Guides

Smart lock installation guides: doors, bores and fitting

Step-by-step smart lock installation guides: door prep, latch and deadbolt hardware, DIY vs professional costs, and brand-specific walkthroughs.

Installation

Smart locks for sliding glass doors: what actually fits

A patio door has no cross bore and no deadbolt, so most smart locks are out. Here are the four mechanisms that do fit, and the measurements to take first.

10 min read

Installation

Mortise lock doors: which smart locks actually fit

Mortise cases have a pocket in the door edge, not a round bore, so standard smart deadbolts do not fit. Here are the three routes that do, and how to pick one.

10 min read

Installation

Smart lock installation cost: DIY versus a locksmith

Swapping a deadbolt on a prepped door is a screwdriver job and costs nothing. What changes that, what a locksmith's quote is built from, and when paying wins.

8 min read

Installation

No deadbolt, just a knob: your smart lock options

Your door has a knob bore and nothing above it. What a keypad knob or lever really secures, the measurements that decide what fits, and when to cut a second bore.

8 min read

Installation

Retrofit smart locks: will one fit over your deadbolt?

Retrofit units clamp onto the thumbturn you already have, so fit is decided by four measurements on the inside of the door. Here is how to take them before ordering.

9 min read

Installation

How to remove an old deadbolt before fitting a smart lock

Two screws hold a deadbolt on. Here is the removal order, the painted-over and stripped-screw cases that stall it, and the four measurements to take while the door is bare.

9 min read

Installation

Adding a deadbolt bore to a door that has none

Cutting a 2-1/8 inch bore is the one step you cannot undo. Which doors can take one, which cannot, and the measurements and jig that keep the hole where you meant it.

9 min read