Lock Replacement in Jersey City, NJ

Door age sets the job

Jersey City's downtown doors are old. The Historic Preservation Commission dates the earliest rows, Greek Revival and mostly in Paulus Hook, to the 1830s to 1850s, and most of the rest in the four downtown districts to 1850 to 1870. Across Hudson County, nearly 29 percent of homes predate 1940. A door that old may hold a mortise lock, with the case set into the door edge. Replacing it with another mortise lock can reuse the existing pocket, while switching to a bored deadbolt can mean altering the door.

Replacing hardware in a historic district

This is general information, not legal advice. In the four downtown districts, the commission's guidelines treat replacing hardware with a match to the original as repair of a historic door, which takes a Certificate of No Effect. A historic door may not be removed unless it is beyond repair, and a door that does not match, or a changed opening, needs a Certificate of Appropriateness. Section 345-71 of the city's Land Development Ordinance adds that replaced doors and windows shall match the style and finish of the building's period of significance. A fifth district, West Bergen-East Lincoln Park, has since been added, so check whether your address is in one before ordering hardware.

When worn hardware should go

• The key turns only with force, even after the lock is cleaned and lubricated.
• The cylinder or knob spins loose in the door.
• The deadbolt will not fully extend, or the latch misses the strike.

In a downtown district, ask first whether lock repair can keep the original hardware on the door.

In buildings of three or more units, N.J.A.C. 5:10-19.2 calls for each unit entrance door to have a medium-duty dead-latching lockset or a separate deadbolt, and the landlord supplies those locks. A replacement there should meet that standard and go through the owner.

Photos and details to send

Send photos of both faces of the door and its edge, the lock type (mortise, knob, lever or deadbolt), whether the building is in a historic district, and whether the new lock should match your other keys. Lock replacement covers the service.