Choosing and Installing New Locks on Your Doors

Doors call for new locks for a handful of ordinary reasons. A new build or an addition has openings that were never fitted. An old lock has worn out. A door that once had only a knob needs a deadbolt. A shed, workshop or gate has been using a hasp and a prayer. Or a household has decided the existing hardware no longer suits how it lives.

Installing a lock is more than drilling a hole. The lock has to match the thickness of the door, the position of the edge bore, the spacing of the frame and the finish of the neighboring hardware. A lock that almost fits is a lock that will give trouble, and the trouble usually appears in winter when the door is already under stress.

Our team at Redding Mobile Locksmith arrives in uniforms and a branded service van with a stock of common hardware and the tools for fitting it. Many installations are completed during a single visit, and when a door needs special parts or preparation, we say so up front.

Sometimes the trigger is a change of situation instead of a failure. A new tenant, a new business owner, a house for sale or a family with a toddler may all raise the same question: do the doors do what we need them to do? We are glad to look at a door with fresh eyes and tell you what, if anything, deserves upgrading.

A knob or lever set with a keyed cylinder provides the door latch and, if keyed, basic locking. It holds the door closed and keeps it from drifting, and it adds some privacy. It does not stop a determined push, because the latch is a small angled tongue and the lock is rarely the strongest part of the setup.

A deadbolt is a separate lock with a square bolt that extends into the frame. It does not spring back when pushed, which is why it adds real resistance. Single cylinder deadbolts use a key outside and a thumb turn inside. Double cylinder deadbolts need a key on both sides, which can be a safety concern in an emergency, so many households avoid them.

Mortise locks, rim locks and multipoint locks are less common in modern homes but appear on older doors, glass doors and certain commercial entrances. Keypad and smart locks add electronics. Each type has strengths and tradeoffs, and our field note on cylinder types in simple terms adds more detail.

Residential locks are sorted into grades according to how much punishment they are built to take. A lower grade is meant for light duty and may use thinner metal and smaller parts. A middle grade handles most households well. A top grade uses heavier components and is meant for harsh use or higher security needs.

The grade tells you something real about durability and resistance, but it is not the whole story. A strong lock on a weak door or a poor frame is only as good as the weakest part. The strike plate, the screws, the door thickness and the frame wood all matter. See our guide on choosing a deadbolt grade in plain words for more.

When we recommend a lock, we explain why in terms of your door and your situation. A rental unit might need something durable and rekeyable. A cabin might prefer something that handles moisture and cold. A shop might need a heavy duty lock because it is used dozens of times daily.

There is no reason to buy more lock than you need. A secondary door facing a fenced yard may be fine with a solid middle grade deadbolt, while a front door facing a quiet road may deserve a stronger one. We help you spend where it counts and avoid where it does not.

Doors vary in material and construction. Solid wood doors take hardware well, though they swell and shrink. Hollow core interior doors are thin and meant for privacy, not security. Steel and fiberglass exterior doors have their own bore sizes and internal blocks, and the hardware must be compatible with them.

We measure the door thickness, the backset, which is the distance from the edge of the door to the center of the bore, and the existing hole sizes. Standard residential doors follow common dimensions, though older homes and custom doors often do not. Mismatches can be fixed with adapters or reinforcement, and we carry common ones.

The frame matters as much as the door. A deadbolt thrown into a thin jamb that is held by two short screws provides little protection. We check the jamb and strike, and if needed we reinforce them with a heavier strike plate and longer screws that reach the framing behind the trim.

Swing direction deserves its own mention. An outswing door exposes its hinges to the outside, and the hinge pins must be protected or the door can be lifted away. Inswing doors rely more on the strike and frame. We check which you have and fit the right protections.

• Door thickness and material, since each handles hardware differently.
• Backset and bore size, which decide whether a lock will fit.
• Jamb condition and the strength of the frame around the strike.
• Swing direction and whether the door opens inward or outward.
• Finish and style, so the new lock sits well with other hardware.

First we mark the position for the lock and check it against any existing holes. If the bore is already there, we confirm the fit. If not, we use a hole saw and a bore jig to drill the face and edge cleanly. A clean bore matters, because a ragged one lets the lock rock and wear.

Next we fit the latch or bolt into the edge, install the cylinder and the interior assembly, and secure everything with the right screws. We set the strike in the frame, mortise it so the bolt meets it squarely, and fasten it with screws long enough to bite into solid wood behind the jamb.

Last we test. The bolt should extend fully, retract smoothly, and engage the strike without rubbing. The key should turn freely. The door should close without needing a shove. We check these things several times and under normal use, because a lock that works once is not the same as a lock that works every day.

