Change or rekey · London
Smart Lock Installation
The deadbolt is a stiff double-cylinder model that needs a key from both sides, and in the dark hallway finding it is a nuisance.
In plain words
Most of the skill in fitting a smart lock goes into the door rather than the electronics. Motors are patient but not strong, so a bolt that has to be shouldered home will stall, chew through batteries and eventually refuse. The locksmith checks that the bolt slides fully into the strike with the door closed and no hand on it, and corrects hinges, strike pocket or weatherstrip until it does. The bore holes are measured against the new lock's needs, the door's thickness is confirmed, and a reinforced strike goes in with long screws. Only then is the lock mounted, calibrated and programmed.
How the visit goesYour mother still lives on her own, and the personal support worker, the pharmacy delivery and two siblings all need to get in on different days. Cutting keys for everyone feels wrong; a code for each person, with a log, feels right.
Smart Lock Installation
How the visit goes
Will the bolt travel on its own?
The most important test takes moments and uses no tools. With the door closed and nobody touching it, the locksmith turns the existing thumb-turn with two fingers and feels whether the bolt glides into the strike or has to be forced. A motor has less strength than a hand, so any drag here is drag the smart lock will fight every day until its batteries give out. Hinges that have let the door drop, a strike pocket that is shallow or off-centre, and weatherstrip that pushes the door out of square are the usual culprits, and each is something the locksmith can correct before the new hardware goes on.
Retrofit locks that keep your outside hardware
Some smart locks mount only on the inside of the door and turn the deadbolt you already own, leaving the exterior face and the keyway as they were. Fitting one begins by checking that the existing deadbolt is on the model's compatibility list and that its tailpiece shape matches an adapter in the box. The interior thumb-turn is removed, the adapter fitted, and the motor unit clamped to the mounting plate so it sits square and turns the bolt through its full travel without slipping. Because the outside is untouched, these suit rented units where the landlord prefers the door unchanged, and older doors whose exterior hardware is worth keeping. The existing key keeps working alongside the phone.
Keeping the lock healthy through the seasons
A smart lock asks for a little seasonal attention and rewards it. In spring and autumn, check that the bolt still glides with the door closed and no hand on it; a door that has swollen or dropped starts to strain the motor before it stops working, and a hinge screw or strike adjustment then is far easier than a call later. Keep the keypad free of ice and grit, wipe salt film off the exterior in winter, and use only a dry lubricant on the override cylinder, never oil. Accept firmware updates when the app offers them. If the lock starts to sound laboured, that is its way of asking for a look.
Smart Lock Installation
In the van
Reinforced box strike with long screws
Hand screwdrivers, Phillips and Torx
Smart deadbolt or smart lever set
Adjustable-backset bolt and faceplate
Mechanical override cylinder and repinning kit
Smart Lock Installation
What affects the quote
Removing an old mortise or non-standard lock
Older doors sometimes carry a mortise case or a lock with an unusual footprint. Filling the pocket, plugging holes and re-drilling to the standard preparation is careful joinery, and it is quoted as preparation.
Type of smart lock chosen
A keypad deadbolt, a Bluetooth model, a Wi-Fi model with a built-in radio or a lock that joins a home hub each sit at a different point on the hardware side of the quote, before any labour is counted.
Taking over an existing smart lock
Resetting, re-enrolling and cleaning the permissions on a lock that came with the property is a different job from fitting new hardware: less cutting, more account work, and it is quoted on its own footing.
What to have ready
- Do you want codes only, phone control, alerts, or all three?
- Do you already have a specific lock in mind or in hand?
- Which other doors should share the same key or the same system?
Smart Lock Installation: questions
QuestionsDoes the lock still work if the internet goes down?
Yes for the things that matter at the door. Codes, fobs, fingerprints and the key talk to the lock directly, and schedules stored in the lock carry on, so you get in and out normally through a router reboot or an outage. What pauses is remote control from far away and the alerts, which return when the connection does. The locksmith will name exactly which features on your model need the network so there are no surprises.
Do I need a hub or a bridge?
Only if the model you choose uses one to reach the internet. Some locks have Wi-Fi built into the interior unit and connect straight to your router. Others save battery by using Bluetooth at the door and a small plug-in bridge nearby to relay to the network. Locks designed for a home hub join whatever hub you already run. The locksmith checks signal strength at the door itself and recommends the arrangement that keeps the lock reliably connected.
Does the locksmith keep any of my codes or my account details?
No. The administrator account is created by you, on your phone, with your email, and the codes are entered by you or read out by you and typed while you watch. The service note records the model, the door work and the keys cut, never a code or a password. If a technician programmed a temporary code for testing, it is deleted in front of you before the visit ends.
Related services
- Deadbolt InstallationThe old deadbolt has grown lazy.
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeThe house is fifteen years old and every exterior door still wears the light hardware the builder fitted: a short bolt, a thin strike held by two small screws, and a knob lock that never suited a street entrance.
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceThe old skeleton key still fits the keyhole, but it now needs a jiggle, a lean on the door and a little luck before the bolt moves.