Front door lock

[chandasz]

Ok- I'm just not good at this stuff....

Our front door lock is not working well-- who can we get to replace it or is it something that we can do ourselves? How much does it cost to replace a door lock?

Sorry-- No one ever taught me how to do anything around a house but I'd like to learn.

[AmazonAnne]

Chanda

We have a Yale lock on our back door, locks from inside and out, its been on there forever since we moved in and its pretty sturdy..not sure of where to go though, there is a locksmith on Cermak in Westchester, you can google locksmith in Westchester and the place should come up..

[dukesdad]

Fullmer Locksmith Services Inc
8611 West Cermak Road,
North Riverside, IL 60546-1225
(708) 442-0300‎

Rich is not the cheapest, but does excellent work and knows the old stuff.

[J'sMom]

Fullmer Locksmith Services Inc
8611 West Cermak Road,
North Riverside, IL 60546-1225
(708) 442-0300‎

Rich is not the cheapest, but does excellent work and knows the old stuff.

I recommend Fullmer as well.

[EC]

Be careful with the locks that take a key at the outside AND inside to unlock. Those are against code. No problem if you're not selling but then you have to replace it when you do sell. They work great in doors with glass windows as long as you have the key near by that way no one can break the window and reach in to unlock it.

[AmazonAnne]

Actually, when we bought our home this kind of lock was already in place, the previous owners never had to replace it..we shall see it wont be awhile before we move anyway, but good to know..we have our keys right next to the door in case there is an emergency

[chandasz]

Thanks! I had him out to fix the lock yesterday. I guess it had not been working correctly since we moved in! He fixed it in 10 minutes.

I had NO idea that these old locks were so expensive to replace-- he said to replace something like this could run 300 - 1000.

Whew!

He seemed very appreciative of the positive word of mouth

[Bungalocity]

A lil' bit of oil goes a long way with this old brass! Get the escutcheons off and get into the workings...

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

Our 100 year old house has the original oak front door with the beveled glass and lock with the brass doorknob and escutcheon still in excellent working order.  A previous owner must have replaced the actual lock mechanism at some point because it takes a more modern style key unlike our bedroom doors upstairs which you can lock with a skeleton key - those are neat.  At some point the front porch was enclosed which probably explains the good condition of the door since it wasn't as exposed to the elements as it would have been.

[chandasz]

I had to google escutcheon.... LOL

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

I had to google escutcheon.... LOL

Don't feel bad, so did I - LOL.  Actually, considering how ornate it is I had a feeling that's what it was when Bungalocity mentioned it.  The previous owners actually made a big deal out of the door and hardware when we bought the house, as if we should be very happy it was still intact.  They actually knew someone who stripped their home of all the brass doorknobs and escutcheons and replaced them with cheap crap before they sold the home.  Now that's bad!

[Bungalocity]

Escutcheon isn't necessarily that glorious, it can be mighty and majestic as the eastlake plate on your doorknobs, or as meek and humble as the cup on your toilet pipes hahaha.....

[dukesdad]

Another great fairly local resource:

Touch of Beauty Brass
9034 Brookfield Avenue
Brookfield, IL 60513-1635
(708) 387-0360

The guys name is Roger. He has replated several of our door plates and knobs. His place is worth a visit, his real business is making huge chandeliers. Huge as in hotel lobbies and churches. Sometimes there will be one assembled, almost ready to go, unbelievable amount of work in them.

[Bungalocity]

You mean replated as in...electroplating?  I have some superb pot-metal/tin/cheapo art deco fixtures just sitting
in the basement I got cheap on ebay and then realized how cheap the finish is but they'd look awesome plated...

[dukesdad]

Yes, electroplating. He works kinda goofy hours, usually gets there about 4 and work 'til he feels like stopping. Always call before you go over there.