Locksmith Services in Portland, OR

Homes and locks in Portland

Ladd's Addition, in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood between SE Hawthorne, Division, 12th and 20th, was subdivided by William S. Ladd in 1891 on a diagonal "wagon wheel" plan instead of the grid around it. Most of its houses went up between 1905 and 1930: bungalows, Craftsman homes, American Foursquares, and Tudor, Mission and Colonial Revival designs.

It is also one of fewer than 20 areas in Portland with alleys. If your house has a door, gate or garage facing the alley, count it too when you plan lock rekeying after a move.

The Pearl District, between W Burnside, the Willamette River, NW Broadway and I-405, was warehouses, light industry and rail yards until it was reclassified from industrial to mixed use in the mid-1980s. It now holds warehouse-to-loft conversions and high-rise condominiums. In a loft building or tower, say whether the problem is the street door, the garage, the elevator or your own unit door.

Businesses and buildings

The Skidmore/Old Town Historic District, roughly bounded by Naito Parkway, Everett Street, 3rd Avenue and Oak Street, became a National Historic Landmark in 1977 for its cast-iron commercial architecture and its role as a major 19th-century West Coast port. A rekey works inside the existing lock, so a historic storefront door stays as it is.

In the Pearl, converted industrial buildings now hold offices. For a business in a shared building, note whether the lock is on the building entry or your own suite; see commercial locksmith.

Car trouble in Portland

Portland City Code 16.20.170 bars storing a vehicle on public right-of-way for more than 24 hours without permission of the City Administrator. Not moving a vehicle off the block face within 24 hours counts as prima facie evidence of storage, which may be abated. If a lost or broken key strands your car on the street, the clock keeps running; note when you parked when you request car key replacement.

Section 16.20.120 M requires a driver who leaves a vehicle unattended on a street or other public property to stop the engine, lock the ignition, remove the key, set the brake and, on a grade, turn the front wheels to the curb. A car left idling with the key inside does not meet it; see car lockout.

Local rules worth knowing

Portland City Code Chapter 29.30, Housing Maintenance Requirements, applies to residential property and holds the owner to it. Its door and window standards include:

• 29.30.100.C: every door to the exterior of a dwelling unit needs a lock designed to discourage unwanted entry that opens from the inside without a key or special knowledge or effort.
• 29.30.100.D: every exterior door, hinge, lock and strike plate must be kept in good condition, and the door must fit reasonably well in its frame.
• 29.30.100.B: in hotels and apartment houses, common-corridor exit doors must open from the inside with one hand in a single motion.
• 29.30.090.G: windows that open within 10 feet of the exterior grade must latch securely from the inside and open from the inside without a key.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Requesting service in Portland

Oregon Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Portland. Give the full address with its prefix: N, NE, NW, S, SE or SW. In 2018 the City Council split a South section off Southwest Portland because leading zeros confused emergency dispatch and mapping software; addresses such as 0100 SW in Collins View and South Waterfront became 100 S. See house lockout or the Oregon services list.