Change or rekey · Hamilton
Vintage Mortise Lock Service in Hamilton
The key turns freely in the round cylinder on the door, all the way around and back, without the bolt shifting at all. The cylinder itself wobbles slightly when you press it, as if it has come loose inside the door.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 203-2070In plain words
Keys are the part of the job people expect to be impossible, and they rarely are. A bit key, the skeleton key style used on older doors, is cut and filed on the bench to the wards and levers of your particular case, so a lost key can be replaced from the lock itself. A round cylinder on a later mortise lock is rekeyed like any modern cylinder, or exchanged for a new cylinder of matching thread and cam if it is worn out. Either way the service ends with keys in your hand that turn the original lock, and a spare made while the case is on the bench.
How the visit goesSomeone painted the door years ago without removing the hardware. The faceplate, the strike and the little thumb-turn are all under several coats, the deadbolt scrapes when it moves, and the knob is stiff enough to leave marks on your hand.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service · Hamilton
How the visit goes
- 1
Who owns the door
The first check has nothing to do with the lock. The locksmith confirms that the person asking for the work owns the home or lawfully lives in it, since a serviced lock and a freshly cut key are, in the end, a way into someone's house. Photo identification and something tying you to the address usually settles it in a moment. On a rental, the landlord and the tenant are expected to agree on lock changes and share keys, so the locksmith asks who should hold the new bit keys or cylinder keys and notes it. This small formality protects the household as much as anyone, and it is done before a screwdriver comes out.
- 2
When a case is fitted new
If the old case could not be saved, the replacement is fitted to the door rather than the door to the replacement. A reproduction or modern mortise case matching the measured height, depth, backset, faceplate and hub is chosen with the goal of it dropping into the existing pocket; where a small difference remains, the pocket is trimmed with a chisel by the least amount that works, never bored out. The original knobs, escutcheons and strike are refitted wherever their spacing allows, and a new cylinder is keyed to match the rest of the house if wanted. The result reads as the original lock from either side of the door, with the reliability of a fresh mechanism.
- 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
- Hardwood dowel and wood glue
- Hub followers and lever packs
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
- Deadbolt lever springs
- Cylinder set screw
What affects the quote
- 1
Parts that must be ordered
A reproduction case or an unusual cylinder size may have to be ordered to measurement, which means a second visit to fit it. The quote separates the first visit from the return.
- 2
Paint and seized parts
Hardware buried under decades of paint takes time to free and clean without damage. A faceplate, strike and thumb-turn that have to be stripped back add to the visit and are noted in the quote.
- 3
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.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service: questions
Do I need to prove I own the house before you work on the lock?
Yes, and it is a normal part of any lock or key work. Photo identification together with something that ties you to the address is enough. If you rent, the locksmith will ask who should receive the keys, because landlords and tenants in this province are expected to agree on lock changes and share keys. This check takes a moment and it protects every household the locksmith is asked to work for.
What exactly is a mortise lock?
It is a lock built as a flat rectangular case that sits inside a pocket cut into the edge of the door, rather than through a round hole bored across it. The case holds the latch, usually a deadbolt, the hub the knob spindle turns, and the springs. On the faces of the door you see the knobs, decorative plates and either a keyhole for a bit key or a round cylinder. Most doors built before the middle of the last century carry one.
My home is a designated heritage property. Does that change anything?
It reinforces the choice to service rather than replace. Where a property carries a heritage designation, changes affecting listed features can need extra sign-off, and original door hardware is occasionally among those features. A rebuilt mortise case with its original trim is preservation rather than alteration, and the locksmith's written record of what was retained and what was replaced is useful for your file.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service near you
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton information
- Town
- Hamilton, Ontario
- In business
- 22 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 203-2070
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
61%
Older homes. About 61% of homes in Hamilton were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Old brass keys wear thin, and a key that has bent for years finally lets go in a cold cylinder. In older housing stock this is a regular call, so the locksmith is ready to extract the piece, check the cylinder and cut a new key from the code.
56%
A mix of homes. Single-detached houses make up about 56% of homes in Hamilton (2021 Census).
Where houses and attached homes share an area, lockouts are as varied as the doors. A porch, a hallway or a shared vestibule each calls for a slightly different approach, and a locksmith used to all three arrives ready for whichever it is.
Nearby
Open 24/7
Request a visit
The key turns freely in the round cylinder on the door, all the way around and back, without the bolt shifting at all.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 203-2070- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 22 years in business