Lock installation in Rockville, MD
A deadbolt for a door that only has a knob, hardware for a brand-new door, or an upgrade on locks that have been there since the house was built. Fitted so they line up, throw fully and keep working.
Most of the lock faults we get called to later in a lock's life were built in on the day it was fitted. A good lock installed a few millimetres off will bind, wear and eventually fail — so on an installation, the fitting is the job, not an afterthought.
What a lock installation covers
New deadbolts on doors that never had one, knobs and levers, full handlesets, patio slider locks, and keypad or smart locks where you would rather stop carrying a key at all. It also covers preparing a new or replacement door from scratch — boring the holes, mortising the latch and strike — and fitting hardware into existing cut-outs, which is its own puzzle because the new lock has to suit holes made for the old one.
Where the hardware allows it, new locks can be keyed to match the keys you already carry, so adding a deadbolt does not have to mean adding a key to your ring.
How the visit goes
- You describe the door and what you want from it — keyed entry, a deadbolt above an existing knob, a keypad, or hardware for a bare new door.
- We talk through what suits that door. The right answer depends on the door material, the backset and what is already cut, and it is cheaper to settle that before anyone drives over.
- The locksmith arrives with the agreed hardware plus alternatives in common finishes, in case the door has surprises.
- Holes are bored or the existing cut-outs adapted, the latch and strike are mortised in flush, and the door is adjusted so the bolt throws fully without lifting or pulling the handle.
- Every lock is cycled from both sides with every key before we leave, and you get all keys, spares and packaging.
What we bring to an installation
- Deadbolts, knobsets and handlesets in the common finishes, so choices can happen at the door
- Boring jigs and sharp chisels — clean holes and flush mortises are what make a lock last
- Reinforced strike plates and long strike screws that anchor into the frame stud, not just the trim
- A key cutter, so new locks can be matched to existing keys or spares cut on the spot
When to call straight away
If an exterior door is getting by on a knob latch alone, treat that as current rather than someday — a knob latch is convenience hardware, not security hardware. The same goes for a door that has just been forced or attacked: once the frame or hardware has taken a hit, new locks are only half the fix, and the door repair side should look at it with us.
After the new lock is in
Think about the other doors while the setup is fresh: keying the back door and side door alike with the new hardware means one key runs the house. If the old locks are moving to a shed or a rental, have them rekeyed first. And if an existing lock is misbehaving rather than missing, a repair may cost less than a replacement.
Other things we handle on the same visit
One call usually covers more than one of these.
Tell us which door it is
One phone call, about a minute. You will know what the job involves and what it costs before a locksmith sets off.