Lock Replacement in Myrtle Beach, SC

When a lock is due for replacement

The median home in Myrtle Beach was built in 1994 (Census ACS 2024 5-year), which means half the city's homes are that old or older and many entry doors have had decades of daily use. Signs a lock has reached the end of its life: the key turns only with a wiggle, the bolt no longer lines up with the strike plate, the finish has worn through to bare metal, or the lockset shifts on the door. A lock replacement swaps the whole lockset. Rekeying, by contrast, keeps the hardware and changes only the key.

A citywide median hides a lot

That 1994 figure covers the whole city. Market Common sits on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, which closed on March 31, 1993, and by 2013 the base's 3,937 acres held more than 1,200 homes. The median says little about any one door, so judge each lock by its condition, not its neighborhood.

Statewide, mobile homes make up 12.8 percent of South Carolina housing, more than twice the national 5.4 percent. For a manufactured home, note which way the door swings and have the old hardware or its measurements on hand, so the new lock fits the door you actually have.

Choosing an upgrade

Replacement is the natural moment to change what the lock does. Ask about a deadbolt with a longer bolt, a keypad for a home several people share, or a smart lock where the door and the building's rules allow it. In homes as old as the city's median, longer screws in the strike plate anchor it to the frame rather than the door trim.

Details that help with a replacement

• Which door, and whether it is wood, metal, glass-paneled or a sliding door
• A photo of the current lock, inside and outside faces
• How many keys you want, and whether every lock should share one key
• The type of home (house, condo, apartment or mobile home) and your neighborhood in Myrtle Beach, from Market Common to Booker T. Washington