Fitting A Lock To A Front Door

Take care with the marking out and drilling to ensure excellent results.

Fitting a lock to a front door.

The difference between a rim lock and a mortice lock is that a rim lock is fitted on the surface of the door whilst a mortice lock is fitted in the door edge. It doesn t really pay to have interior door knobs or locks professionally repaired unless they are special. If you only fit one lock go for an automatically dead locking night latch made to bs3621. To install this lock see section 4 below.

It s annoying to fumble through half a dozen keys because the front door key doesn t fit the backdoor or the side door locks and vice versa. Fitting a mortise lock. Where the door is self closing the latch has an angled or rounded edge and is sprung so that it automatically locks when the door is closed. An improperly functioning latch may be the result of a poorly fitting door.

Locksmiths typically charge a fee to re key an individual lock even when you bring it to their shop. Re keying kits are available for most lock brands but they re not interchangeable. If the deadbolt comes with an interior plate and a decorative outer plate with a recessed screw just place the interior plate over the hole from the inside. Expert tip fitting a night latch that is british standard approved will improve the security of your door.

Insert the exterior part of the lock into the door by feeding the long metal piece through the opening in the center of the bolt. For serious lock problems it is usually best to call a locksmith or to replace the lock entirely. When possible fit two locks on your front door both to bs3621 standard. Most interior door knobs are relatively inexpensive to replace.

The convenience of having a single key fit all the. Since most homes have multiple doors with multiple locks re keying can get expensive. Position a mortice deadlock about halfway up the door and fit a night latch on your front door one third of the way down. You can re key a lock like a pro at a fraction of the cost.

Fitting a mortise lock is quite straightforward but does need accurate measurements to ensure everything fits correctly. The key to success is getting the hole for the cylinder in the right position. Interior doors are usually fitted with a mortise lock with a latch operated by the door handle or knob.