Lock Repair in Philadelphia
A lock that sticks, jams, spins, or got forced in a break-in can usually be fixed without replacing it. We repair locks at your door, anywhere in Philadelphia, and we'll tell you on-site whether repair or replacement is the cheaper right answer for what you've got.
Most Locks Can Be Fixed
People call us assuming they need a whole new lock. A lot of the time they don't. Worn pins, a strike plate that's drifted out of line, a dry mechanism, loose mounting screws. These are repairs, and a repair costs less than new hardware plus installation.
We come out, take the lock apart if we have to, and tell you what's actually wrong with it. If it can be fixed, we fix it. If it's genuinely done, we say that, with the replacement price, before we touch anything.
The Problems We See Every Week
The key is hard to turn
Usually worn pins inside the cylinder or a mechanism that's gone dry. One of the fastest repairs we do. If you've been jiggling the key a certain way to make it work, that's this.
The deadbolt won't go in all the way
Nine times out of ten the lock is fine and the door has moved. Philadelphia rowhouse doors settle, and they swell in humid summers and shrink in winter, so a bolt that lined up with the strike plate in March misses it by August. We adjust the strike and the alignment instead of selling you a new deadbolt that would have the same problem.
The key turns but nothing happens
The cam or tailpiece behind the cylinder has failed. Replaceable as a part, without buying the whole lockset.
The lock is loose in the door
Loose mounting screws or a worn housing. We tighten and adjust, and we'll tell you if the housing is too far gone to hold.
A key broke off inside it
Don't pick at it. We extract the piece with proper tools, then cut you a new key, and check the cylinder for whatever made the key snap in the first place.
Someone tried to force the door
Break-in damage has a pattern: bent cylinder, cracked housing, damaged strike, sometimes a split frame. We go through all of it, not just the lock, because a repaired lock on a cracked frame isn't security. Whatever the door needs to actually lock again, we handle that visit.
What We Repair
Front door deadbolts and entry locksets
The main event. Deadbolts, knobs, levers, handle sets. Repaired at the door.
Mortise locks in older homes
A lot of South Philly rowhomes, twins, and older buildings around the city still run their original mortise locks, the big rectangular units set into the door edge. Plenty of locksmiths just quote you a conversion to modern hardware because they don't want to open one up. We repair mortise locks when the parts allow it. If yours is original to the house, it's often worth saving. It's better built than most of what would replace it.
Back doors, side doors, basement doors
The doors nobody thinks about until the lock seizes from disuse. Same repairs, same visit.
Sliding and patio door locks
These fail constantly. The latch mechanisms are flimsy and the tracks go out of line. We repair the mechanism and realign the door so it actually catches.
Interior door locks
Bedroom and bathroom privacy locks, including the one that locked itself with nobody inside.
Keypads, electronic deadbolts, and smart locks
A dead keypad is not always a dead lock. A lot of the electronic lock calls we take come down to batteries, a programming problem, or a connection issue, which costs a fraction of a new unit. We work on the common keypad and smart deadbolts, diagnose what's actually failed, and only replace the ones that are truly gone.
Storefront and commercial locks
Commercial doors, storefront deadlatches, and panic hardware for shops and offices around the city. If your front door is the only way customers get in, we treat it as urgent.
How We Decide Between Repair and Replacement
✓ We repair it
If the lock is worn, stiff, or out of line, we repair it. There's no reason to throw out hardware with life left in it.
✕ We recommend replacement
If the cylinder is destroyed, the housing is cracked, or the lock was a bargain-bin unit to begin with, we'll tell you replacement makes more sense, with the price, before doing anything.
Sometimes we see other problems while we're on the job, like a weak strike plate or a damaged frame. We'll mention it and give you a price if you want it fixed. No pressure either way.
What Lock Repair Costs
Basic Repair
Includes the visit. Covers things like a stiff cylinder, a strike adjustment, or loose hardware.
Broken Key Extraction
Removing a snapped key and cutting a new one.
Break-In Damage
Price depends on what got damaged, so we look first and quote before we start.
Either way, you get the full price on-site before we start, and a repair costs less than buying and installing a new lock. Nights and holidays can add a little, and you'll hear the total on the phone first.
Lock Repairs That Can't Wait for Morning
Some repairs are emergencies. A door that won't lock is an unsecured home, and if it happened because someone forced it, you shouldn't sleep behind it that way. We run 24 hours for exactly these calls: break-in damage, deadbolts that quit with the door unsecured, keys snapped off at night. Call whenever it happens and we'll give you a real arrival time.
Call (215) 258-9982Where We Do Lock Repairs
All of Philadelphia. The shop is at 2600 S 9th St, so we get to South Philly fastest, but the vans cover the whole city. Center City, West Philly, North Philly, the Northeast. In Delaware County we go out to Springfield, Darby, Sharon Hill, Lansdowne and Folcroft.
Lock Repair Questions
Can my lock be fixed or do I need a new one?
Can you fix an old mortise lock or do I have to convert to a modern lock?
My smart lock stopped working. Is it dead?
The door won't latch unless I lift the handle. Is that the lock?
Someone tried to break in. Can you come tonight?
Is repair really cheaper than a new lock?
Do you repair car door locks too?
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