Lock Replacement in Raleigh, NC

Old doors and new ones

Raleigh's housing is young. Census Bureau estimates put only 7.8 percent of its homes before 1960, against 20.2 percent in Greensboro and 14.2 percent in Durham, and close to half date from 2000 or later. In a newer house, replacement is often a matter of worn or mismatched hardware: a knob lock that no longer latches cleanly, a deadbolt that sticks, or a set that does not match the other doors.

Inside the Beltline, Hayes Barton and Boylan Heights were typically built before World War II, as were Five Points and Mordecai. Original doors there may use a mortise lock, fitted into a pocket cut in the door edge, and a replacement has to fit that pocket or the door needs work to take something else. Photograph the lock edge before choosing hardware. Historic Oakwood, the state's largest intact 19th-century residential neighborhood, adds Italianate houses and foursquares to the mix. Sometimes the original lock is worth repairing instead.

Historic districts and door hardware

Raleigh has eight Historic Overlay Districts, among them Oakwood, Boylan Heights, Blount Street, Oberlin Village, Prince Hall and Glenwood-Brooklyn. A Certificate of Appropriateness is required before any exterior change in a General district (HOD-G), in the regulated zones of a Streetside district (HOD-S), or to a Raleigh Historic Landmark. Unified Development Ordinance Section 10.2.15 lists doors, door openings and storm doors as minor work; city staff approve Minor Work, while a Raleigh Historic Development Commission committee decides Major Work after a hearing.

A lock that fits the existing door without changing what shows from the street raises a different question from a new door or visible new hardware. Ask the city's preservation staff before ordering, and check the city's iMAPS map to see whether an address is locally designated. This is general information, not legal advice.

Details for a replacement request

• photos of the lock from both sides and of the door edge
• door thickness, if you can measure it
• which doors need new locks, and whether they should share one key
• whether the address falls inside one of the historic districts above

Keys that only need to stop working call for lock rekeying instead. Neighborhood and district background is on the Raleigh page.