The front door has a handsome lever and a keyed knob, and that is all. Nothing above it.
If your door already has a knob or lever bore and nothing above it, adding a deadbolt is a boring job in the literal sense. A jig clamps to the door at the right height, usually 140 to 150 mm above the knob centre, and guides a hole saw through the face and a smaller bit through the edge. The locksmith mortises the edge so the bolt faceplate sits flush, sets the bolt to the door's backset, then fits the cylinder outside and the thumb-turn inside. The frame is marked from the bolt itself, bored and chiselled for the strike, and the lock is tested open and closed.
Sound familiar?Welland
Deadbolt Installation · Welland
Scene 1
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.
Scene 2
A reinforced strike or strike box is centred over the pocket, squared to the edge of the jamb, and its outline is scored and chiselled to a depth that leaves the plate flush. Pilot holes are drilled, and the two holes nearest the door stop take 75 mm screws that pass through the jamb and the shim space into the stud behind, with shorter screws in the remaining holes. The long screws are driven by hand for the last turns so the heads seat without crushing the jamb. Where the jamb is thin or has been split by an earlier attempt, a full-length jamb reinforcer is fitted under the strike instead.
Scene 3
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.
What shapes the quoteMaple Park Locksmith Co.
FeesSame any hour
Know which doors you want bolted, what they are made of, and whether each already has a deadbolt or only a knob. A photo of the door face and edge helps. Have any existing keys to hand, decide whether you want everything on one key, and mention glass near the lock, a storm door in the same opening, or a rental agreement. If you have already bought hardware, keep the box and template together.
The knob or lever holds the door shut with a spring latch: a bevelled tongue that snaps into the frame and can be pushed back by anything slid into the gap. A deadbolt is a solid rectangular bar driven by the key or thumb-turn alone, and when fully thrown it locks in place so it cannot be pressed back from the edge. The knob keeps the door closed; the deadbolt keeps it locked.
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.
NiagaraOntario
Deadbolt Installation · Pelham, Crowland, Maple Park, Stop 19, Welland South, Fonthill, Kunda Park, Fenwick, Ridgeville
Every square is one home in a hundred.
On-site assessment
The front door has a handsome lever and a keyed knob, and that is all.
(365) 364-0824, open 24/7.
On-site assessment preferred · (365) 364-0824, open 24/7