If the door has an old lock in it, we remove it carefully and look at what is behind. Hidden damage, such as split wood around the old bore, may need repair before the new lock can sit firmly. We tell you what we find and fix it as part of the job, so the new hardware does not inherit the old problem.

A new lock can be keyed to match others on the property. Keyed alike installations let one key open several doors, a convenience that suits many households. We set the new lock to the same pattern as the others, or rekey the others to match the new one, depending on which is simpler.

For a business or a rental, a master key system gives different people different access. One key opens one door, and a master key opens several. Our guide on what a master key system is explains how that works and what the tradeoffs are.

Whatever approach you choose, keep a record. A short written list of which key opens which doors, and who holds copies, saves you from confusion when you need to change something later. Our rekeying service follows naturally if keys ever need to be reset.

A little preparation makes the visit smoother. Walk around the property and list every opening that needs a lock, including garage entry doors, side doors, sheds and gates. People often count the front door and forget the others, and a second visit costs time for everyone.

Clear the area around each door so we can work comfortably. Move planters, boots and mats, and put pets in a safe room. If a door is painted or stained and you want the new hardware to match, find the finish you have in mind. If you have a lock you like, take a photo of it or the packaging, since it helps us match style and size.

Think about how you use each door. Who comes and goes, how often, and with what in their hands? A door used daily with grocery bags calls for a lever that is easy to operate. A door rarely used may care more about security than convenience. These small observations help us shape the right recommendation.

Keypad locks remove the key from daily life. You enter a code, and the bolt moves. For rentals, family homes with children and shops with several users, they can be a good fit. They also bring batteries, codes and, in some cases, apps, each of which needs managing.

Smart locks connect to a phone or a home network. They can log entries, share temporary codes and lock on a schedule. They also depend on the quality of the door, the strength of the bolt, and the habits of the people using them. A fancy lock on a poorly hung door is still a poorly hung door.

We install these locks with a careful eye on the mechanical side, because the motor can only do what the door allows. We also discuss what happens if the batteries die, and we make sure a mechanical key backup works. Our guide on smart locks, promises and practical limits goes further.

For homes with several people coming and going, a keypad lock can reduce lost key calls. For vacation rentals, it avoids handing metal keys to every guest. For a household with a forgetful teenager or an aging parent, a code may be easier than a key. Each of these is a real benefit, so long as the batteries are watched.

Sheds, barns, workshops and gates in the North State often take the hardest wear. They face weather, dust and long periods of disuse, and they often rely on hasps and padlocks. A lock for an outbuilding should be built for the outdoors, with a hardened shackle, a weather resistant body and a mount that cannot simply be unscrewed from outside.

Sliding glass doors and patio doors use different hardware. Their latches hook into the frame, and secondary locks or bars add resistance. Garage entry doors lead into the house and should be treated like any other exterior door. We install the right locks on each and explain the reasons.

If you are unsure what suits a particular opening, describe it. A gate across a country driveway, a sliding door facing a deck and a barn door in a rural pasture each call for their own solution. Our guides on barn, shop and outbuilding locks and gates and padlocks on rural property offer more.

Location matters for outbuildings. A shed visible from the road faces different risks than a barn tucked behind a hill. We ask where it stands, who passes it, and what it holds, then suggest hardware that matches the actual risk instead of a one size answer.

A business door faces heavier use and different rules. Commercial locks are built for thousands of cycles, and entrances often include closers, exit devices and strikes that must work together. Fire safety and accessibility rules vary by location and use, so we ask what you need to meet and encourage you to check with the people who set those requirements.

For offices, shops and restaurants, the lock needs to be strong enough for security and simple enough for staff. Too complicated and keys end up propped or shared. Too simple and the building is exposed. Our commercial door hardware page and our commercial locksmith overview go through the options.

We work around your hours when we can, and we leave the building secure at the end of the visit. If we cannot finish in one go, we tell you plainly what is in place and what remains, so you know where you stand.

A shared building raises another question: who controls the locks? A tenant may not be allowed to change an entrance lock without permission, and a landlord may need a master key. These rules vary, so we suggest you check with the property owner or manager before ordering work, and we can fit the job to whatever arrangement applies.

We install locks across seventeen communities in Shasta and Siskiyou County, from the valley around Redding to the mountain towns along Interstate 5 and the high country around Yreka and Etna. Weather and distance shape the plan, and we adjust for both.

If you are replacing a worn lock, our page on lock repair helps you decide whether repair or replacement fits. If you are adding locks to a new home, our residential locksmith page gives the wider picture.

When you are ready, send a request through the form on our contact page. Our phone line is coming soon, so the form is how requests reach us for now. Tell us how many doors, what kind of doors, and what you want the locks to do.