Deadbolt Installation in
Tomball, TX

If your door won't lock tonight, a technician comes.

A planner's tip: count your doors, measure your thickness and take a photo of each edge before you call.

A Landlord, Four Doors and a Phone Call That Did the Planning

Good planning starts on the phone. Here's a typical example, told largely from the dispatcher's side, about a landlord with a duplex.

A landlord called on a weekday and said she wanted deadbolts on every exterior door of her duplex. Each unit had a front door and a back door, so that made four. She had measured one door and figured the rest were the same. She was careful and a little rushed, and she wanted to book one visit for all four.

Our dispatcher walked through the plan. What were the doors made of? Wood on the fronts, steel on the backs. How thick? An inch and three-quarters on one, she wasn't sure on the others. Did the doors already have knobs? Yes. Could she read the backset, the distance from the edge to the center of the knob hole? She went to the front door and measured two and three-eighths. The dispatcher asked her to check the back door too. It was two and three-quarters. Did she have a deed and a license? Yes. She said a technician was heading over.

The technician arrived in uniform and showed his ID, then checked the landlord's license against the deed. He measured each door and found the backsets differed, just as the dispatcher had suspected. The first deadbolt he mounted on the steel back door didn't line up, because the strike plate was set too high for the new bolt. He moved the strike with a chisel and a file and tried again, and the second try threw cleanly.

He fitted all four, keyed two pairs alike so each unit had one key and tested every bolt. He left a sheet with the four doors, the measurements and the keys cut, so the next visit would start from numbers and not guesses. The tenants' keys were bagged and labeled by unit. She asked whether the bolts would match if she added a fifth door next year, and he promised to leave the model number on the sheet. The landlord looked at the list of doors, now all checked and pinned it above her desk. The planner's advice: measure every door, not only the first.

A Planner's Checklist for Deadbolts

Four Doors in a Duplex

Four doors in a duplex means four measurements. Doors in the same building often differ.

Backset Measured by Phone

A backset measured by phone saves a trip. Measure from the edge to the center of the hole, and tell the dispatcher the number.

Single Cylinder

A single cylinder has a thumb turn inside and a key outside. It's the usual choice for a home.

Strike Plate Screws

Strike plate screws should reach the stud. Three-inch screws do far more than the short ones that come in the box.

Calling for Deadbolt Installation Near Me

A deadbolt installation near me call needs the door material, the thickness and a photo of the edge.

Keyed Alike by Unit

Each unit gets one key for both doors. We key the pairs alike and label the sets.

Steel and Wood Doors

Steel and wood doors take different bits and different care. We bring both.

Steel Behind a Weak Jamb

If the frame is weak, we reinforce it with a steel plate or a longer strike. That does more than a pricier bolt.

Brass, Nickel or Black

We match the finish to your other hardware where we can.

Papers From the Property Owner

A deed, lease agreement or management paper, plus a photo ID.

Rekey or Replace Between Tenants

We tell you which fits.

Mobile Visits in Tomball

Dispatch covers Tomball street by street, and the technician comes to the spot you name. For several doors, we book a window and bring enough bolts for the whole list. Multi-door jobs are booked as one visit, with a window that suits your tenants.

A Technician Who Plans the Job

Expect uniform, badge and photo ID before any tool leaves the van. He measures every door, explains the plan and checks each bolt before he leaves. He leaves a sheet listing each door, each bolt and each key cut.

Licensed and insured, our team carries a 5-star Google rating from residents around Houston.

Deadbolt Installation Around Tomball

Deadbolt installation in Tomball serves homeowners, landlords and families who've just moved. Older houses near the depot often have knob locks only, and newer rentals sometimes have builder-grade bolts. A fresh, well-set deadbolt is one of the quickest ways to improve a door.

Planning helps. Walk around the building and list every exterior door: front, back, garage entry and any side door. Note the material and the thickness. Take a photo of the edge. That list lets us arrive with the right bolts and the right bits.

Landlords benefit from consistency. Using the same brand and finish on every door simplifies repairs. Keyed-alike sets per unit make life easier for tenants. We can help you set up all three.

Check your frame. Push on the door near the lock. If it flexes, the frame is weak, and a better bolt won't fix that. Look at the strike plate screws: if they're short, they're the first thing to replace.

Think about what comes next. A deadbolt is a good start, and a keypad version or a smart lock can follow. We can leave room in the plan for it, so you don't redo work later.

Many Tomball duplexes and rentals were built with a knob lock on every door and nothing more. A deadbolt adds a second barrier that a quick shove can't defeat. It also tells tenants and neighbors that the owner cares about the building.

Door thickness varies. A standard door is an inch and three-quarters, but older doors and some patio doors are thinner, and some steel doors are thicker. A bolt must match. We carry adapters and shims, and we tell you when a door can't take a bolt safely.

Think about the door's edge. A thin edge can split when a bore is cut. A reinforcing ring or a plate helps. We read the wood before we cut and use a jig to keep the hole square.

Locks wear in rentals because tenants change. A deadbolt that is rekeyed between tenants lasts longer than one replaced every few years. A quick rekey beats a new bolt when the mechanism is sound.

Consider a keypad deadbolt for a rental, so you can change the code between tenants without cutting keys. We explain both sides and let you decide.

Keep receipts. A list of the doors, bolts and keys supports an insurance claim and helps a property manager. We leave a short sheet at the end of the visit. Ask us to include the model number, so a later door matches the rest.

Plan for the weather. Humid summers swell wooden doors, and a bolt that fits in January may drag in August. Leave a little play in the strike and keep the door painted. We set the strike for the worst month, not the best.

A good deadbolt needs a good door and frame. Before fitting, we check that the door sits square, the hinges are tight and the strike has solid wood behind it.

Ask about a security plate around the lock edge. It is a thin steel cover that stiffens the door where kicks usually land.

Do not forget the back door and the garage entry.

Test the bolt again after a few weeks. New wood and hardware settle, and a small adjustment keeps it moving freely.

After fitting, we throw the bolt, close the door and check that it moves freely without scraping.

We install deadbolts in Spring, Klein and Conroe too. For a keypad version, see smart lock installation; for new hardware on a blank door, lock installation.