Around the House: Installing Dead Bolt

In a jam about how to install a new dead bolt on your door? You're in luck! Home Depot's Dave White is here!

• Replacing Existing Lock

1. Prepare the Door

• Before buying the new lockset make sure the door closes smoothly and the bolt hole on the door and the jamb match. If the door hangs crooked, use shims between the hinge and the jamb to correct the problem.
• Check the screw holes on the faceplate and the strike plate to make sure they haven’t become worn. If they have, repair them before installing the new lockset by coating wooden dowels or wooden golf tees with wood glue and driving them into the holes. After the glue dries, trim them flush and make new pilot holes for the screws.

2. Remove the Old Lockset

• When buying the lockset, check the package to see if it should be re-keyed before installation.
• After bringing the new lockset home, remove the screws on the old lockset and pull the handles on both sides of the door to remove them.
• Remove the screws holding the faceplate to the latch bolt and remove the bolt.
• If the strike plate on the jamb needs replacing, remove the screws holding it up.

3. Install the Lockset

• Slip the latch bolt into the bolt hole and secure it to the faceplate.
• Put the outside handle through the hole in the latch bolt.
• Then simply align the inside handle with the outside and insert the screws.
• Check to make sure the latch works smoothly.
• If you removed the strike plate, screw the new one in place.

Install New Locks

1. Prepare the Door

• Two important dimensions are the height of the lock and the setback. If you are drilling the hole for the deadbolt, make its center about 4 inches above the center of the lockset.
• Fold the lock installation template; put its fold on the high edge of the door bevel. Measure from the floor to the desired centerline; use masking tape to secure template.
• With your scratch awl, press a hole through the template and into the door at the centerpoint of the backset you’ve chosen.
• Make a scratch awl mark into the door’s edge.

2. Drill the Door

3. Mortise the Latch — A mortise is a fancy name for a hole or recess.

• Mortise the latch faceplate into the edge of the door

4. Install the Lock

5. Install the Door Frame Reinforce

• Cameron Entry Knob in Venetian Bronze Finish — $23.98
Installs in three easy steps
Insert new latch assembly
Install knob and tighten pre-installed screws
Replace strike and tighten screws
Highest residential security available — ANSI Grade 2-5 pin pick resistant cylinder
Lifetime mechanical and finish warranty

• MAX Single Cylinder Deadbolt Venetian Bronze Finish — $24.97
Easy installation — fits all doors
Highest residential security available — ANSI grade 2-5-pin pick resistant cylinder
Full 1" solid core throwbolt — to resist hacking attacks
Lifetime mechanical and finish warranty

— Visit www.homedepot.com to browse more Kwickset deadbolts and door locks