Residential Locksmith Installation Services

Picking the Right Lock for Timber, uPVC and Composite Doors

The door decides most of the choice. A timber door is cut to take a particular lock, while uPVC and composite doors usually rely on a cylinder that drives a multipoint mechanism. Matching the new hardware to what the door already has keeps the fitting neat and avoids unnecessary alterations.

Timber Front and Back Doors

Timber doors often take a mortice lock set into the door edge, a night latch on the inside face, or both. Victorian terraces in Newcastle areas such as Heaton, Fenham, Sandyford and Jesmond commonly have this arrangement, and larger period homes in Gosforth and Jesmond may carry several older locks on one door. Where a lock is worn but the door is sound, a like-for-like replacement often keeps the original look.

uPVC and Composite Doors

On these doors the cylinder is usually the part worth upgrading. 24hrs Locksmiths can fit anti-snap cylinders to compatible doors, measured on both sides so the cylinder sits within the handles. If the multipoint mechanism itself is failing, that's dealt with first.

Smart Locks and What to Check First

A smart lock lets you open the door without a key, usually with a code, a fob or a phone. It isn't right for every door. Before 24hrs Locksmiths fits one, the door's existing lock, its thickness and the handle arrangement are checked for compatibility.

It also helps to think about how the household will use it. Who needs access, whether visitors or carers need their own codes, and what happens if the batteries run low are all worth talking through. Most smart locks still have a key or manual override, and that backup is explained when the lock is handed over.

Master Key Systems for Larger Households and Annexes

A master key system gives one key access to several locks, while other keys open only their own door. In a larger home, or a house with an annexe or a let room, that can mean the owner carries one key and everyone else carries only what they need. It's planned like the rest of our locksmith services in Newcastle upon Tyne, starting with the doors you already have.

What can be offered depends on the existing locks and product availability, so the layout is planned before anything is ordered. Request a quote with a list of the doors involved and who should be able to open each one.

New Keys After Moving Home

When you move in, you can't know how many copies of the old keys are still around. Previous owners, tenants, relatives and tradespeople may all have held one. Changing the cylinders or locks on every entrance you use gives you a known set of keys from day one, and our lock changes and replacement service covers rear and side doors as well as the front.

Tyneside flats have separate upstairs and downstairs front doors, so each one is dealt with on its own. Homes on post-war and newer estates mostly have uPVC or composite doors, where a cylinder change is usually all that's needed. Landlords with student lets near Newcastle University and Northumbria University often book the same work at each changeover, alongside other jobs from all our locksmith services.

Spare Keys for the Household

Once the locks are sorted, extra keys can be cut for family members. Keeping a note of who holds each one makes it easier to decide when a lock needs changing again. Call to check availability if you'd like the spares supplied on the same visit.

What Affects the Price of New Home Locks

The price depends on the number of locks, the type of hardware and the work needed to fit it. A straight cylinder swap is a smaller job than fitting a new mortice lock, a smart lock or a master key layout across several doors. Worn hardware found along the way, such as a failing gearbox, is priced separately before it's fixed through our lock repairs service.

Ask for the quote to show the hardware, fitting, keys and VAT where applicable. Our locksmith prices page explains the main factors in more detail.