The key to changing your door locks

February 22, 2011|By Mike McClintock, Special to Tribune Newspapers

A good door lock is an unusual combination of technology designed to make it difficult for anyone to get in — but easy for you. The mechanism must be complex enough to resist a pick or a drill, beefy enough to withstand a kick-in, and still hold you up no more than a moment when it's raining and you're carrying grocery bags.

But there are many reasons for changing the old hardware, like losing a key, combining a new lock with a deadbolt, because you have to fiddle the key to make it work or because you've realized that "builder's grade" — in appliances and other products aside from hardware — is fairly close to the bottom of the barrel.

Replacing locks

If no new holes are needed in the door or jamb, replacing a handset is an easy job. Unless you change the configuration, for instance, adding a handset with a built-in deadbolt, existing openings should work. If you need to drill, locks come with a template that folds over the edge of the door and locates the hole centers.

The problem for DIYers is that handset holes are large and require a hole saw that isn't in most home toolboxes. Alignment also can be tricky in a new installation. There are jigs that attach to the door and help position your drill. But most are costly and worthwhile only for contractors.

Keyless locks

Available as handsets and as separate deadbolts, there are locks in the $750-and-up range that can read your credit card or fingerprint. More economical are electronic (battery-powered) locks with programmable keypads. Deadbolts with this feature, typically $80 and up, are somewhat larger than standard hardware, and also have a slot for a key.

Some consumers prefer them because, say, they can go for a jog without having to carry house keys, and can program a code for one day to admit a cleaning service, then change the code back for family members. Typically, these locks fit into existing holes, and are easy to install.

Re-keying locks

Kwikset, Schlage and other manufacturers have different systems. But the idea with re-keying is that you don't have to replace the entire lockset, for example, when someone loses a key. And you don't need an expensive house call from a locksmith to install a new cylinder. The handle and other parts can stay, including the row of pins inside the lock that adjust to the contours of a key and release to open the door.

Re-keyable locks come with two standard keys plus a reset key. When you insert it, the pins inside go to a neutral or standby position, and are then reset in a new configuration with new house keys from the same manufacturer. This feature is also handy if contractors fail to order locks "keyed alike," and you have different locks with different keys, say for the kitchen door versus the front door.

Within the product line from one manufacturer, you can insert the reset key and use one of the existing keys to reset the pins so that both doors open with the same key. The limitation is that not every lock in a company's line is re-keyable. With Kwikset, for example, the feature is limited to Signature Series products. Costs vary depending on the lock and the handset that contains it. The re-key feature typically costs only a few dollars more than a similar lock without it.