Lock Replacement in Reading, PA

When a lock needs replacing

Rekeying deals with who holds a key. Replacement is for the lock itself: a latch that no longer catches, a deadbolt that will not throw fully, a cylinder too worn to rekey, a broken handle set, or a door with only a spring latch that should have a deadbolt added.

In an older Reading house the door around the lock can be the harder part. In Centre Park alone, more than half of the district's buildings went up between 1900 and 1910. A door of that age may hold a mortise lock set into a pocket in its edge rather than a modern bored lock, or carry filled holes from several earlier locks. A new lock has to fit what is there, or the door needs work to take it.

Historic districts and HARB

Centre Park is one of four historic districts, with Callowhill, Prince and Penn's Common, that seat members on the city's Historical Architectural Review Board, alongside the Heights Conservation District. Under the Historic and Conservation Districts Ordinance, Chapter 295 of the city code, the board must approve exterior changes in these districts before the work is completed. Its review covers new construction, demolition, additions, exterior renovations and signage visible from streets and alleys, and the Preservation Officer may approve in-kind restoration.

For a homeowner in one of these districts, the point to watch is scope. Check with the city before replacing a visible front or storm door, and ask whether new hardware that shows from the street needs review as well. This is general information, not legal advice.

Matching older doors

Philadelphia's City Planning Commission, in its rowhouse manual, advises reusing old doors rather than replacing them where possible, and notes that new hardware is made to match older styles. For a Reading rowhouse that still has its original door, that usually points to a matched lockset rather than a new door. If the existing lock can still be saved, lock repair is worth weighing first.

Planning the job

Send photos of the lock from both sides and of the door edge, the door's thickness, and whether the house sits in one of the districts above. If several exterior doors are getting new locks, they can be keyed alike. The lock replacement page has the service overview.