt, a free-turning collar around the cylinder and a low-profile face that gives a wrench nothing to grip. The old strike is checked against the new bolt's instructions, and where it calls for it, a reinforced strike and long screws go in while the door is already apart.
How the visit goesThe door from the garage into the kitchen closes on a passage knob with no lock at all. Anyone who opens the garage is one turn of a handle from the house, and the insurance renewal form has a question about exactly that.
Deadbolt Installation
How the visit goes
How the door hangs and closes
Before a new bolt goes in, the door has to close properly on its own, so the locksmith swings it a few times and watches. A door that drops on tired hinges, binds against thick weatherstrip or has to be pulled to latch will put a new deadbolt out of line the moment the season changes. Hinge screws are tested for grip, the gap around the door is read for evenness, and the existing latch is checked against its strike. Small corrections here, such as a longer hinge screw into the framing or a trimmed weatherstrip, are made first so the deadbolt can be set to a door that sits square and stays there.
Marking and boring a fresh door
With the height agreed, the paper template is folded over the door edge and the two centres are marked: the cross bore on the face and the edge bore on the stile. A boring jig clamps over the door so the hole saw cannot wander, and the cross bore is cut from both faces to leave clean veneer or skin on each side. The edge bore is drilled with a 25 mm bit through the stile until it meets the larger hole. The locksmith then traces the bolt faceplate on the edge and chisels a shallow mortise so the plate sits flush, keeping the cut inside the lines so the edge stays sound.
A bolt with a full, deadlocked throw
What you feel at the end is a bolt that travels its whole length into the frame with one turn and stops with a definite click, which is the deadlocking position that stops the bolt being pushed back from the edge. From outside, the key turns a cylinder that sits in a collar which spins if gripped. From inside, the thumb-turn moves the same bolt without a key. The locksmith shows you both, throws the bolt with the door closed so you hear it seat, and hands over the packaging with the model, finish and backset written on it for the day a matching lock is wanted on another door.
Deadbolt Installation
In the van
Strike box
Jamb reinforcer
25 mm auger bit
Dry PTFE lubricant
Reinforced strike plate
Deadbolt Installation
What affects the quote
Hardware supplied by you or by the locksmith
If you have already bought the lock, the quote covers labour and any adaptation of the door to that kit. Hardware supplied from the van is listed separately with its grade and finish.
Door material
Solid wood, steel-clad and fibreglass doors are each cut differently. Metal skins call for slower cutting and cleanup of filings, so the material is one of the first things a quote takes into account.
Strike and frame reinforcement
A reinforced strike with long screws is standard; a full-length jamb reinforcer, a strike box or repairs to a split jamb after a forced entry are extra items quoted on their own.
What to have ready
- Is there glass in the door or a sidelight beside it within arm's reach of the lock?
- Do you want the new deadbolt to work on the same key as your other doors?
- Does the door have to be pulled or lifted before it latches or locks at the moment?
Deadbolt Installation: questions
QuestionsDo I need a deadbolt on the door from the garage into the house?
It is worth having. The door between an attached garage and the living space is in practice often the softest way in, since a garage door left open leaves a passage knob as the only barrier. A thumb-turn deadbolt there costs a few minutes a day and closes that gap.
The door has to be pulled before the old bolt will lock. Will a new one fix that?
The new bolt will only lock as smoothly as the door and frame let it, so the locksmith deals with the cause as part of the installation. A door that has sagged on loose hinges gets longer hinge screws or a shim, thick weatherstrip is trimmed, and the strike is set from the bolt's actual position with the door closed. The pocket is bored deep enough for a full throw. Afterwards the bolt should slide with fingertip effort.
Can the new deadbolt use the same key as my other doors?
Usually, yes. If the new lock shares a keyway with your existing cylinders, the locksmith repins it on the bench so your current key operates it, and nothing changes on anyone's ring. If the keyways differ, the other doors can be brought onto the new key instead. Say which key you want to keep before the hardware is chosen, because keyway is part of picking the lock.
Related services
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeSomeone tried the back door while you were away.
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceThe knob flops loose on its spindle and never springs back to level.
- Smart Lock InstallationYour mother still lives on her own, and the personal support worker, the pharmacy delivery and two siblings all need to get in on different days.