Old Wood Lock Install

As a locksmith technician with many years of experience, I found myself often having to improvise on a job. As a locksmith technician coming to do a job you can never control of what you have to work with. Meaning, whether if its a vehicle, or a residential/commercial property it seem that there will always be surprises which will force the average technician to improvise on the job.

A few years ago I remember getting a call from a customer who just bought an old house and wanted to make an upgrade to the lock and latch that were installed on the front door. It seemed like he wanted something decorative that would compliment the theme of the house. After getting all the information I needed from him, I started heading the customer's way, but not before making a quick stop at the locksmith shop to get some decorative locks, so the customer would have multiple options to choose from.

Once I got to the customer's address, he showed me around to get a feel of what he wanted for the front and back door of his new home. After showing him all the options and coming to a decision, I grabbed my tools from the van and started disassembling the locks from the front and back door. Once the old locks were out, it was time for the new ones to be installed.

Starting with the front door which went fairly quick, I moved to the back door where issues started to arise. After getting the latches in place, it seemed that I couldn't get bot the latch and door strike screws to be locked tight. I was not surprised as the house seemed old and the door including the frame wood did not seem to be in the best shape. I then figured that if I'm gonna use longer screws it will solve the problem, but it didn't.

I decided to make a call to a Spokane locksmith co-worker of mine. Once I was able to get him on the phone and explained the situation, he advised me looking into drywall screws from the local hardware store. According to him, the heads on these screws are small enough not to stick out and they are very long which will help grip into solid wood. After running to the local hardware store really quick and grabbing few of these screws, I was able to complete the lock installation successfully.