Door & window repair, statewide
Door Lock Repair
Usually the door moved, not the lock
Deadbolts you have to lift the door to turn, latches that miss the plate, handles that spin, and doors you have quietly stopped locking because it is too much effort. We fix the hardware and the alignment behind it.
A lock you have to fight is a lock that stops being used
When a deadbolt stops throwing cleanly, the natural assumption is that the lock has worn out. Most of the time it has not. The door has moved — the slab dropped on its hinges, or the opening shifted — and the bolt no longer lines up with the hole it is meant to enter.
This matters because swapping the lock does not fix it. Fit a brand new deadbolt to a misaligned door and it binds the same way within a week.
It matters more in Connecticut than in most states, because the seasonal swing here moves doors twice a year. A lock set up perfectly in a dry February can be noticeably out by a humid August, and the house has usually been doing that for a very long time.
The most common lock repair we do involves no new lock at all.
Every door locking mechanism
From original mortise locks in period homes to modern multi-point and smart hardware.
We are a repair and alignment service rather than a locksmith. If what you actually need is rekeying or a lockout, we will tell you plainly and point you in the right direction.
Lock and hardware work we handle
Entry doors, back doors, patio doors and interior doors alike.
Deadbolts
Bolts that stick, bind, will not throw fully or need the door lifted. Repaired, realigned or replaced.
Strike plate alignment
The most common fix of all. Repositioning or rebuilding the strike so the bolt meets it cleanly.
Handles, levers and knobs
Spinning handles, stripped spindles and levers that no longer spring back.
Mortise and period locks
Original lock bodies in older Connecticut homes, stripped, cleaned and rebuilt where possible.
Patio door locks
Slider latches, foot bolts and auxiliary locks on the most common point of forced entry.
Security upgrades
Reinforced strikes, long screws anchored into framing rather than jamb trim, and secondary locks.
Why locks fall out of line in Connecticut
Seasonal movement, old houses and salt air.
A house that moves twice a year
Humid summers swell doors and jambs; dry heated winters shrink them. A strike positioned perfectly in one season can be out of register in the other, which is why so many Connecticut doors lock easily in spring and stubbornly in August.
Centuries-old frames
Connecticut has some of the oldest housing stock in the country, and those openings have been settling for generations. Strikes and hinges in these homes need adjustment rather than replacement hardware.
Salt air on the shoreline
Coastal moisture corrodes lock cylinders, bolts and the screws holding strikes in place. Hardware that is merely stiff inland can seize entirely within sight of the water.
Why call us rather than just buy a lock
We treat it as a door problem, which is what it almost always is.
Diagnosis before hardware
A new lock on a misaligned door binds just as badly. We fix the geometry first and replace hardware only when it is genuinely worn.
Period hardware preserved
Original mortise locks are usually rebuildable and are better made than what would replace them.
An honest security view
We will tell you plainly where a door is weak and what would actually make a difference.
Small jobs welcome
Strike realignment is often a short visit, and we are happy to do short visits.
Three steps, no runaround
Tell us what the lock does
Whether you lift the door, jiggle the key, or shoulder it closed — those details point straight at the cause.
We check the door, not just the lock
Hinges, slab, frame and strike, then a firm price.
We repair it
Most lock and alignment work is finished in a single visit.
We are a mobile service covering the whole state. Pick your city below, or call and we will come to you.
Door Lock Repair Across Connecticut
Door lock questions
I have to lift the door to lock it.
The slab has dropped on its hinges so the bolt sits below the strike. It is usually loose hinge screws in old jamb wood, and it is a quick repair.
My door locks fine in winter but not in summer.
That is seasonal movement. Connecticut's humidity swing is large enough to move a door several millimetres, and the strike can be adjusted to work across both seasons.
Can you rebuild the original mortise lock in my old house?
Often yes. Period lock bodies are usually repairable, and they are generally better made than a modern replacement would be.
Do I need a whole new lock?
Often not. If the mechanism still works, the fix is alignment. We replace hardware only when it is actually worn out.
Do you do rekeying or lockouts?
No — we are a repair and alignment service rather than a locksmith, and we will say so rather than take the job.
Other repairs we handle
Doors and windows are all we do, so whatever has failed, it is probably on this list.