Lock Replacement in Bend, OR

Fitting new hardware to Drake Park doors

The Drake Park Neighborhood Historic District, bounded by Riverside Boulevard, Tumalo Avenue, Broadway Street and Franklin Avenue, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. All but three of its homes date from 1910 to 1954. Most of those from the 1910s are Craftsman, with later Tudor, Cape Cod and Dutch Colonial designs. A door cut for hardware of that era may not match a modern lockset, so for a lock replacement there:

• Measure the existing holes, the pocket in the door edge and the backset before buying
• Choose hardware whose plate covers the old cut instead of enlarging it
• Decide whether the original knobs, plates or trim should go back on

Ask first whether a lock repair could keep the original hardware. Replacement is for a lock that cannot be saved.

Newer houses and manufactured homes

Most of Bend's houses are newer and usually have bored deadbolts and knob or lever sets, which use standard hole sizes, so a replacement often fits the existing holes. Common reasons to swap one:

1. The latch stops catching, or the deadbolt no longer throws fully
2. The finish has worn through or the cylinder turns roughly
3. You want a sturdier deadbolt, with a strike plate held by longer screws that reach the framing
4. You are moving to a keypad or smart lock

Manufactured homes often carry locksets sized for thinner doors, so send a photo of the existing lock; some standard replacements may not fit.

When the door belongs to a landlord

Under ORS 90.320(1)(L), a rental unit is considered unhabitable if it substantially lacks working locks for all entrance doors and latches for all windows through which the unit can be entered. A tenant whose lock is failing should tell the landlord before anything is changed. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to send

• Photos of each lock from both sides, plus the door edge
• Door thickness, if you can measure it, and how many doors are involved
• Whether the new locks should be keyed alike
• Your district, such as River West along the Deschutes River

The Bend page covers the city's other districts.