Smart Lock Installation in Milwaukee, WI

Do Milwaukee doors suit a smart lock?

Most smart deadbolts are made for a standard drilled deadbolt hole, and many Milwaukee doors are old: 33.9 percent of the city's homes, about a third, are in buildings from 1939 or earlier. An original door in a Bay View cottage may still hold a mortise lock, which sits in a pocket in the door edge. Fitting a smart lock there can call for a model made for mortise locks, or for a keypad beside the old lock, and drilling into a door worth keeping is a decision to make deliberately. A door already fitted with a modern deadbolt is the easy case.

Approvals in rentals and shared buildings

About 56.6 percent of occupied Milwaukee homes are rented, so owner approval comes up often. Get it in writing before changing a lock on a rented unit. Only your own unit door is yours to change: the street door of a two-unit building and the lobby of a Historic Third Ward loft building may be shared, so ask the owner or manager first.

Milwaukee's chapter 217 sets minimum deadbolt and cylinder standards for many residential doors (s. 217-3 for buildings from June 24, 1989 on, s. 217-13 for older ones), so check that the door will still have a deadbolt that meets them. This is general information, not legal advice.

Cold, batteries and a backup key

A key fob's range can drop in a January cold snap, and a keypad can behave the same way, so try fresh batteries before blaming the lock. Change them at the start of winter rather than waiting for a low-battery warning, and wipe slush and salt off the keypad. Keep a working physical key, and leave a spare with someone you know rather than under a mat. A dead battery or a dead phone should never mean a lockout; if it does, see house lockout.

Send the door type, the building's age, whether the owner approved and the lock model you have in mind. The service overview is at smart lock installation.