Lock Installation in
River Oaks, Houston, TX

Most installations are scheduled around the project.

A New Mahogany Door and a Hole in the Wrong Place

Sometimes we're the second person to work on a door. This is a typical example of how that happens, and how it can still end well.

A family off Inwood had a new custom mahogany front door installed as part of a renovation. The door maker hung it beautifully, but hardware wasn't part of their contract. The homeowner's longtime handyman, trusted with a hundred small jobs over the years, offered to put in the new handle set and deadbolt the family had ordered. He measured, drilled, and stopped. The deadbolt hole was a little too low and at the wrong distance from the door's edge for the hardware in the box. The bolt wouldn't line up with the latch hole he'd already drilled in the edge.

The homeowner called us the same afternoon, more worried about the door than the lock. The dispatcher asked for photos of both faces of the door, the door edge, and the hardware box with its template. The photos showed the problem clearly. She asked for the homeowner's ID with the address, and booked him for the next morning.

He was there in uniform, with his ID ready. He checked the homeowner's license and studied the door the way you'd study a patient. The misplaced hole couldn't be undone. But the handle set the family had chosen came with a tall escutcheon, the decorative plate behind the handle. If the deadbolt hole were moved up to the correct spot, the escutcheon would cover the original hole completely.

He explained the plan before doing anything. He filled the wrong hole with a fitted hardwood plug glued in place, so the new hole saw would have solid material around it. Then he clamped his boring jig at the correct position from the hardware template and cut the deadbolt hole cleanly with a sharp hole saw, working slowly so the mahogany wouldn't splinter. He redrilled the edge hole to match, chiseled the faceplate pocket, and fitted the deadbolt and handle set. The escutcheon covered every trace of the first attempt.

On the frame, he set a heavy strike with 3-inch screws into the stud and adjusted it so the bolt slid in without a push. He keyed the new hardware to the family's existing key with his pinning kit.

The homeowner looked at the door for a long minute and couldn't find the old hole. His advice: on a custom door, ask for the hardware to be bored by the door maker or a locksmith before it's hung.

Installing Locks on New and Custom Doors

Read Before You Drill

Every lock comes with a template, a backset and a spacing for the deadbolt above the handle. Doors have their own limits: lock blocks in steel and fiberglass doors, glass panels, raised moldings. The technician reads both before cutting.

Install Deadbolt and Knob or Handle Set

Most entry doors get a handle set or lever plus a deadbolt. We bore both holes, chisel the faceplate pockets, fit the strikes into the framing with long screws, and test the latch and bolt with the door closed.

Custom and Hardwood Doors

Mahogany, walnut and other hardwoods splinter if rushed. Sharp cutters, slow speeds and drilling from both faces keep edges clean. Steel and fiberglass doors need the holes to land on internal lock blocks.

When a Hole Is in the Wrong Place

A misdrilled hole can often be plugged and hidden behind a larger escutcheon or trim plate. It's not always possible, so call before trying again.

One Key or Two

For keyed alike locks, a new door can be keyed to your existing house key, or a whole set of new locks keyed alike. For a property with service doors and outbuildings, a family key and a service key is a useful split.

Door Hardware Installation for Renovations

Pocket doors, wine rooms, pantries, closets, gates and pool houses all need hardware. We match the function, privacy, passage or keyed, to how each space is used.

Keypads on New Entries

A new door is the easiest time to add a keypad or smart deadbolt, since the holes are cut fresh and the door is already being worked on. Many River Oaks families use a keypad on the service door for staff and keep a keyed lock on the front. See smart lock installation for options, and deadbolt installation for strikes and bolts.

Garage Apartments and Pool Houses

New garage apartments and pool houses need a keyed entry and a deadbolt like any other dwelling. Keying them separately from the main house makes renting or lending them simple.

Working With Designers and Contractors

We coordinate with designers on finishes and with contractors on timing, so hardware goes in after paint and before the final walk-through.

Supplying Your Own Hardware

That's fine. We check grade, function, backset and fit before drilling and tell you if something isn't suitable.

Who Signs Off

Owners, or contractors and house managers with the owner's written authorization.

Reaching Doors Across River Oaks

The dispatcher confirms the address in River Oaks on the call, and the technician meets you there. Westheimer and Kirby are slow in the afternoon, and Shepherd at rush hour. Construction trucks on renovation streets can make parking tight, so tell us where the technician can pull in. Planned installs are booked around your project.

A Technician Who Respects the Door

He arrives in uniform with his photo ID out, checks your papers and looks the door over before opening a case. He tells you plainly what the door can take and what it cannot. Fast Locksmith 24/7 is licensed and insured, and our customers have given us a 5-star rating on Google.

Lock Installation Around River Oaks

Renovations are constant in River Oaks, with plans reviewed under the neighborhood's deed restrictions and new doors arriving from custom shops. We install locks on new front entries, terrace doors, garage apartments, pool houses and gates, and we're often called after a first attempt didn't go to plan. Lock installation in River Oaks is careful work because the doors themselves are investments, and a River Oaks renovation often runs months. Hardware usually goes on last, when everyone is tired and in a hurry.

New doors in River Oaks are often custom: solid mahogany, steel and glass, or antique pieces restored for a renovation. They deserve careful preparation. We mark the bore, check the thickness and test the fit before we drill.

Tell us when your door was made and what it's made of. Wood, steel and glass need different tools, and some old doors have had earlier holes filled.

Renovation schedules can be tight. If hardware is the last item on a long list, let us know the date it's needed, and we'll plan around the crew.

Before installation, check the door for warping. A door that has twisted slightly over the years will not seat a bolt properly, and the technician may need to adjust the frame before the lock goes in.

Ask for a demonstration of how the lock works. It takes little effort, and it prevents the mistakes people make with a lock they have never used.

We also install locks in Memorial, Uptown and Montrose. For whole-property key planning, see our residential locksmith page.

New Door, Right Hardware

Call Fast Locksmith 24/7. Tell us about the door, the hardware you've chosen and any work already done on it. Photos of the door edge and the hardware template help.