Change or rekey · Welland
Deadbolt Installation
You bought a keypad deadbolt online and pulled the old one off, only to find the hole in the door is a different size and the bolt latch sits at a backset the new kit does not list. The door is now open and the box is on the counter.
Deadbolt Installation
In plain words
Steel-clad and fibreglass doors, the common insulated entry doors in newer subdivisions, take a deadbolt happily as long as they are cut for it properly. The skin is thin metal or resin over a foam core, often with a wood block at lock height, so the cross bore is made with a hole saw suited to the skin, at low speed, and the edge is finished with a plate rather than a chisel mortise. Solid wood doors in older homes are cut conventionally, with care for splitting at the edge. The locksmith reads the door before drilling and picks the method that leaves a clean opening and a true-running bolt.
How the visit goesYou moved in three weeks ago. The previous owner left a handful of keys, none labelled, and the bolt on the side door rattles in its housing. You would like every exterior door to bolt, and to know exactly who can open it.
Welland
How the visit goes
Where the bolt should sit on the door
On a door with no deadbolt yet, its height is not fixed by the manufacturer but by the door in front of you. The usual spot is 140 to 150 mm above the centre of the knob, which places the bolt near the strongest part of the lock stile and keeps both locks within one comfortable reach. The locksmith checks that this height misses any glass, decorative panel, hinge line or the wood block inside an insulated door, and that the frame behind that spot is solid rather than a gap between shims. If a storm door or screen door shares the opening, the bolt's thumb-turn and cylinder have to clear it as well.
Swapping an old deadbolt in place
When an existing bolt is being replaced, the work starts by backing out the two inside screws and lifting off both housings, then removing the bolt from the edge. The bore and backset are measured against the new hardware, and any difference is dealt with before the new bolt goes in: a larger bore for a smart deadbolt, a different faceplate shape, or a spacer for a thinner door. The new bolt, cylinder and thumb-turn go on in the usual order. The old strike comes off too, the pocket is deepened if needed, and a reinforced strike with long screws replaces it, so the upgrade happens on both sides of the gap.
Ready for a smart lock later
Because the door was prepared to the standard bore and backset, it suits many future options, though the model chosen later still sets its own bore, backset and thickness requirements. Keypad and app-controlled deadbolts fit the same 54 mm cross bore and the same edge bore as the mechanical lock fitted today, so upgrading later means swapping the hardware, not cutting the door again. The backset and bore measurements are written on the packaging left with you. If you want to think about a keypad down the road, ask the locksmith which models suit the door thickness and whether a backup keyed cylinder is worth having for the one day the batteries are flat.
Deadbolt Installation
In the van
- 25 mm auger bit
- Rekeying pins and key blanks
- Single-cylinder deadbolt
- Manufacturer's bore template
- Reinforced strike plate
What affects the quote
Same fees day, night or weekend
1Non-standard bore or backset
Older doors with a small cross bore, an unusual backset or a mortise lock case need adapting or filling before a modern deadbolt fits, and that preparation is quoted before work begins.
2Keying alike or a fresh key
Pinning the new cylinder to your existing key, or setting several doors to a new key, is bench work quoted per cylinder, plus the number of keys you ask to have cut.
3New bore or replacement into existing holes
Boring a door that has never had a deadbolt takes more time and tooling than dropping a new bolt into holes that are already there, and the quote reflects which of the two your door needs.
Deadbolt Installation: questions
Why does the strike plate matter so much?
The strike is the metal plate the bolt throws into, and it is where a kicked door usually fails: short screws bite only into the thin jamb board, which splits. A reinforced strike or strike box fastened with 75 mm screws passes through the jamb into the stud behind, so a blow is met by the framing of the house. On a wood frame, strike screws that reach at least 30 mm into solid wood behind the jamb are what actually holds.
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.
I just moved in. Should the new deadbolt be keyed to a new key?
It is a good moment for it. Nobody knows how many copies of a previous owner's key exist, so pinning the new bolt, and the rest of the exterior doors, to one fresh key retires all of them at once. Lock manufacturers list a move as one of the main reasons to rekey. You come away with a known number of keys, each tested in every door it is meant to open.
Change or Rekey Locks
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeThe house is fifteen years old and every exterior door still wears the light hardware the builder…
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceSomeone painted the door years ago without removing the hardware.
- Smart Lock InstallationYour mother still lives on her own, and the personal support worker, the pharmacy delivery and two…
Deadbolt Installation near you
The lock services offered in Welland are grouped the way a door is used. Getting back in when you are locked out. Deciding who holds a working key. Upgrading the hardware so the door resists more than a casual try. Keeping commercial entrances working. Opening and maintaining safes. Each is described below.