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Wasaga BeachLock Services · Kettle's BeachOpen 24/7(249) 492-2389Request a visit
Close view of a satin-nickel deadbolt thumbturn and edge faceplate on a painted timber door. — Deadbolt Installation, Kettle's Beach

Change or rekey · Kettle's Beach

Deadbolt Installation in Kettle's Beach

The front door has a handsome lever and a keyed knob, and that is all. Nothing above it.

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Deadbolt Installation

In plain words

The right deadbolt for a door depends on how the door is used and where it sits. A front door that a family goes through twenty times a day needs a durable mechanism and a finish that shrugs off salt spray and sun; a side door in a laneway wants a heavy bolt and a strike that reaches the framing. Residential deadbolts carry letter grades for security, durability and finish, and heavier commercial-pattern bolts carry numbered grades, so there is a plain way to compare. The locksmith talks through those options, then fits the one you choose with the same care whichever grade it is.

Sound familiar?

The 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.

How the visit goes

Kettle's Beach

How the visit goes

  1. 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.

  2. Testing open, then closed, then keyed alike

    The finished lock is proved in three stages. With the door open, the thumb-turn and then the key are cycled several times to confirm the bolt throws fully and returns freely. With the door closed, the same tests show whether the bolt clears the strike opening and seats in the pocket; any drag is marked with chalk and the strike is dressed or shifted until the bolt moves with fingertip effort. If the cylinder is being keyed to the household key, it is repinned on the bench and tested from outside with the door closed, and every key that should work is tried before the tools go back in the van.

  3. A safer way out as well as a stronger way in

    With a thumb-turn inside, everyone in the household can leave through this door without hunting for a key, day or night. The locksmith walks the family through the thumb-turn and shows children how it turns. If a double-cylinder bolt was replaced, the inside key is no longer needed at all and can be retired. Where glass sits near the lock, whatever measure you agreed on, a thumb-turn that locks with its own small key, a laminated pane, or a tested security-film system that can delay an arm's reach, is in place, so security did not come at the cost of a clear way out.

Deadbolt Installation

In the van

  • Jamb reinforcer
  • 75 mm (3 in) strike screws
  • Manufacturer's bore template
  • Rekeying pins and key blanks
  • Boring jig and 54 mm hole saw

What affects the quote

Same fees day, night or weekend

  1. 1Keying 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.

  2. 2Number of doors

    One front door is the simplest case. Front, back, side and garage-to-house doors done in one visit share the travel and setup, so the per-door figure usually eases as the count rises.

  3. 3Non-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.

What to have ready

0 of 3 ready

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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.

Does a deadbolt work with a storm door or screen door?

It does, with one check: the thumb-turn and the outside cylinder have to clear the storm door when it closes. Most storm doors leave enough depth, but a low-profile deadbolt trim is chosen where the gap is tight. The storm door's own latch is separate and does not replace a bolt on the main door, since a screen frame gives little resistance on its own.

Can a keypad or smart deadbolt be fitted instead of a keyed one?

Yes, and the preparation is the same. Many electronic deadbolts use the standard 54 mm bore and the same edge bore, so a door cut for a mechanical bolt often accepts one, and a keyed bolt fitted today can usually be swapped for a keypad later, subject to that model's own bore, backset and thickness needs. The locksmith checks door thickness against the model, fits a reinforced strike as usual, sets up codes with you and shows where the backup cylinder or battery terminals are.

Change or Rekey Locks

Two detached brass lock cylinders and four house keys on a wooden counter. — Lock Rekeying, Kettle's Beach
Lock RekeyingThe previous owners left a coffee tin of keys on the counter, some labelled, most not.

Deadbolt Installation near you

Lock work in Kettle's Beach is rarely just one thing. A lockout often reveals a worn cylinder; a rekey is a good moment to fix a strike that never lined up. The services below are described one at a time, but a locksmith at your door will happily point out anything else worth doing while he is there.

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