If you’re having issues turning your keys, incorrect latching, or knob problems, you might assume it’s an issue with your residential or commercial lock. But in the years of experience had by the technicians at SOS Locksmith, we’ve seen a number of cases where issues that seem to be lock related are not actually caused by issues with the lock itself. Here’s a few other issues that might be causing the problems:
Key Issues
The pins inside locks are exactly matched with the keys in order to create a perfectly smooth revolution motion and operation. If you’ve lost your original keys and are working with key duplicates, this can cause issues. Any slight variation in the key cut can cause a major difference, and as more and more duplicates are made, these discrepancies can become exaggerated, rendering the keys dysfunctional. This is the major risk of making key duplicates from key duplicates, the variations in tooth shape grow exponentially. It’s a smarter choice to get your lock professionally rekeyed, and have the locksmith make you a bunch of spare keys.
Door Strikes
Even when doors are properly hung and installed, if the strike isn’t installed correctly, you’re going to have problems. Bolts and latches need to be centered exactly with their strikes. The entry lock latch strike needs to be perfectly positioned so that the plunger of the deadbolt latch doesn’t fall into the opening of the strike. The strikes additionally need to get installed with screws that are long enough to anchor the strike into the framing behind the door jamb. These screws should be at the minimum, three inches long.
Hinges
If you have loose or improperly mounted hinges, you’re going to have problems. Usually, 3 hinges are attached to a regular door jamb with 4 screws. If these hinges aren’t attached correctly, you’re going to have issues opening the lock. You need to ensure that at least one of the screws that attach the hinge to the door jamb are long enough. If the hinges are mounted incorrectly, the door is going to sag and thus interfere with how the strikes and locks are aligned. In these cases, you need to call a locksmith for help. The first thing a professional locksmith should do is to inspect the gap between the door and the jamb to help identify the issues and make the proper repairs.
