Change or rekey · Fort Erie North
Vintage Mortise Lock Service in Fort Erie North
You bought a house with its original hardware and a bag of loose keys. Some open interior doors, some fit nothing, and the front door lock has a keyhole shaped for a key you do not have.
Call now · open 24/7(365) 607-0483In plain words
Most old mortise locks fail for boring reasons. A coil spring that has been compressed a hundred thousand times since the house was built finally breaks, or the grease inside the case dries into something like wax and the levers stick in it. Neither justifies cutting a new hole in a solid oak door. The service opens the case, cleans out the old lubricant, replaces the springs with the right size, matches any worn follower or lever and lubricates the mechanism lightly. The same case goes back into the same pocket, and the knob returns to level with the crisp snap it had decades ago.
How the visit goesThe 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. Last week it took three tries. You have one key and no idea where a second could come from.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service · Fort Erie North
How the visit goes
- 1
Which keys exist and who has them
The locksmith asks to see every key that goes with the door: the one that works, the ones that used to, and the bag of loose bit keys that came with the house. A worn original is still the most useful pattern for a new key, and a bent one explains why the lock has become temperamental. For a cylinder lock, a lost or stolen key is a reason to rekey while the case is out, and a key that only a former occupant holds is worth retiring. The count of keys wanted afterwards is settled now too, so the spares are cut while the lock is on the bench rather than on a return visit.
- 2
Springs, levers and followers
Springs are the usual culprits and the easiest fix. Broken coil and flat springs are matched from stock by length, wire gauge and shape, and fitted so the latch snaps out and the knob returns to level. A worn or cracked lever is matched from a donor case where one exists; where it does not, a replacement is filed from stock to the original's profile, which is slow, careful bench work rather than magic. A rounded hub is replaced or bushed. When every part moves as it should, the case is closed and cycled by hand with the cover on until the action is smooth and even in both directions.
- 3
The interior doors in step
Where a set of interior mortise latches was serviced together, you leave with bedroom and bathroom doors that close and stay closed, privacy turns that actually lock, and, if you wanted it, a single bit key that operates every interior lock the way the builder intended. A note of which key fits which door goes into the house file. Interior cases need almost no care beyond a drop of oil every couple of years and a check that a turn button has not been painted over. A child who locks a bathroom and cannot reopen it is released from outside with the bit key, so keep it somewhere the adults can reach.
In the van
- Latch and hub springs
- Spindle and knob set screws
- Warding files
- Bit key blanks
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
What affects the quote
- 1
Replacement cylinder
When a pin-tumbler cylinder is past rekeying, a new mortise cylinder of the right thread and cam is fitted. A standard cylinder and a high-security one are different hardware and are quoted as such.
- 2
Replacement case
A case that is cracked or worn through is replaced with a reproduction or modern mortise case sized to the pocket. The case itself, any trimming of the pocket and the refitting are itemised separately from a repair.
- 3
Keying doors alike
Bringing several interior locks onto one bit key, or several cylinders onto one flat key, is extra bench work per lock and is simplest to arrange while all the cases are out on the same visit.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
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.
Can my interior doors be serviced too, and can one key work all of them?
Usually yes to the first, and to the second once the locksmith checks the locks. Interior mortise latches with privacy turn buttons are lighter versions of the entry lock and respond to the same clean and re-spring. Interior locks in a house were sometimes supplied to one bit key, and where the key sections, warding and levers actually match, the locksmith can restore that arrangement so a single key opens several bedroom and bathroom doors. It is a practical thing to have when a child locks a bathroom from inside.
Can you match a missing knob, plate or thumb-turn?
Often, yes. Locksmiths who work on older hardware keep salvage and reproduction trim in the common patterns and finishes, and a knob, rosette or escutcheon can usually be found close enough that the pair on one door match. Where nothing suitable exists, the trim from a less visible door can be moved to the entry and the reproduction fitted where it is seen less. Bring or photograph the surviving piece so it can be matched.
Niagara, Ontario
Fort Erie North information
- Town
- Fort Erie North, Niagara, Ontario
- In business
- 26 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (365) 607-0483
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
62%
Older homes. About 62% of homes in Fort Erie were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
In neighbourhoods of established homes, keys have often been copied many times over many owners. Rekeying every exterior door to one fresh key is the common first job, and it works on old cylinders just as well as on new ones.
83%
Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 83% of homes in Fort Erie (2021 Census).
Families in houses hand keys to children, cleaners, dog walkers and neighbours. A locksmith can set up a keypad on the side door for the household and keep the front door on a conventional key, so access matches how the family actually comes and goes.
Nearby
Open 24/7
Request a visit
You bought a house with its original hardware and a bag of loose keys.
Call now · open 24/7(365) 607-0483- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 26 years in business