Lock Replacement in Aurora, IL

Two historic districts, two kinds of door

Tanner became a locally designated historic district in 1998. The houses listed there, dated 1853 to 1931, include Oak Avenue, View Street, Park Avenue and Lake Street addresses and range in style from Italianate to Tudor Revival. If a door that old carries a mortise lock, the kind set into a pocket cut in the door's edge, a replacement has to fit that pocket, so the lock is chosen for the door already there.

Riddle Highlands was laid out in 1922 on a former driving park, and its streets include Lawndale, Sunset and Grand avenues. Its Period Revival houses, such as English Cottage and Dutch Colonial Revival, share the district listing with ranches from 1949 and 1952, so a door from one era can take different hardware than a door from another.

Check before changing the door

Under Section 37-81 of the Aurora Municipal Code, a local landmark, or a property in a locally designated historic district, needs a Certificate of Appropriateness before it is altered or gets exterior construction or demolition. The city's application form lists exterior doors among the changes it covers. If a new lock would mean a new door, a new frame or a visible change to the door's face, ask the city whether a certificate is needed before work starts. This is general information, not legal advice.

When replacing beats repairing

• The cylinder or latch is cracked, rusted through or so worn that the key catches.
• A deadbolt throws only if the door is pushed or lifted.
• Parts for an older lock are no longer made.
• You want a deadbolt where there is only a knob lock, or one key for every door.

If the lock works and the worry is who holds keys, lock rekeying is the smaller job, and a sticking lock may only need repair.

What to send

Name the street or district, and send photos of the door from both sides and of its edge with the lock plate showing. Give the door thickness if you can measure it. The lock replacement page covers the service, and the Aurora page covers the city.