Lock Repair in Charlotte, NC

How Charlotte's weather wears on locks

Humidity is the summer problem. NOAA describes North Carolina's climate as humid, and wood doors take on moisture and swell in warm, damp weather, so a deadbolt that throws easily in January can drag against the strike plate in August. Forcing it wears the bolt, the cylinder and the key.

Winter brings a different problem. In storms where cold air is trapped against the Appalachians, rain can fall as freezing rain; one in February 2014 brought up to half an inch to some areas of the state. Water that gets into a keyway and freezes can stop a key from entering or turning, and forcing it bends the key or damages the pins.

Older hardware in older neighborhoods

Homes in NoDa, a mill neighborhood from 1903, and in Plaza Midwood, a streetcar suburb from 1910, may still have early doors and, with them, early hardware: mortise locks with tired springs, loose knobs, or latches that no longer catch. Repair can mean cleaning and lubricating the mechanism, replacing a spring or worn part, or moving a strike plate so the latch lines up again. On an older door, repair often keeps the original hardware in use where a replacement would mean cutting the door.

Simple upkeep

• Lubricate cylinders once or twice a year with graphite or a lock-specific dry lubricant. Oil collects dust.
• If a bolt drags, check the door before the lock: a swollen or sagging door is often the cause.
• Tighten loose screws on handles and strike plates before they strip.
• For an iced keyway, use a lock de-icer. Hot water can refreeze inside.

If you rent

Charlotte City Code Sec. 11-78(g) requires operable locks on outside doors and windows. Under G.S. 42-42(a)(8), a lack of operable locks on doors leading outside and on ground-level windows is an imminently dangerous condition the landlord must fix within a reasonable time after learning of it, though the landlord may recover the cost from a tenant who caused the damage. Report a failing lock in writing and keep a copy. This is general information, not legal advice.

See lock repair for the service, and lock replacement for locks past fixing.