10 Things to Consider When Buying parts of lock

Mar. 07, 2024

Have you noticed any of the following?

Loose or rattling locks.
Misaligned latches and strike plates.
Locks or door knobs that get jammed and don’t engage correctly.

Faulty or worn out locks aren’t just annoying, they can pose a security threat to your home and even cause alignment issues with your exterior doors. Many homeowners put off dealing with issues with their locksets and door hardware, fearing that the entire lock will need to be replaced, but you may be able to repair your locks by simply replacing faulty or worn out parts.

What are the parts of a door lock?

To understand what needs to be replaced, you need to understand the parts that compose a lock. These parts include:

Cylinders
Latches
Strike plates

Cylinders

The lock cylinder (or key cylinder) is the body of the lock where you insert a key and adjust the lock pins before you engage or disengage the lock. When you unlock your front door, you turn the key inside of the lock cylinder. The cylinder contains a series of pins that are shifted into place with the key specific to that particular cylinder. When you hear that someone is having their locks “re-keyed” rather than replaced, it simply means they’ve had the pins in the cylinder reset rather than replacing the entire lock set.

Signs the lock cylinder needs to be replaced:

Sticking or difficulty rotating the cylinder with the correct key
A key broke off in the cylinder

Latches

The latch is the bolt that extends into the door frame when the lock is engaged. Deadbolts and positive locking latches are popular choices for added security. Latches usually need to be replaced by a specialist, as they’re not typically available for individual purchase.

Signs the latch needs to be replaced:

Your door is easily forced open.
It’s “sticky” and difficult to engage or disengage.
It’s clearly broken.

Strike Plates

Strike plates are the metal plates in which the latch goes through when the lock is engaged. They’re screwed into the door frame and reinforce the lock by preventing the latch from being forced open. While they’re not typically sold separately from the full lock kits, you can contact a specialty lock store or door hardware business for help locating a specific strike plate for replacement. However, be careful when purchasing strike plates separately from the complete lock kit, as the size and shape of the strike kit must match the size and shape of the latch.

Signs the strike plate should be replaced:

It’s cracked, bent, or warped
The screws are stripped
Making sure your locks are fully functioning and secure is vital for protecting your home. While replacing an entire locking system may require a professional, you may be able to DIY some lock solutions, like replacing strike plates or rekeying your locks.

To shop for new Trilennium Multi-Point Lock systems, parts and accessories, and Trilennium handsets, check them out at BetterDoor.com.

The deadbolts, electronic locks, and smart locks that enter CR’s labs get kicked, picked, and drilled into oblivion.

For the kick-in tests, CR’s test engineers built a custom jig that allows them to swing a 100-pound steel battering ram at a replaceable section of door with the deadbolt installed. They repeat the test eight times, dropping the weight from increasing heights, or until the lock fails. The models that fail—and at least half do—then go through another test round with a reinforced box strike plate installed on a new lock sample. Again and again, CR’s experts have found that this basic do-it-yourself upgrade improves security for any lock (more on that later).

For the drilling test, we evaluate how well each lock can withstand attack from a cordless drill. And for the picking test, we assess the internal mechanisms of each lock to see how easily it can be picked.

All models, including smart locks, receive a score in each of the four break-in tests, allowing you to easily compare a lock’s strengths and weaknesses in the face of a physical assault. The only exception is retrofit smart locks. These locks replace only the interior side of your existing deadbolt, essentially adding smarts to the lock you already use. As a result, a retrofit smart lock’s resistance to kicking, picking, and drilling is entirely dependent on the deadbolt it’s paired with.

Both types of smart locks also get additional testing. We investigate features such as smartphone alerts, remote locking and unlocking, geofencing (the ability to automatically lock or unlock the door based on your phone’s location), third-party app and voice control (via Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Assistant, and Apple Home and Siri), shareable electronic keys, access logs of who comes and goes, and even tamper alarms. Our testers factor these features into our ratings under headings that include ease of remote access, convenience, and security add-ons. We also run through the wireless setup process to see how difficult it is to connect the locks to a smartphone and other smart home devices (such as smart speakers), putting ourselves in your shoes. For details on how well each door lock performs in these tests, see the results in our door lock ratings.