Smart Lock Installation in Kansas City, MO

Does your door suit a smart lock?

Most smart deadbolts are made for a door with a standard round bore and a latch hole in the edge. An original door in an older house may instead have been cut for a mortise lock, which can call for a mortise-compatible model or new boring; lock replacement explains how older doors are prepared.

Under Secs. 56-134 and 56-136 of the city's Property Maintenance Code, every exit door must open easily from the inside. A smart deadbolt with an inside thumbturn opens from indoors without a key or code.

Lofts, rentals and approvals

In the River Market, many lofts sit in converted riverfront warehouses where the street door and elevator are run by the building. A smart lock can go on your own loft door, but the building's doors are not yours to change, and whoever runs the building may have rules on hardware facing the hall. Ask before you buy.

Renters should check the lease before changing any lock. Landlords adding keypads should note that a code does not change the entry rules: under Sec. 34-848.1(c) of the Healthy Rental Homes article, an owner may enter a tenant's home only with written consent, or during reasonable hours after at least a day's notice stating the date, time, who will enter and why, with exceptions for extreme hazards and tenant abandonment. This is general information, not legal advice.

Batteries, cold and a backup key

NOAA's summary for Missouri describes arctic air arriving in winter, and a keypad on an exposed door takes the full cold. Alkaline batteries lose capacity at low temperatures, so a keypad that works in October can falter in a January cold snap. Change batteries each fall and keep a mechanical key where you can reach it if the lock goes dark, such as with a neighbor or in a lockbox.

For a request, send a photo of the door edge and current lock, the door material, whether you own or rent, and the building type. The smart lock installation page describes the service; a door that should keep a regular key is a job for lock rekeying, and Kansas City covers the city's housing.