Smart lock installation

A smart lock is worth having when it works on the first try, every time, in January. That has less to do with the brand and more to do with the door it is fitted to. We install smart locks as part of our door repair service, which means the door gets corrected first and the lock second, in the order that actually produces a lock you trust.

Why most smart lock complaints are door complaints

The common failures are a bolt that does not throw fully, a motor that strains against a misaligned strike, and batteries that die early because the motor is fighting the door on every cycle. All three are alignment problems. A smart lock has less torque than your wrist, so a door you have to pull toward you before turning the key will defeat it within a season.

What we correct before the lock goes on

We check that the door closes under its own weight, that the bolt enters the strike without contact, and that the bore and backset match the hardware. Where the strike needs moving, we move it. Where the door needs shimming, we shim it. That work is the same as our door adjustment visit and it is included rather than quoted separately.

Deadbolt replacement against retrofit over your cylinder

Some smart locks replace the whole deadbolt. Others mount over the interior side and turn your existing thumb turn, which keeps your keys working and suits renters. Retrofit units are easier to reverse and cheaper to fit. Full replacements look cleaner and usually handle cold better. We fit both and the choice is mostly about whether you want to keep your existing key.

No wiring, no panel work, no electrician

Residential smart locks run on batteries. There is no wiring, no new circuit and nothing that touches your electrical panel, so this visit involves no electrical work of any kind. If a project does need a circuit added, a switch moved or panel work, that goes to a licensed electrician rather than our carpenters. Doorbells are a different matter, because some of those are wired.

Keypads, phones and the case for both

Keypad entry is the feature most households actually use day to day, because it works for children, cleaners and contractors without an app or an account. Phone entry is convenient and it fails exactly when a phone is dead. The locks we recommend keep a physical key override or a keypad backup, so a flat battery is an inconvenience rather than a locked door.

• Retrofit units that keep your existing deadbolt and keys
• Full deadbolt replacement with keypad or app entry
• Strike and alignment corrected before the lock is fitted
• Batteries fitted, entry codes set and tested with you
• Existing hardware handed back or removed, your choice

Cold weather, and what it does to a battery

Lithium cells hold up far better than alkaline below freezing, and an exterior keypad on a north-facing door will go through alkaline batteries fast in a Michigan winter. We fit lithium where the lock allows it and tell you what the low-battery warning looks like so you replace them on your schedule rather than standing outside discovering it.

Wi-Fi, bridges and why the door matters more

Some locks talk to your network directly, others through a bridge plugged in nearby. Range at the front door is the usual limitation, particularly through plaster and lath in older houses. We test the connection from the door itself before the visit ends. Where a household wants cameras, sensors and a full system tied together, that is home automation and security rather than a lock fitting.

Guests, trades and codes that expire

The practical benefit most homeowners discover is the temporary code. A cleaner gets a code for Tuesdays, a contractor gets one that stops working on Friday, a family member gets one that never expires. Nobody hides a key under a stone. Households running a snowbird home watch arrangement lean on this more than anyone.

Rentals, turnovers and the code you change between tenants

Changing a code between tenants takes seconds and costs nothing, which is a real saving against rekeying a cylinder every turnover. The catch is that a lock exposed to heavy use needs to be a better grade than the cheapest option on the shelf. We fit accordingly and note it in the quote for rental turnover repairs.

Doors this will not work well on

A slider, a very thick custom door, a door with a mortise lockset and a door that has racked badly are all poor candidates. So is a door with a bolt that only throws when you lift the handle. In those cases we say so before anything is ordered, because a smart lock fitted to the wrong door is money spent on a daily irritation.

• Door closes cleanly and the bolt throws without resistance
• Backset and thickness fall within the hardware range
• Strike is reinforced and fastened into framing
• Network reaches the door, or a bridge sits close enough
• A key or keypad backup exists for a dead battery

What we set up before leaving your driveway

The lock is installed, the codes you want are programmed, the app is paired to your phone and we watch you open and lock it yourself. Anything a household needs to do later, such as adding a code or changing a battery, is shown once rather than left in a manual. If it does not work on the day, it does not get signed off.

Where a lock fits into a wider set of devices

A lock is usually the first connected device a household buys and the one they judge the rest by. Thermostats, video doorbells, sensors and cameras all follow the same rule: they earn their place when they work without being managed. We fit the wider set under smart home installation, and we are happy to fit one lock and nothing else.

Batteries, codes and the annual check

Two things need attention once a year. Batteries want replacing before they warn you, and old codes want deleting, particularly for trades and short-term guests. Households on our annual home check have both handled as part of the visit, alongside the smoke alarms in the home fire safety package.

Households that get the most out of one

Families with children coming home before the adults do. Households where a parent or a carer needs access on a schedule. Anyone who has been locked out once and never wants it again. Homeowners around Novi and the newer subdivisions tend to have doors well suited to the standard hardware, which makes it a short visit.

One question comes up on nearly every visit, so it is worth answering here. If the internet goes down, the lock still works. The keypad, the physical key override and the thumb turn inside are all local to the door. What you lose is remote access and the log of who came and went, and both return when the connection does.

Book smart lock installation

One good lock on a corrected door is worth more than three cheap ones on doors that bind. View our Portfolio to see how our crews finish their work, then contact us now for a free quote. If the rest of the house needs conventional hardware sorted at the same time, look at lock and deadbolt installation.