Change or rekey · Coronation Gardens
Deadbolt Installation in Coronation Gardens
You moved in three weeks ago. The previous owner left a handful of keys, none labelled, and the bolt on the side door rattles in its housing.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 278-0778In 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.
How the visit goesThe old deadbolt has grown lazy. You turn the thumb-turn and the bolt creeps out halfway, then needs a second push with the door pulled tight. Some mornings the key has to be jiggled before it will come back out.
Deadbolt Installation · Coronation Gardens
How the visit goes
- 1
The frame behind the strike
A bolt is only as good as what it throws into, so the jamb gets a hard look before anything is ordered. The locksmith checks whether the jamb is wood or steel, whether it is backed by solid framing at lock height or by a gap of shims and air, and whether earlier screws have torn out or been stripped. A jamb that flexes under a palm tells its own story. Where a strike has been fitted before, the old pocket is examined for depth and position, since a shallow or offset pocket is the usual reason an existing deadbolt feels stiff. This check decides between a plain strike, a reinforced strike with long screws, or a full-length jamb reinforcer.
- 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
Keys that open what they should
You leave with the keys sorted, whichever way you chose. If the new cylinder was pinned to your existing key, every ring in the house still works and the new door has simply joined the set. If it was set to a fresh key, you have a small bundle of new keys, cut from the pins rather than copied from a worn original, and a clear idea of which old keys no longer matter. Count them, decide who carries one, and test each in the new bolt before the locksmith leaves. A spare kept with a trusted neighbour or in a small lockbox is worth arranging on the same afternoon.
In the van
- Jamb reinforcer
- Manufacturer's bore template
- Boring jig and 54 mm hole saw
- Bolt faceplate or drive-in collar
- 75 mm (3 in) strike screws
What affects the quote
- 1
Non-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.
- 2
Removing and disposing of the old hardware
Some visits end with the old deadbolt and strike left with the homeowner, and others ask for it to be removed and hauled away. Taking the old hardware away adds a small amount of time and is agreed before the new deadbolt goes in.
- 3
Storm door or restricted clearance
A tight storm door, a narrow lock stile or a decorative panel at bolt height can require low-profile trim or a shifted position, which is settled and quoted at the assessment.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Deadbolt Installation: questions
How high above the knob does the deadbolt go?
The usual position is 140 to 150 mm above the centre of the knob, which lines the two locks up and keeps both within one reach. Manufacturers' templates assume that spacing, which helps a later keypad or handleset line up, though many handlesets still need their own lower hole drilled to that model's template. The height is nudged if it would land on glass, a decorative panel or a hollow spot inside an insulated door, and to make sure the frame behind it is solid.
Someone forced my door. Can the new deadbolt go into the same frame?
In most cases, yes. The locksmith examines the jamb for splits and stripped screw holes, glues and pins any cracked section, and fits a full-length jamb reinforcer under the strike so the new long screws bite into sound wood and the stud behind. A new pocket is bored to the correct depth. Where the jamb is beyond repair, replacing that section of frame is discussed before any lock goes on.
Will drilling a new deadbolt damage my steel or fibreglass door?
Not when it is done for that door. Steel-clad doors are cut with a fine-toothed hole saw run slowly through the skin, guided by a jig so the saw cannot skate on the smooth face, and finished from both sides so each skin stays clean. Fibreglass is scored first so the surface does not chip. Shavings are vacuumed from the foam core, and the edge is finished with a collar or plate suited to the stile inside.
Deadbolt Installation near you
Durham, Ontario
Coronation Gardens information
- Town
- Coronation Gardens, Durham, Ontario
- In business
- 13 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 278-0778
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
25%
Newer homes. About 25% of homes in Whitby were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Where housing is new, garage entries, side doors and the front door were usually fitted at the same time but not always to the same key. Keying them alike is a small job that makes the household's ring simpler from the start.
70%
Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 70% of homes in Whitby (2021 Census).
In areas of single houses, the door nobody watches is the side or back entry. It often has the weakest lock on the property. Fitting a proper deadbolt and a reinforced strike there is a modest job that closes the obvious gap.
Open 24/7
Request a visit
You moved in three weeks ago.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 278-0778- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 13 years in business