Lock Change in Jacksonville

New locks fitted, old ones retired. 904 Locksmiths changes and installs deadbolts, handlesets, and lever locks across Jacksonville, matched to the door instead of forced onto it. Call (904) 447-5436 for a quote.

• The door measured first: backset, bore, and thickness, so the new hardware fits the existing prep.
• Fresh deadbolt installations on doors that never had one, drilled clean with a template.
• Strike plates reset with proper screws so the bolt actually reaches the frame.
• Old hardware taken off your hands and every new lock keyed and tested.

Change-outs run through Paxon and Lackawanna one week and out to Marietta and Whitehouse the next. Older doors get hardware that respects the existing mortises and paint lines; newer ones get grades chosen for the exposure the door actually faces.

How an Install Goes, Step by Step

The old hardware comes off and the door gets measured properly: bore diameter, backset, thickness, and the state of the strike side. If everything is standard, the new lock drops into the existing prep and the visit is mostly adjustment and testing. Fresh installs on a door that never had a deadbolt get drilled with a jig, so the bore lands clean and square instead of wandering. Every install ends the same way: the bolt thrown and retracted with the door open and closed, keys tested, and the strike catching without a shoulder check.

Hardware Worth Putting on a Florida Door

Kwikset and Schlage cover most budgets and both make honest Grade 2 gear; step up to Grade 1 for a front door that faces real exposure or a rental that eats hardware. Handlesets bring the long trim plate and matching interior half. Levers earn their place on doors that arthritis or full hands use daily. Jacksonville humidity is the quiet enemy, so finish matters more here than inland: sealed finishes shrug off the damp that pits bargain plating in a couple of summers.

What Moves the Price

The hardware itself is the biggest slice, and grade drives it. Beyond that: a fresh bore versus a straight swap, strike and frame reinforcement, keyed-alike work across the new set, and how many doors are in the visit. The hardware conversation happens before purchase, with options at more than one price, and the labor lands in the same up-front quote.

Does a metal or fiberglass door change the install?

It changes the technique, not the outcome. Steel doors need clean cutting rather than aggressive drilling so the skin doesn’t tear, and fiberglass wants pilot care to avoid cracking the gel coat. Both take standard hardware once the bore is right, and both are routine on the van.

What’s a reinforced strike, and is it worth it?

The strike is the metal the bolt lands in, and builder-grade strikes hang on half-inch screws that quit under one kick. A reinforced strike plate with three-inch screws ties the strike into the wall stud instead of the trim. It’s the cheapest meaningful security upgrade a door can get, and it rides along free of ceremony with most of our installs.

What happens to the old hardware?

Your call. Plenty of owners keep a retired-but-healthy deadbolt as shed or gate hardware, and we’ll rekey it to match the house on the spot if it’s staying in service. Genuinely worn hardware leaves with us for metal recycling rather than the landfill, and either way the old keys get accounted for before the visit ends.

When a Change-Out Is the Wrong Move

If the hardware is sound and the problem is who has keys, a rekey does the job for less, and we’ll route you there ourselves. Historic mortise sets in the older neighborhoods are usually worth repairing rather than replacing, because modern retrofits rarely respect the door. And a sagging door needs carpentry before it needs a better lock.

24/7 Emergency Response