Smart Lock Installation in Atlanta, GA

Will your door take one?

Most smart deadbolts are made for a bored door: a round hole through the face and a smaller bolt hole in the edge. An older door in Inman Park, Atlanta's first streetcar suburb, may instead hold a mortise lock whose body is set into the door edge. That calls for a model built for mortise doors, or for leaving the old lock alone and fitting the smart lock elsewhere on the door.

Fit matters more than looks. A motorized bolt that drags on its strike drains batteries and can stall, and Atlanta's humid summers are when wood doors swell. Get the door closing cleanly first, then install.

Permission in rentals and towers

• Renters. Most Atlanta households rent (52.3 percent in 2024 Census Bureau estimates), and a smart lock is a lock change. The Department of Community Affairs' Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook says leases typically require the landlord's permission for that, so read the lease before you buy. This is general information, not legal advice.
• High-rises. In a Buckhead tower, the garage and lobby often run on the building's own access system. A smart lock on your unit door works separately, but a door that faces a common hall may be covered by building rules, so ask management.
• Historic districts. Inman Park, Collier Heights and Castleberry Hill are designated by the City of Atlanta. If the new lock would change the outside of an original door, check with the Urban Design Commission's staff first. Some retrofit models replace only the inside thumbturn and leave the outside hardware as it is.

Batteries and a backup key

Heat shortens the life of coin cells in smart locks, and summers here run long, hot and humid in NOAA's description, so replace batteries at the first low-battery warning. Choose a lock with a mechanical key or another way in, and keep that key somewhere other than the house.

In a smart lock installation request, send a photo of the door edge and current lock, the model if you have already bought one, and whether you own or rent. See residential locksmith services for more.