ORLANDO, Fla. – Vanessa had her door handle and deadbolt replaced on her back door but the handyman never gave her keys!
There are ways to get a new set of keys, like hiring a locksmith, bringing the lock to a locksmith, or contacting the lock manufacturer, but Vanessa just opted for a new lock - which is a good solution if your lock is old.
If you have a project you’d like Erik to tackle, send us an email at GettingResultsAtHome@wkmg.com and next week Erik might just show up at your door!
We purchased:
New door handle / deadbolt combo
We brought with us:
Phillips-head screwdriver
We recommend:
Electric screwdriver
Step 1
Take out the old lock. First, remove the door handle. Sometimes you might need to push a release mechanism holding the handle in place, other times you might need a hex key to loosen a screw holding the handle in place, or in our case we just removed the screws holding the inside and outside handles together. Then, remove the deadbolt turn knob by removing the screws. Then remove the latch bolts by taking out the screws in the end of the door.
Step 2
When you purchase the new lock and deadbolt, it’s not a bad idea to take pictures of your door and bring them with you to the hardware store. You might even want to measure the holes on your door - the distance between the holes and the diameter of the holes so you can share that information with the person at the hardware store to make sure you buy the right replacement for your door.
Step 3
Install the new lock. Do everything in reverse: first slide in the latch bolts, then screw them into the end of the door. Make sure the right latch bolt goes into the right hole and make sure they’re facing up (usually it says “up”). Then screw together the deadbolt knob. Then screw together the door handles. Note - putting the handles and deadbolt latch in place might be tricky. Look inside them to see the pins and ridges to make sure you’re aligning them with the hardware already in the door. You might have to jiggle or wiggle or spin the handles and latch to make everything slides together, but take your time, it will work.
Step 4
Tighten everything down... but not too tight. Sometimes tightening the screws too much will make the handle or deadbolt knob difficult to turn.
You just got results at home!