Change or rekey · Toronto
Deadbolt Installation in Toronto
The bolt on the front door is keyed on both sides. Getting out at night means finding the key in the dark, and with a toddler in the house you have decided the inside should turn by hand.
Deadbolt Installation
In plain words
Replacing an existing deadbolt is usually a matter of matching rather than cutting. The locksmith measures the cross bore, the edge bore and the backset, checks the door thickness, and picks a bolt that drops into the holes you already have. Where the old lock was a builder-grade unit, the replacement can step up to a heavier grade with a hardened bolt, a free-turning collar around the cylinder and a low-profile face that gives a wrench nothing to grip. The old strike is checked against the new bolt's instructions, and where it calls for it, a reinforced strike and long screws go in while the door is already apart.
How the visit goesYou bought a keypad deadbolt online and pulled the old one off, only to find the hole in the door is a different size and the bolt latch sits at a backset the new kit does not list. The door is now open and the box is on the counter.
Toronto
How the visit goes
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.
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.
A frame that now holds the bolt
Behind the new strike plate is the part of the job you cannot see and will never need to think about. The pocket has been bored deep enough for the bolt to seat fully, the plate has been let into the jamb so it sits flush, and the long screws reach through the jamb into the framing behind it. On a door that had been forced or had stripped screw holes, a full-length reinforcer may sit under the strike. If you press the jamb with your palm now, it does not flex. That stiffness is what a bolt needs to do its work, and it is the reason the installation took as long on the frame as on the door.
Deadbolt Installation
In the van
- Rekeying pins and key blanks
- Single-cylinder deadbolt
- Manufacturer's bore template
- Bolt faceplate or drive-in collar
- Boring jig and 54 mm hole saw
What affects the quote
Same fees day, night or weekend
1Mechanical, keypad or smart lock
Electronic deadbolts carry a different hardware line and add setup time for codes, pairing to a phone and a walk-through, all of which appear as their own entries.
2Rental 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.
3Door 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.
Deadbolt Installation: questions
How do I look after a deadbolt once it is installed?
Very little is needed. Each spring and autumn, lock the door from inside and feel whether the bolt still goes home without the door being pulled; if it hesitates, the door has moved with the season and a small strike adjustment restores it. Whatever lubricant the lock's own maker specifies keeps it smooth, often a dry PTFE or graphite type in the keyway and along the bolt, though some cylinders are meant to be serviced with oil. In winter, wipe road salt off the outside trim to protect the finish.
I just moved in. Should the new deadbolt be keyed to a new key?
It is a good moment for it. Nobody knows how many copies of a previous owner's key exist, so pinning the new bolt, and the rest of the exterior doors, to one fresh key retires all of them at once. Lock manufacturers list a move as one of the main reasons to rekey. You come away with a known number of keys, each tested in every door it is meant to open.
How long should the bolt be?
The bolt should extend at least 25 mm into the frame, which is the standard throw for a dwelling's entrance doors and the length most residential deadbolts provide. Part of the bolt stays inside the door for support while the rest sits in the pocket. A hardened steel insert that spins under a saw blade is a common feature worth having on doors that face a street or laneway.
Change or Rekey Locks
Deadbolt Installation near you
Residents and business owners in Toronto can use this list to find the service that fits, then read what it involves before anyone comes out. Emergency openings are here. So are rekeys, lock changes, deadbolt and high-security upgrades, commercial door hardware, master keys, safes and key cutting.