Lock Replacement in Greensboro, NC

Old doors set the terms

Census Bureau estimates for 2024 put 20.2 percent of Greensboro's homes in buildings from before 1960, against 14.2 percent in Durham and 7.8 percent in Raleigh, so a replacement here is more likely to meet an original door than in Raleigh. An original door may still carry a mortise lock, whose body sits in a rectangular pocket cut into the door edge. A new lock either matches that pocket or the door needs work first, such as filling the pocket and boring for a standard lock.

College Hill: Queen Anne and bungalow doors

College Hill, between UNCG and Greensboro College, holds one of the city's largest groups of Queen Anne and transitional Queen Anne/Colonial Revival houses from the 1890s and 1900s, followed by bungalows and foursquares. On a door that old, measure the thickness, the backset and any existing bore or mortise before choosing hardware, and decide whether the original plates and trim should stay.

Sunset Hills: newer, but not uniform

Sunset Hills, platted in late 1926, has houses that are overwhelmingly brick veneered and date from the late 1920s to the early 1960s, with Colonial Revival the most common style and Tudor Revival beside it. A house from 1930 and one from 1960 can share a street, so measure the door you have rather than assuming.

Replace or repair

Replace when the key turns but the bolt or latch no longer moves reliably, when keys stick even after cleaning, when the housing is cracked or the bolt is bent, or when a knob-only door needs a deadbolt too. If one part has failed and the body is sound, lock repair may be enough. If keyless entry is the goal, read about smart lock installation first.

Photos that help

Name the neighborhood and the door: front, side, rear or garage. A photo of the lock face and one of the door edge with the door open shows whether the lock is a mortise or a round bored one. Say whether the new lock should take your existing key. The full service is described under lock replacement.