What goes wrong
Deadbolts that hang up, door knobs that spin without catching, and warped wooden doors that rub on the frame are the kinds of problems we see at houses in Downingtown. Sometimes weather has swollen the jamb and compressed the latch, other times a key snaps or the cylinder corrodes. We diagnose by looking at the door, the strike plate, and the cylinder to see whether parts can be repaired or must be replaced. We work on knob sets, single- and double-cylinder deadbolts, multipoint latches, mailbox locks and simple garage entry locks.
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What the job involves
When we arrive we bring a van stocked with replacement cylinders, hardened bolts, longer screws for reinforced strikes, and the hand tools needed to remove trim and extract broken keys. We pick hardware to match the existing cut and thickness of the door and to fit the backset and borehole. If the door requires a new strike or reinforcing plate we fit the plate on site and adjust the latch for a clean fit. We rekey cylinders to match a customer’s existing key when requested.
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Good to know
If you call from Downingtown or nearby East Brandywine Township we’ll be clear about how soon we can come and what we can do when we get there; we tell you the schedule we can manage rather than promising an arrival time in general terms. While you wait, stay near the door so we can see how it behaves when you operate the lock, and have the problem key and any spare keys ready. If the issue is a broken key, keep the larger fragments you can reach and don’t push in pieces further.
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Worth knowing
Before we start work it helps if you can confirm that you are the homeowner or an authorized resident and show ID at the door. We drive out from Havertown in the van and handle everything at the house, so there’s no counter to visit. Clear the area around the door of rugs or furniture so we can lay tools and parts, and if you want the new lock rekeyed to match other house keys, bring those keys along. We explain options in plain terms and let you decide which hardware to use.
