Change or rekey · Waterloo
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
The key turns freely in the round cylinder on the door, all the way around and back, without the bolt shifting at all. The cylinder itself wobbles slightly when you press it, as if it has come loose inside the door.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
In plain words
Vintage mortise lock service is the repair of the original lock in an older door rather than its removal. The lock is a rectangular steel case that lives inside a pocket in the door edge, and nearly everything that goes wrong with it, a tired spring, dried grease, a worn hub, a lost key, can be put right on the bench. The locksmith confirms you own or occupy the home, takes the case out through the door edge, rebuilds it, sorts out the keys and puts it back in the same pocket. The door keeps its knobs, escutcheons and history, and it locks as it did when new.
How the visit goesThe knob flops loose on its spindle and never springs back to level. When you turn it the latch pulls in, but you have to push the knob back yourself, and lately the latch has started staying inside the door instead of catching.
Waterloo
How the visit goes
Who owns the door
The first check has nothing to do with the lock. The locksmith confirms that the person asking for the work owns the home or lawfully lives in it, since a serviced lock and a freshly cut key are, in the end, a way into someone's house. Photo identification and something tying you to the address usually settles it in a moment. On a rental, the landlord and the tenant are expected to agree on lock changes and share keys, so the locksmith asks who should hold the new bit keys or cylinder keys and notes it. This small formality protects the household as much as anyone, and it is done before a screwdriver comes out.
When a case is fitted new
If the old case could not be saved, the replacement is fitted to the door rather than the door to the replacement. A reproduction or modern mortise case matching the measured height, depth, backset, faceplate and hub is chosen with the goal of it dropping into the existing pocket; where a small difference remains, the pocket is trimmed with a chisel by the least amount that works, never bored out. The original knobs, escutcheons and strike are refitted wherever their spacing allows, and a new cylinder is keyed to match the rest of the house if wanted. The result reads as the original lock from either side of the door, with the reliability of a fresh mechanism.
Looking after the finish
The brass or bronze knobs and escutcheons on an old door have earned their patina, left alone unless you ask otherwise. Paint cleaned from a faceplate or strike leaves the bare metal as found, not polished bright. If you would rather see them shine, check the finish first: unlacquered brass takes a gentle polish well, kept off the keyhole and spindle; polishing a lacquered piece can scratch through it and start tarnish underneath. Lacquered reproduction parts resist tarnishing rather than darken to match; an unlacquered reproduction is built to age and blend in over a season or two. A light wipe when dusting is all the upkeep the trim needs; wet cleaners find their way into the case.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
In the van
- Latch and hub springs
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
- Light lock oil
- Hub followers and lever packs
- Cylinder set screw
What affects the quote
Same fees day, night or weekend
1Bit key or cylinder lock
A bit-key case has keys filed by hand on the bench, while a cylinder lock is rekeyed or fitted with a new cylinder on a key machine. The two take different time and materials, and the quote follows.
2Extras you choose on the day
A high-security cylinder, a lockbox for a spare bit key or a separate modern deadbolt above the original are optional additions. None is required to make the old lock work, and each is priced as its own line.
3Making the inside key-free
Fitting a thumb-turn or interior release to a deadbolt that was keyed on both sides is its own small item, and one most owners of an entry door choose to include.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service: questions
Does a rented home need the landlord involved for this work?
Repairing a lock so it works as before is ordinary maintenance, but anything that changes who can open the door, such as a rekeyed cylinder or new keys, is something a tenant and landlord are expected to agree on and share keys for. The locksmith asks up front who should receive keys and can leave a note of what was done for the property manager, so both sides know what is on the door.
Is it safe to keep a deadbolt that is keyed on both sides of the entry door?
It is better not to. A bolt that needs a key from inside can trap the household when a key is not to hand, and a door people leave the home through works better opening without keys or special knowledge. During service the locksmith fits a thumb-turn to the bolt tail or otherwise makes the inside release without a key, keeping the vintage lock and the clear way out.
Which parts usually need replacing?
Springs, first and foremost: the latch spring, the hub spring that returns the knob, and the small springs on the deadbolt levers. After that, the spindle and knob set screws, a hub whose square has worn round, a worn deadbolt lever or follower, and on later locks the cylinder set screw or the cylinder itself. Bolts, cases and trim are almost always kept, cleaned and refitted rather than replaced.
Change or Rekey Locks
Vintage Mortise Lock Service near you
Every lock service we provide in Waterloo starts with the same first step, which is looking at the door properly before deciding anything. The individual pages below explain what that look involves for each job, how the work is carried out, and what to expect from the hardware afterwards.