Most calls start with one door, but a house has more locks than people think: the front and back doors, the slider, the door in from the garage, the storage room under a raised house, a side gate, the mailbox. Looking at all of them in the same visit is how you find the one that has been quietly failing for two summers.
The work covers new locks and deadbolts, changing out worn hardware, setting doors to one key, and getting you back inside when the door has shut on your keys. Each job starts with a look at the door and a free estimate.
Sliding doors facing a deck or the water are often the weakest door on a shore house. The factory latch is a small hook that wears quickly, and sand in the track keeps the door from closing tight enough to catch.
A better slider lock, a keyed lock where the door allows one, or a secondary lock lower on the frame makes a real difference. The track and the latch are checked together, since a door that won't close fully will never lock well no matter what hardware it carries.
Salt air works its way into every lock near the water. Keys start to drag, deadbolts stop throwing all the way, and a cylinder that has corroded inside can snap a key. Some of those locks can be cleaned up and serviced; others are past saving and are better swapped for hardware with a finish meant for the coast.
You hear which is which, lock by lock, before anything is touched. For a house that sits closed all winter, a look at the locks before the season opens saves a scramble on the first warm weekend.
Plenty of older shore houses still rely on a knob lock on the side door or the door in from the garage. A knob latch keeps a door shut; it does very little against someone pushing on it. Adding a deadbolt means boring the door, setting a strike in the frame and making sure the bolt slides home without a shove.
The ground-level doors under raised houses deserve the same attention. They lead to storage, utilities and sometimes the stairs up, and they are often the least visible door on the property.
Most homes need one trip, however many doors are on the list.
Front, back, slider, garage entry, storage and gate, plus what is wrong with each.
An ID with the address, closing papers or a lease, looked at before any lock work.
New locks, deadbolts or servicing, done door by door once you approve.
Each key is worked in each lock with you, and the old keys are shown to be dead.
The door between the garage and the house is the one most often forgotten. It is usually on a light-duty knob lock, it may not match any other key, and once the garage door is open it is the only thing standing between the driveway and the kitchen.
A deadbolt on that door, keyed the same as the front, closes the gap. If the garage has its own keypad or opener remotes, it is worth knowing who still holds those as well, because they open the way to that inside door.
Many owners also add a peephole or a better strike plate on the same visit, since the door between garage and house tends to be lighter than the front door.
Condo mailbox locks, gate latches with a key, shed padlocks and the lock on an outdoor shower all come up on shore calls, and they can be handled on the same visit as the house doors.
Houses with a rental unit, a basement apartment or an in-law suite often need a simple key plan: each unit on its own key, and the owner's key opening the shared doors and the utility room. It keeps tenants out of each other's space without leaving the owner with a ring of twenty keys.
When the door shuts with the keys inside, call and say which door you are standing at. Before anything is opened, the technician confirms you live there, then opens the door with the least disturbance to the lock and frame, and checks that it still locks properly afterwards.
If you are tired of keys altogether, a keypad on the main door is worth a look. Codes for family, guests and cleaners are covered on our keypad and smart lock page.
Yes. Each unit gets its own key, and the owner's key can open the shared doors and the utility room, so nobody carries more keys than they need.
Yes. The door is bored, a strike is set in the frame, and the bolt is adjusted so it slides home easily. The free estimate covers it before any drilling.
Proof that you live there: an ID with the address, closing papers or a lease. It's checked before any door is opened.
It depends on how far the corrosion has gone. Some locks come back with cleaning and new parts; others are better replaced with hardware meant for the coast. You hear which, door by door.
Yes. Mailbox locks, gate locks and storage padlocks can be handled on the same visit as the house doors.
Usually. A stronger latch, a keyed lock where the door allows it, or a secondary lock on the frame all help, and the track is checked so the door closes fully.
Yes. After a sale, the outside locks are either rekeyed so the old keys stop working or swapped for new hardware, whichever suits the doors. Everything is explained with the free estimate.
Yes. Keypads and app locks are handled on the same visit if you want one on the main door.
Yes. Every door on your list is looked at and the free estimate comes before any work.
Tell us your street and we send a tech.
