Lock Replacement in Augusta, GA

Older doors in Augusta

Census estimates for 2024 count 20.7 percent of Augusta's homes in buildings from before 1960. Pinched Gut, roughly bounded by Reynolds Street, East Boundary, Gwinnett Street and Gordon Highway, is one National Register district of older housing, so a request from a house there should say whether the lock is original.

Replacing a lock in an old door

Doors of that age may hold a mortise lock, its body set in a pocket cut into the door edge. A standard deadbolt may not simply drop into that pocket, and fitting one means boring new holes in an old door. The usual choices:

1. A new mortise lock sized to the existing pocket and faceplate.
2. The original lock body kept, with worn cylinders, springs or trim replaced.
3. On a newer door, a modern deadbolt with a knob or lever set.

Before ordering parts, photograph the lock face, the door edge and the strike, and measure the backset, the distance from the door edge to the center of the lock. A latch that will not catch, or a cylinder too worn to turn reliably, is a stronger case for replacement than a lock that merely sticks.

The Certificate of Appropriateness

The city's design guidelines cover three local historic districts: Downtown, Olde Town and Summerville. Augusta's Historic Preservation Ordinance (Augusta-Richmond County Code, Chapter 7-4) bars a material change in the exterior appearance of a property in a designated historic district until the Historic Preservation Commission approves a Certificate of Appropriateness (§ 7-4-16). It counts the type and style of doors as exterior architectural features (§ 7-4-2). If the commission does not act on an application within 45 days, the application counts as approved (§ 7-4-25).

Whether new hardware on a visible door counts as a material change is a question for the commission's staff. This is general information, not legal advice.

Before you request a replacement

Give the cross streets, whether the property is in a local historic district, the photos and backset above, and what the lock does wrong. If it still works but sticks, lock repair may keep the original. For the service itself see lock replacement; for the city, Augusta.