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Wasaga BeachLock Services · Wasaga 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, Wasaga Beach

Change or rekey · Wasaga Beach

Deadbolt Installation

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

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?

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

Wasaga 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. Marking and boring a fresh door

    With the height agreed, the paper template is folded over the door edge and the two centres are marked: the cross bore on the face and the edge bore on the stile. A boring jig clamps over the door so the hole saw cannot wander, and the cross bore is cut from both faces to leave clean veneer or skin on each side. The edge bore is drilled with a 25 mm bit through the stile until it meets the larger hole. The locksmith then traces the bolt faceplate on the edge and chisels a shallow mortise so the plate sits flush, keeping the cut inside the lines so the edge stays sound.

  3. 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

  • 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. 1Rental and building requirements

    Matching a building's keyway, providing keys to a landlord or fitting a lock that a condominium corporation specifies can add hardware or bench work, each shown as its own item.

  2. 2Door and hinge corrections

    A sagging door, loose hinge screws or thick weatherstrip are put right before a bolt is fitted, and that adjustment is quoted as its own line rather than folded into the lock.

  3. 3Number 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.

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, Wasaga Beach
Lock RekeyingThe previous owners left a coffee tin of keys on the counter, some labelled, most not.

Deadbolt Installation near you

Whatever brought you to this page from Wasaga Beach, whether it was a lockout, a lost key, a move, a break-in or simply a door that has annoyed you for months, one of the services below fits. Each is written to tell you what happens, what it involves, and what you have when the locksmith leaves.

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