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AshburnhamLock ExpertsOpen 24/7 (249) 494-7410
Detached satin-nickel lever hardware, tubular latch and strike plate on a wooden workbench. — Lock Replacement & Upgrade, Otonabee-South Monaghan

Change or rekey · Otonabee-South Monaghan

Lock Replacement & Upgrade

Three teenagers, a dog walker, a cleaner and one house key that keeps going missing. You are tired of cutting copies and would rather give each person a code you can switch off, with a proper deadbolt behind it.

In plain words

After a break-in or an attempt, the door tells a story, and the new hardware should answer it. Splintered wood around the strike means the jamb gave before the lock did, so the repair pairs a heavier deadbolt with a reinforced strike and 75 millimetre screws that reach the framing behind the jamb. A bent bolt or cracked housing is replaced with a graded deadbolt whose bolt has a hardened core. A knob lock that was bumped or forced is swapped for a set with better pins. The aim is a whole opening that resists force, not merely a shinier lock.

Sound familiar?Otonabee-South Monaghan

The call
Someone tried the back door while you were away. The jamb is splintered around the strike, the bolt is bent, and the knob turns with a grinding feel. Everything held, barely, and you want hardware that would do better next time.

NextHow the visit goes

Lock Replacement & Upgrade · Otonabee-South Monaghan

How the visit goes

Handheld diagnostic unit with a screen and buttons lying on a dirty car floor mat, cabled to a port under the dash. — Otonabee-South Monaghan
  1. Scene 1

    Measuring the existing preparation

    Before any product is chosen the door is measured. Backset first, the distance from the door edge to the centre of the bore, which on most doors here is 60 or 70 millimetres. Then the cross-bore diameter, the edge-bore size, the shape of the latch faceplate, the door thickness and the handing. The strike cut-out and any glass, trim or storm door that limits where hardware can sit are noted too. These few numbers decide which locks will drop straight into the door and which would need a filler plate, an extension kit or fresh drilling, so they are written down before the catalogue is opened.

  2. Scene 2

    Adapting older and unusual doors

    Not every door is a standard modern slab. A century home with a mortise lock may keep its case and get a new cylinder and strike, or take a filler plate that lets a cylindrical deadbolt sit where the old case was, without hacking at the original stile. A door thicker than 45 millimetres gets extended spindles and screws. A sliding patio door gets a replacement mortise hook lock or a keyed surface bolt sized to the rail. Steel and fibreglass doors are drilled only with the right bits and a jig, and a new deadbolt above an existing knob is bored with a template so it sits square.

  3. Scene 3

    Keys counted, named and planned

    You receive the agreed number of keys, cut from the new pinning and tried in every door they should open, plus any code cards for a restricted system, which are what future copies are cut from. It is worth deciding on the spot who gets one and where the spare lives, ideally with a trusted neighbour or in a lockbox rather than in a drawer inside. If the house is now on a single key, retire every old key so none can be confused with the new one. A written list of which key does what goes in the home file.

In the van

  • Handleset with matching deadbolt
  • Boring jig and hole saws
  • Reinforced strike plate and strike box
  • Filler plates and thick-door extension kits
  • Graded deadbolt

What shapes the quoteAshburnham Lock Experts

Number of doors
One back door is a small visit; the front, back, side, garage man-door and patio slider together are a longer one, though several doors done at once share the travel and setup.
Condition of the old hardware
Hardware that comes off cleanly is one thing; painted-over trim, seized or stripped screws and a cylinder that has to be drilled out add time before the new lock can go on.
Special-order hardware
Most standard locks come from the van. A specific style, an unusual finish or a restricted system may need ordering, which affects scheduling and is noted in the quote rather than discovered on the day.

FeesSame any hour

Have it ready

Before you call · 0 / 3

(249) 494-7410

Questions we hear most

Can a lever replace a knob on the same door?

Yes, and it is a common change for anyone who finds a knob hard to grip. Levers use the same bore and backset as knobs, so the swap is usually a direct fit. Levers are handed, so the locksmith checks which way the door swings and chooses or adjusts the lever accordingly. A keyed entry lever pairs well with a deadbolt above it, and interior passage and privacy levers complete the set.

What happens to the old lock?

It is yours. Some people keep a sound old cylinder as a spare or move a decent deadbolt to a shed or garage door, and the locksmith can rekey it to the house key for that purpose. Worn or damaged hardware is taken away for recycling if you prefer. Either way, the old keys should be gathered up and discarded so nobody confuses them with the new set.

Is there anything different about steel or fibreglass doors?

The lock hardware is the same; the door construction changes the method. Steel and fibreglass doors have a wooden or composite block inside the lock stile, and existing bores are used wherever possible. Where a new deadbolt must be added, the locksmith drills with a jig and bits suited to the skin so the hole is clean and square, and fits an edge plate designed for that door. Insulated doors also move less with humidity, so alignment tends to hold well.

Otonabee-South Monaghaninformation

PeterboroughOntario

Town
Otonabee-South Monaghan, Peterborough
In business
27 years
Hours
Open 24/7
Nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
Visits
On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.

2021 census: what it means at the door

Every square is one home in a hundred.

  • 55 in 100 homes · older homes
  • About 55% of homes in Otonabee-South Monaghan were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.Established homes often have non-standard bores and backsets from an earlier generation of hardware. A locksmith working in such an area carries adapter plates and cylinders in the older sizes, so an upgrade fits the existing door instead of forcing a new one.
  • Single-detached houses make up about 89% of homes in Otonabee-South Monaghan (2021 Census).A detached house gives a locksmith room to work: full access to both sides of every door, hinges and frames included. Repairs and upgrades can be thorough, from the front deadbolt to the gate latch, with nothing off limits.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile

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On-site assessment

Request a visit.

Three teenagers, a dog walker, a cleaner and one house key that keeps going missing.

(249) 494-7410, open 24/7.