A residential locksmith for every door of the house

Quarry Locksmith Group looks after the locks on houses, townhomes and two-flats across Aurora: the front deadbolt, the patio slider, the door in from the garage, the mailbox and the side gate. Each one is looked at, explained and fixed or replaced, and the estimate is free.

More doors than people remember

Ask someone how many locks their house has and they will usually count the front door and the back. Walk around with them and the list grows: a patio slider, the door from the garage into the kitchen, a basement entry, a shed, a gate latch, the mailbox. Each one has its own key, its own age and its own way of failing.

A residential visit starts with that walk. Every lock that keeps someone out gets looked at, the ones in good shape are left alone, and the ones that are worn, mismatched or missing are pointed out before anything is touched.

New deadbolt being installed in a front door, IL

Deadbolts where a knob was doing the work

Plenty of houses still rely on a knob lock alone on at least one outside door, often the side or back door that gets the most use. A knob latch holds a door closed; it was never meant to hold it shut against a shoulder. A deadbolt with a bolt that reaches well into the frame is the single biggest improvement most of those doors can get.

On older solid doors the deadbolt is matched to the thickness of the door and the age of the hardware around it. On newer hollow-core or fiberglass doors the strike side matters as much as the lock, so the strike plate goes in with screws long enough to bite into the framing behind the trim.

Where a door has a deadbolt that only throws if you lean on the door, the problem is usually alignment rather than the lock, and it gets corrected while the technician is there.

Patio sliders and the door from the garage

Sliding patio doors come with a latch, not a lock in any serious sense. Many are lifted off their track or forced at the latch with very little effort. A keyed slider lock, a foot lock at the bottom of the frame, or a bar in the track makes the slider as hard to open from outside as the front door.

The door from the garage into the house is the other one people forget. Once the overhead door is up, that interior door is all that stands between the driveway and the kitchen, and it often has the lightest lock in the house. It deserves the same deadbolt and the same key as the front.

Older houses add a third weak spot: a pair of French doors onto a porch or deck, held shut by a latch that has been loose for years. Those get a lock that pins the inactive door at the top and bottom and bolts the active door into it, so the pair behaves like one solid door.

Two-flats, coach houses and a rented unit

Older neighborhoods here have their share of two-flats and houses with a rented upstairs or a coach house out back. Those need a key plan, not just keys: the owner's key opens the common doors and the owner's own unit, the tenant's key opens the common doors and the tenant's unit, and neither opens the other's door.

A plan like that is set up by rekeying the existing cylinders, so the hardware stays on the doors. When a tenant moves out, only their cylinders are changed, and the rest of the building keeps working with the keys everyone already has.

Shared spaces get the same thought. A basement laundry, a back stairway or a shared garage can be keyed so both households get in while each unit stays private, and the owner can carry one key that opens everything when something needs fixing.

How a home lock visit goes

Most houses are finished in one trip.

Show it is your home
Photo ID with the address, closing papers, or a lease with the owner's OK for a rental.
Walk every door
Front, back, slider, garage entry, basement, gate and mailbox, as many as you want covered.
Free estimate, then the work
Rekey, new hardware or an adjustment, door by door, with nothing started until you agree.
Keys tried in every lock
Each new key is turned in each lock with you before anyone leaves.

Winter-stiff locks and worn cylinders

Cold weather is hard on exterior locks. Moisture gets into a cylinder, freezes overnight, and the key will not turn in the morning; a lock that has been forced through a few winters ends up with worn pins and a key that has to be jiggled. Pouring hot water on a frozen lock only makes the next freeze worse.

A stiff lock is serviced if the cylinder is sound and replaced if it is worn out, and the new one goes on the same key as the rest of the house. If the problem is a door that has shifted in its frame, which happens as the ground freezes and thaws, the strike is adjusted so the bolt slides without force.

Mailboxes, gates and the smaller locks

Mailbox locks, gate padlocks, storm door latches and shed hasps rarely get attention until a key goes missing. They are quick to rekey or replace on the same visit, and they can often be put on the house key so there is one less key on the ring.

Keypad locks fit in here too. A code on the front door means nobody hides a key under the mat for a sitter or a contractor. If that sounds useful, see smart lock installation; it can be done on the same visit as the rest of the house.

Questions about home locks

What does a residential locksmith visit cover?

Every lock you want looked at: entry doors, sliders, the garage entry, basement doors, gates, sheds and mailboxes. Each one is either left alone, serviced, rekeyed or replaced, and you choose door by door after the free estimate.

Do you need proof that I live there?

Yes. A photo ID with the address, closing papers, or a lease works. Renters also need the owner's or manager's OK before a lock is changed.

Can my whole house run on one key?

Usually. Locks that can be rekeyed to match are set to one key, and any that cannot are swapped for ones that can.

Our patio slider only has a latch. What are the options?

A keyed slider lock, a foot lock or a bar in the track. Each makes the door much harder to lift or force, and the choice depends on how often the door is used.

We have a two-flat. Can the tenant and I have different keys?

Yes. The building is rekeyed so your key opens the shared doors and your unit, the tenant's opens the shared doors and theirs, and neither opens the other's door.

My front lock freezes every winter. Does it need replacing?

Not always. A sound cylinder can be serviced; a worn one is replaced and set to your house key. Hot water makes it worse, so leave it and call.

I'm locked out of the house. Can you get me in?

Yes, once you show it is your home. The door is opened, the lock is looked over, and you hear if anything needs attention.

Is the estimate free?

Yes. You hear what each door needs, and the free estimate comes before any work starts.

We're on our way

One call and we get a tech dispatched to you.

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