Tips for your first year doing house calls that nobody tells you

My experience was a bit diffrent from yours because I spent alot of time working on those complicated antique builds. I found that checking the hardware tolerances before you even thought about the actual pick was massive. I remember one job in a proper Victorian where the main entry door had a massive brass deadbolt, but the strike plate was set way too deep into the jamb. If you just try to force it or even run a simple impression, you are fighting the wood itself, not the lock. It took me a while to stop just blasting through the lock and started mapping how the metal was worn and where the tolerance broke down.

That little notebook idea is solid, but mine ended up being a catalog of every weird shackle size I ran into, because the sheer volume of bespoke hardware made quick reference impossible. I realized that if the bolt is binding because of a worn strike, you are wasting time on a lock that is physically damaged. It saves a half hour of frustration if you just recognize the issue is the mounting bracket and not the cylinder mechanism. It is all about diagnosing the root cause quickly instead of just assuming it is a tight spring.

This approach changed how I bid my time on those higher end residential calls.

The notebook habit reminded me of somethig I do after every rekey, wich is run the new keys in and out of the plug at least five or six times before I pack up, because a fresh pin stack can feel smooth on the first try and then hang up once the chamber wear settles in. Had a call back once where the customer swore I gave her a bad key, when really the second pin was catching on a burr I never caught on the bench. Now I test with the door closed and latched too, since the bolt alignment changes everythign.

I keep coming back to the claim that a worn strike means you're fighting the wood instead of the lock, and honestly I don't buy it as a reason to check tolerances before picking. A strike set too deep or a sagging jamb makes the bolt hard to throw once you're through, but it does nothing to the pins inside the cylinder. You can pick a perfect opening on a door that's hanging half off its hinges. Where the hardware stuff actually matters is after the lock gives, when you go to demonstrate the fix and the bolt won't seat. So I'd say check the door after the cylinder, not before. Otherwise you're doing diagnostics on a problem that isn't stopping you yet.

The knock thing is so real. I had one where the guy's teenage kid was home the whole time with headphones on, and I was maybe two pins from done when he just opens the door and asks if I need help. Scared both of us half to death. Now I knock and also text the customer if they gave me a number, just for a paper trail. On the notebook side, I'd add writing down what tools finally worked on each stubborn lock, not just the door quirks. Some of those old Kwiksets only give in with a specific tension weight and my memory sure doesn't.