Change or rekey · Toronto
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
The brass knob on the front door of your century home turns, but nothing happens on the other side. The latch stays tucked in, the door swings free, and the only thing holding it shut is the deadbolt and a bit key that has worn down to a nub.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 806-2827In plain words
Where the door has moved, the lock gets blamed. Solid wood doors in older houses swell in humid weather, shrink in winter and settle on their hinges, and a mortise lock that was set decades ago ends up with its latch and bolt aiming a little below the strike. Part of every vintage lock service is reading how the door hangs, tightening or packing the hinges, and moving or filing the strike so the latch catches and the bolt throws without lifting the handle. Often that alignment work, plus a clean and new springs, is the entire repair, and the customer gets back a door that closes with one hand.
How the visit goesThe knob flops loose on its spindle and never springs back to level. When you turn it the latch pulls in, but you have to push the knob back yourself, and lately the latch has started staying inside the door instead of catching.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service · Toronto
How the visit goes
- 1
How the knob and key actually behave
A short conversation with the hardware comes next. The knob is turned and released: does it return smartly, sag back, or not return at all? Is there free play before the latch moves? The key is tried in the deadbolt with the door open: does the bolt throw fully, catch part way, or ignore the key while the key turns? The thumb-turn gets the same test. Each answer points somewhere different inside the case, a latch spring, a hub spring, a worn hub square, a deadbolt lever, a cylinder cam, and the locksmith is building a short list of likely parts before the cover ever comes off.
- 2
Springs, levers and followers
Springs are the usual culprits and the easiest fix. Broken coil and flat springs are matched from stock by length, wire gauge and shape, and fitted so the latch snaps out and the knob returns to level. A worn or cracked lever is matched from a donor case where one exists; where it does not, a replacement is filed from stock to the original's profile, which is slow, careful bench work rather than magic. A rounded hub is replaced or bushed. When every part moves as it should, the case is closed and cycled by hand with the cover on until the action is smooth and even in both directions.
- 3
Watching the door through the seasons
The lock is aligned to the door as it hangs today, and a solid wood door in an older home will move again. Through a humid summer it swells, through the heating season it shrinks, and each year the hinges settle a fraction. Twice a year, close the door and try the latch and bolt; if either has started to scrape or needs the door lifted, the strike wants a small adjustment or the hinge screws want snugging, which is a five-minute job. Doing that early keeps the rebuilt case from being strained, and it is the single habit that makes a vintage lock last another few decades without fuss.
In the van
- Bit key blanks
- Latch and hub springs
- Cylinder set screw
- Reproduction mortise case
- Spindle and knob set screws
What affects the quote
- 1
How many keys you want
Bit keys are made individually by hand and cylinder keys are cut per copy, so the count you ask for is a line of its own. Decide who in the household needs one before the visit.
- 2
Replacement case
A case that is cracked or worn through is replaced with a reproduction or modern mortise case sized to the pocket. The case itself, any trimming of the pocket and the refitting are itemised separately from a repair.
- 3
Condition of the wood
Stripped screw holes, a loosened pocket or a split at the door edge need dowelling, shimming or gluing before the case can be trusted. That woodwork is quoted once the locksmith has seen the pocket empty.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service: questions
Will the door look any different afterwards?
Usually not, when the original case is repaired: the same knobs, escutcheons, faceplate and strike go back on in the same positions, and the only visible change is paint or grime cleared from the edges that were catching. A replacement case is chosen to match the pocket so original trim is reused wherever spacing allows, though an occasional case needs a small pocket or fixing change, explained beforehand.
The lock works with the door open but not when it is closed. Is the lock broken?
Almost certainly not. That pattern means the door has moved in its frame so the latch and bolt no longer meet the strike squarely. Solid wood doors in older houses swell in humid weather and settle on their hinges over the years. The service adjusts or shims the strike and tightens or packs the hinges so the bolt throws without lifting the door, and the lock itself is usually cleaned and lubricated at the same time.
Does a rented home need the landlord involved for this work?
Repairing a lock so it works as before is ordinary maintenance, but anything that changes who can open the door, such as a rekeyed cylinder or new keys, is something a tenant and landlord are expected to agree on and share keys for. The locksmith asks up front who should receive keys and can leave a note of what was done for the property manager, so both sides know what is on the door.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service near you
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto information
- Town
- Toronto, Ontario
- In business
- 16 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 806-2827
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
58%
Older homes. About 58% of homes in Toronto were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Older homes tend to have had many hands on their doors: owners, tenants, tradespeople, family. A locksmith visiting such a house pays attention to who holds keys now, and rekeying or a keyed-alike set often matters more than any new hardware.
23%
Single-detached houses make up about 23% of homes in Toronto (2021 Census).
Shared entrances mean fobs, intercoms and buzzers alongside conventional locks. A locksmith can service the mechanical side of those doors and advise on how the fob system and the cylinder work together when management asks.
Nearby
Open 24/7
Request a visit
The brass knob on the front door of your century home turns, but nothing happens on the other side.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 806-2827- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 16 years in business