When we first moved into our house, one of the very first things we did was have the door locks changed by a locksmith. He must have used cheap locks, though, because for the last couple of weeks, our keys have been difficult to get out. Obviously, we weren't going to use the same locksmith again, so I asked a friend who manages an apartment building for a referral and he told me that he changes the locks himself.
Say what?
It just never occurred to us that this was a DIY kind of project. Of course, I immediately asked our friend for more details. He said that there's a section for locks at any home improvement store, that the prices varied widely but the sizes were pretty standard, and installation was extremely easy. Marc went to the store without me and came home with a deadbolt lock and a doorknob lock. He confirmed that prices were all over the place, so he just grabbed a couple that looked good enough for a total of $29.21, including tax.
It took Marc and his dad about half an hour to install both new locks, which work quite nicely.
After the fact, I did a quick web search for door lock reviews or recommendations and couldn't find anything helpful. It actually made me feel better to know that there wasn't a particular brand we should have purchased, and that we saved about $100. (I seem to recall the locksmith bill to be about $110 and this was over five years ago so I'm sure it would have been more if we'd had one come out.)
One of the unexpected benefits of this experience: our new brushed nickel locks look a million times better than the old brass ones.
Link: How to Change a Lock
1 comment:
Jim did for us at our house when we moved in. He did have a horrible time getting the one door knob off. He took a hammer to it! We bought our locks at Loew's.
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