Locksmith

Locksmith

Josh-the-Locksmith

25 Years Experience

Austin, TX

Male, 46

I've been a locksmith since 1998. I did automotive residential & commercial work from 1998 to 2008. From 2008 to 2018, I did some residential, but mostly commercial work. I have been project managing & estimating since 2018. I used to locksmith in the Chicago area, now the Austin area.

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330 Questions

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Last Answer on June 11, 2024

Best Rated

Could you give a client COVID-19?

Asked by Ndndnd about 6 years ago

We don’t offer that service at our company.

Can you recommend a secure lock to install on a thin door? Are there any electronic locks or deadbolts that can be installed on a thin door?

Asked by water_mom over 5 years ago

I think most deadbolts have a range of 1-3/8” to 1-3/4” thick doors. I would recommend going to schlage.com or kwikset.com & looking at their electronic deadbolts, look at the Specifications section on the product page. It should tell you the door thickness range. If it’s any thinner than 1-3/8”, it won’t work. You would need some kind of spacer to space out the lock on both sides of the door. I personally think Schlage makes a better lock than Kwikset.

I have an old entry handle for my front door that’s seen better days. I believe the brand is EZ-set. Finding a replacement that fits has become very difficult. Can you tell me what options I have and where to go to find the right one

Asked by khalilabuhamdeh@yahoo.com about 6 years ago

Well I would stay away from EZ Set, they're garbage. Apparently they have gotten to be harder to find as well. Assuming you're talking about a long pull handle with a thumb button, every model of every brand is a different length. I would go with Schlage or Kwikset. Much better quality. I I believe it's Schlage that makes them with an adjustable bottom post. That way you're not stuck having to find one that matches up perfectly, it will actually slide up and down to accommodate 1-2 inch differences. It should tell you the range it covers on the box. So measure your door from the center of the 2-1/8" hole to the center of the bottom hole. However, if you're replacing the deadbolt as well, EZ Set uses a Kwikset keyway, and Schlage uses a Schlage keyway. So you wouldn't be able to rekey it to your existing key, you would just have a separate key for your front door. Otherwise, you will have to find a Kwikset handle that matches close enough.

Automotive Trunk lock question; I'm Locked-Out of my Car Trunk. Key and Fob do not open it. Can not access from inside the car either. I had a separate trunk key cut, due to this happened before. But it does not work. What next ?

Asked by Tuco1957 about 6 years ago

Try squirting some WD40 into your trunk lock, run the key in and out of the lock a bunch of times. Locks get corroded fairly quickly when they are not used.

Aside from that, you could have a locksmith come out or you can go into a shop. They can get in 1 way or another. Worst case, drill out the lock & replace it.

I lost both my FOB n starter keys to my car (2006 Honda Civic LX). Is there anyway to get keys made

Asked by BigZeke about 5 years ago

Certain locksmiths can remake the fob & keys; as well as the dealer.

I just purchased a condo that has a Mortise lock. I am trying to convert to a smart lock but all Mortise ones use smaller Locksets. Any Suggestions? Face is 1-1/16x7-5/8 on mine

Asked by Massimo C almost 5 years ago

It sounds like an older mortise lock. Most modern mortise locks are 8” x 1-1/4”. You’re not going to find something that easily retrofits into the door prep you have. You could have a locksmith fresh install a deadbolt above your mortise lock if your condo will allow it. Otherwise, there just aren’t very many options for the residential mortise lock platform. Look up Yale Nextouch. They make a smart locks with a mortise prep, but it won’t fit in your door as is. You’ll have to have it modified. Also check with your bldg Mgmt before you do anything, I have seen some of them have strict rules what they will let tenants do to maintain uniformity.

The front door to our home has a center door knob. We've lost the key, don't particularly care for the current knob, and want to replace it. Is there a special kit we would need since it is centered rather than aligned to the left or right? Thanks!

Asked by Nursey82 about 6 years ago

Yes, companies make special extended latch kits. You can usually get any knob you want as long as that company makes a compatible latch. Take a measuring tape and hook it to the edge of your door (where the latch comes out of the edge of the door). Measure over to the center of your door knob. That is what size latch you need.

You might be able to reuse the current latch and just replace the knob itself. If you read the latch face, there should be a brand written on it.