Smart Lock Installation in Los Angeles, CA

Fitting a smart lock to Los Angeles doors

Before buying a smart lock, measure the door's bore hole and backset and match them to the lock's listed fit.

• Balboa Highlands. In this Granada Hills tract, built from 1962 to 1964 and the only Eichler development in Los Angeles County, homes open onto atriums through sliding-glass doors. Smart deadbolts are typically made for swinging doors, so the front entry is the natural place to start rather than a slider.
• Overlay zones. Exterior work in a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone gets additional City Planning review, and a keypad changes how a street-facing door looks, so ask City Planning before mounting one on an original door.
• Converted lofts. Arts District live/work lofts fill converted industrial buildings, so the unit door and its hardware may belong to a landlord or an association.

Approvals and code

If you rent, or your building has an association, get written approval before replacing a lock someone else controls. Los Angeles Building Code Section 6706 requires residential entry doors to give a view outside without opening, such as a door viewer, so leave any existing viewer in place.

Section 6709.2 also sets what the deadbolt on a single swinging residential door must do, including that a key opens it from outside, so check a smart lock's specifications against it. This is general information, not legal advice.

Temperature, batteries and a backup key

Smart locks list an operating temperature range. Check it before mounting one on a door that takes direct sun, and replace batteries at the first low-battery warning. Keep a mechanical key, or another way in, somewhere other than inside the house.

What to say about the door

1. Photos showing the door edge and both sides of the current lock.
2. The smart lock model, if you have already bought one.
3. Whether the home is in an overlay zone and whether a landlord or association must approve.

If the door needs new hardware first, see lock replacement. See smart lock installation for the service, and Los Angeles for the city's door and building rules.