Lock Repair in Denver, CO

What dry air and temperature swings do to a door

The Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University describes generally low humidity and large differences between day and night temperatures across the state. Chinook winds, warmed as they come down from the mountains, can raise temperatures on the high plains 25 to 35°F within a short time. Wood doors and frames dry out and move with the seasons, and that movement can pull a deadbolt out of line with its strike plate.

Many of these complaints are repairs, not replacements:

• a bolt that turns only when you lean on the door often needs the strike plate shifted or its opening enlarged
• a sagging door often comes back into line when short hinge screws are swapped for longer ones that reach the framing
• a stiff key may need the cylinder cleaned and treated with a dry lubricant such as graphite, since oil collects dust

Older locks in Baker and Capitol Hill

A prewar Denver house may still have its original mortise lock, a case of springs and levers set into the door edge. Repairing it can avoid cutting new holes for a standard deadbolt. Baker holds hundreds of 19th-century brick houses and Capitol Hill's average building dates to 1920, so doors old enough for that hardware are not unusual in either neighborhood.

Renters and a failing lock

Under C.R.S. 38-12-505(1)(b)(XI), a Colorado rental is uninhabitable if it substantially lacks locks on all exterior doors, and locks or security devices on windows designed to be opened, kept in good working order. A sticking bolt or a spinning knob is worth reporting to the landlord in writing, with the date. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to send

• which door, and whether it is wood, metal or glass
• what the lock does: sticks, spins, will not latch, or the key will not turn
• whether it is worse at certain times of day or after a warm spell
• a short video of the door closing and the bolt moving

A key that has already snapped is a different job: see broken key extraction. The general service is at lock repair, with more city notes on the Denver page.