Killer Locks and a Wicked Locksmith!
The first thing everyone tells you to do when you buy a house is get your locks rekeyed. Whole pages of "what to do when you buy a house" say how important this is. So, being a good little puppy, I duly found a locksmith to come out and check my locks on my little piece of heaven. That, in itself, was quite a feat as locksmiths weren't particularly keen to come out so far for a simple rekey.
Oh, how I wish simple was a word that I could use for this house!
Justin Fuller, of Fuller Alamo Safe and Lock in San Antonio (shameless plug for somebody that I think deserves it! and no, I get no commission for it), presented himself on the appointed day and inspected my locks and my overall "lock security". We agreed that my security was non-existent and a full replacement of all locks was in order. See these beautiful butterfly deadbolts, right next to glass window panes? All the movies where the character just knocks out the glass and unlocks the door hasn't clued the general public to the idea that these are not good to put on a door with glass panes? Wow!
Almightily pleased, I can tell you! Not only that, but I've gone from about a dozen individual keys to one. Okay, not one, I did get more than one (seriously, I'm not that stupid!) but one key that rules them all is way simpler to control than multiple singles.
Oh, and while I'm plugging Justin, allow me to add that he was the most polite, customer-service oriented person I've had the pleasure of dealing with since I arrived in this country. He did a great job and he even cleaned up after himself. Joking aside, he was amazing and I'm very grateful to him for such a terrific job. That night I slept soundly for the first time since I'd moved in.
Now those of you with eidetic memories or just keen observation will have noted that I mentioned one extra item in my list of what Justin installed. Clever you!
Have you ever heard of a door guard? No? Neither had I. And now I haz one and it is awesome! If you want to know what it is, check back tomorrow.
Muaaaahahahahahahahaha!
Oh, how I wish simple was a word that I could use for this house!
Justin Fuller, of Fuller Alamo Safe and Lock in San Antonio (shameless plug for somebody that I think deserves it! and no, I get no commission for it), presented himself on the appointed day and inspected my locks and my overall "lock security". We agreed that my security was non-existent and a full replacement of all locks was in order. See these beautiful butterfly deadbolts, right next to glass window panes? All the movies where the character just knocks out the glass and unlocks the door hasn't clued the general public to the idea that these are not good to put on a door with glass panes? Wow!
Do you also notice that the hardware doesn't match in style or color? (Please ignore the condition of the doors, I've not yet had a chance to clean and paint them.)
The hardware options were laid before me, style and color selections chosen and ordered, and a tentative date set depending on when the orders would be delivered from the manufacturer.
When it arrived, Justin came out and set to work getting all the locks fitted. That poor man! It took him close to eleven hours to install three deadlocks, one handle and one door guard! He kept apologizing that it was taking so long, but it actually wasn't him. Every door had to be individually chiseled out and the locks reworked to make them fit. The house looked like a carpenter's shop with all the wood shavings scattered everywhere! But by the end of it, I had the most gorgeous set of deadbolts in the world - my killer locks!
They have a keyhole on each side, so even if somebody breaks the glass, they still can't get into the house - unless I leave the key in the deadbolt, of course. That would be really stupid! Seeing as I have the attention span of a goldfish sometimes it could be something I'm stupid enough to do, so I've set up a system that prevents me from doing that. Nothing beats planning! :)
Now, on those two doors, I need to get matching handles and fit them myself. Correction: I need to get matching handles and add them to the honey-do for Himself to fit! But on the main door, if you scroll up, you'll see that the door lock and handle is all one piece. Removing said piece to fit the deadbolt would leave me with a large gaping hole and no way to open, close, or latch the door.
Enter my wicked locksmith! Justin apologetically pulled out a brand new handle set that he'd gone to a hardware store to buy, making sure to match it to the deadbolt, and said that he'd bought it because he didn't know if I'd have one. Apologetically! The man is a freaking genius! Not only that, he bought wood putty and stain so that he could fill in any holes that were left and stain it to match the door frame. Now tell me I didn't get a wicked locksmith! The guy deserves the Oscar of Locksmithing!
Look at my gorgeous new front door! Note how well the handle matches the deadbolt.
Oh, and while I'm plugging Justin, allow me to add that he was the most polite, customer-service oriented person I've had the pleasure of dealing with since I arrived in this country. He did a great job and he even cleaned up after himself. Joking aside, he was amazing and I'm very grateful to him for such a terrific job. That night I slept soundly for the first time since I'd moved in.
Now those of you with eidetic memories or just keen observation will have noted that I mentioned one extra item in my list of what Justin installed. Clever you!
Have you ever heard of a door guard? No? Neither had I. And now I haz one and it is awesome! If you want to know what it is, check back tomorrow.
Muaaaahahahahahahahaha!
We had the same situation when we moved into our house. The front door lock was completely outdated and didn't match the color of the door. We removed the hardware, sanded the door, and found a color scheme that worked. It really is a quick fix and can transform the look of the house from the curb once you have finished.
ReplyDeleteEarl Mark @ Eastway Lock