Sound familiar?Hamilton
- The call
- The lever on the side door droops toward the floor and rattles in your hand. The latch no longer springs back on its own, so the door drifts open behind you unless you pull it shut and check it twice.
The lever on the side door droops toward the floor and rattles in your hand. The latch no longer springs back on its own, so the door drifts open behind you unless you pull it shut and check it twice.
In plain words
Moving into a home is the classic moment for this service, because you inherit whatever hardware and whatever key copies the previous owners left behind. The locksmith walks every exterior door with you and sorts the locks into three piles: sound hardware worth keeping and rekeying, worn hardware worth replacing, and doors with no deadbolt at all. Everything that stays is pinned to one new key, new locks are keyed to match, and old copies floating around town stop mattering. You leave the visit knowing exactly which key opens which door and how many of them exist.
Lock Replacement & Upgrade · Hamilton
How the visit goes
Scene 1
Measuring the existing preparation
Before any product is chosen the door is measured. Backset first, the distance from the door edge to the centre of the bore, which on most doors here is 60 or 70 millimetres. Then the cross-bore diameter, the edge-bore size, the shape of the latch faceplate, the door thickness and the handing. The strike cut-out and any glass, trim or storm door that limits where hardware can sit are noted too. These few numbers decide which locks will drop straight into the door and which would need a filler plate, an extension kit or fresh drilling, so they are written down before the catalogue is opened.
Scene 2
Setting and reinforcing the strike
The strike side is where a replacement earns most of its value. With the door closed, the bolt is thrown and its mark checked against the pocket so the strike can be positioned to accept the full throw without rubbing. A shallow pocket is deepened until the bolt seats to its stop. Then a reinforced strike or a strike box is fitted using 75 millimetre screws that pass through the jamb and bite into the framing behind it, which is what stops a jamb splitting under a kick. Where an old forced entry has cracked the wood, it is glued and dowelled or a repair plate is fitted first.
Scene 3
A smart lock with its backup arranged
A keypad or smart deadbolt leaves the visit with codes set for each person, auto-lock and alerts configured, and any phone pairing confirmed while the locksmith is there to check it. You are shown the low-battery signal so you recognise it, and the type of battery the maker calls for. The mechanical override key is the piece to look after: keep it on a keyring or with a neighbour rather than inside the home it opens. A second person's code is set up before the locksmith leaves, so a flat phone or a forgotten code is never a reason to stand on the porch.
In the van
- Knob or lever entry set
- Boring jig and hole saws
- Filler plates and thick-door extension kits
- Manufacturer-approved cylinder lubricant
- Handleset with matching deadbolt
What shapes the quoteBuchanan Lock Services
- Changes to the door preparation
- Adjusting a strike mortise is minor; boring a new hole for a deadbolt, fitting a filler plate over an old mortise pocket or adapting a thick door with extension kits is quoted as its own item.
- Restricted keyway system
- Patented cylinders and controlled key blanks cost more than standard hardware and involve setting up your key records, which is quoted separately from an ordinary replacement.
- Special-order hardware
- Most standard locks come from the van. A specific style, an unusual finish or a restricted system may need ordering, which affects scheduling and is noted in the quote rather than discovered on the day.
FeesSame any hour
What to expect, answered
Should I rekey my locks or replace them?
Rekey when the hardware is sound and the problem is the key: a lost copy, a move, or too many keys for one house. Replace when the mechanism itself is worn, the housing or bolt is damaged, the grade was never suitable for the entrance, or you want a different function, finish or a keypad. Many visits do both, keeping good locks and rekeying them while replacing the tired ones, all to one key.
Can a lever replace a knob on the same door?
Yes, and it is a common change for anyone who finds a knob hard to grip. Levers use the same bore and backset as knobs, so the swap is usually a direct fit. Levers are handed, so the locksmith checks which way the door swings and chooses or adjusts the lever accordingly. A keyed entry lever pairs well with a deadbolt above it, and interior passage and privacy levers complete the set.
What happens to the old lock?
It is yours. Some people keep a sound old cylinder as a spare or move a decent deadbolt to a shed or garage door, and the locksmith can rekey it to the house key for that purpose. Worn or damaged hardware is taken away for recycling if you prefer. Either way, the old keys should be gathered up and discarded so nobody confuses them with the new set.
Change or Rekey Locks
- Deadbolt InstallationThe bolt on the front door is keyed on both sides.
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceSomeone painted the door years ago without removing the hardware.
- Smart Lock InstallationThere are four copies of the front-door key floating around: one with the cleaner, one with a neighbour, one on a hook at your…
- Gate & Building Entry LocksBetween the front gate, the side gate and the one behind the shed, there are three different padlocks, three different keys, and…
- Mailbox Lock ReplacementYou've just moved in, and the mailbox compartment in the lobby came with a single key the previous owner mailed back separately…
Hamiltoninformation
HamiltonOntario
Lock Replacement & Upgrade · Buchanan, Central, Chedoke Park, Cootes Paradise, Corktown, Hamilton Beach, Hopkins Court, Hopkins Survey, McDonald Court, North End, University Gardens, Waterdown, West Hamilton, Westdale, Pleasant View Survey
- Town
- Hamilton
- In business
- 15 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7
- Nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 203-1527
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
2021 census: what it means at the door
Every square is one home in a hundred.
- 61 in 100 homes · older homes
- 56 in 100 homes · mixed housing
- About 61% of homes in Hamilton were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.Older homes tend to have had many hands on their doors: owners, tenants, tradespeople, family. A locksmith visiting such a house pays attention to who holds keys now, and rekeying or a keyed-alike set often matters more than any new hardware.
- Single-detached houses make up about 56% of homes in Hamilton (2021 Census).In an area with both houses and attached homes, the work varies by the door. A detached house wants all its exterior doors on one key; a suite door wants a cylinder that suits a metal frame and respects building rules. A locksmith carries parts for both.
Nearby
On-site assessment
Request a visit.
The lever on the side door droops toward the floor and rattles in your hand.
(289) 203-1527, open 24/7.