After a wet summer the entry door sits lower in its frame. The lock works perfectly when the door is open, but with it shut you have to lift the handle and shoulder the door to get the deadbolt to throw.
Servicing the original lock is usually the better choice for an older home, for practical reasons as much as sentimental ones. Cutting a period door for a modern cylindrical lockset means boring a large hole through the stile and leaves the old mortise to be filled; a repaired mortise case avoids all of that. Where the home is a designated heritage property, keeping the hardware may also be what the municipality expects. The service treats the door as something to preserve: minimal disturbance, parts matched to the original, a strike adjusted rather than replaced, and the old lock left running smoothly for decades to come.
Sound familiar?Smithfield
Vintage Mortise Lock Service · Smithfield
Scene 1
Before blaming a lock that may be perfectly sound, the locksmith looks at the door. With it open, the lock is cycled; with it closed, the latch and deadbolt are tried again. A lock that works open and fights when shut is telling you the door has moved. The gap around the door is checked top to bottom, the hinges are watched for a sag when the door is lifted, and the strike plate is inspected for bright wear marks where the bolt has been scraping past. In an older home with a solid wood door this is a routine finding, and correcting it is often most of the repair.
Scene 2
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.
Scene 3
If the entry door's deadbolt was keyed from both sides, the service leaves the inside operable without a key: a thumb-turn fitted to the bolt tail, or a knob function that releases the latch from inside. This is simply good sense for a door people use to leave the home, so nobody is stuck hunting for a key inside their own house. You are shown how the inside release works and asked to try it, and everyone in the household should know it too, especially anyone who grew up with the old habit of leaving the key in the door on the inside.
What shapes the quoteCobourg Lock & Key Co.
FeesSame any hour
Usually, yes. The mechanisms are simple and robust, and what fails is nearly always a spring, dried grease or wear on one part, all of which are repairable on a bench. Replacing the lock with a modern cylindrical set means boring a large hole through the door stile and filling the old pocket, which is more work and changes the door for good. A rebuilt case keeps the original trim and keeps the door intact.
Yes, within reason. A later mortise case can take a modern high-security cylinder of the right thread and cam, chosen for its pick resistance; stopping casual key copying is a separate question, answered by fitting a restricted or patented key system alongside it. Longer screws into the strike and a properly seated deadbolt add more than most people expect. For a bit-key lock, the practical gains are a full-throw deadbolt and a good strike; if more is wanted, a separate modern deadbolt above it leaves the original lock untouched.
Rarely, and it is not the better route. Almost everything that fails is inside the case, and the case only opens once it is out of the pocket, which takes a few minutes and leaves no mark. Working through the keyhole with an unapproved or over-applied spray tends to wash out what little lubricant should stay and gums the levers later. Removing the case, cleaning it properly and refitting it is the repair that lasts.
NorthumberlandOntario
Vintage Mortise Lock Service · Cobourg, Alnwick/Haldimand, Brighton, Cramahe, Hamilton, Gosport, East Colborne, Coverdale, Norham, Codrington, Orland
Every square is one home in a hundred.
On-site assessment
After a wet summer the entry door sits lower in its frame.
(289) 677-1674, open 24/7.
On-site assessment preferred · (289) 677-1674, open 24/7
