Can a mortise replacement cost $250?

I HATE most of those types of locks.. they NEVER put their brand name on them. look under the SIDE cover-the edge of the door and see if there are any labels there.

my first question is the brand of the DOOR.. lie the whole assembly is an 'Anderson' for instance

Marks makes one that is close to that, but doubt if it would interchange. Papazii (spelling is off) is another brand.. and there are some others as well.

and I am thinking the price is somewhat determined by YOUR area.

$250 for my area would be awful high.

residential mortice locks as a search might get you some more possibilities.

--Shiva--

Thanks.

It seems I can get a complete new lock for less than that. The only thing is the door is metal and is already drilled with holes on it. I think most likely other "similar" locks will not install into the existing holes?

This is what the door looks like now without the lock. Can I install another lock instead? The existing door handles are somewhat corroded and it seem ridiculous to pay $250 for a new mortise if I can get a brand new set for less.

MC

This one looks real close. The holes do not match but it could be it's cousin.

ok, then do some digging.. ATRIUM lock is what you are after..

you need a few dimensions. from the edge of the door, to the center of the hole, is how much. the edge of the door- measure the mounting screw holes, center to center. and the general dimensions of your lock case..then do some comparing.

and there are others as well. trick is finding what matches YOURS.

FIRST THO is find who made the doors- they might be from that company.

--Shiva--

It's a cheap crap-o Atrium lock made in Taiwan. They cost about $125 at the very most plus labor.

These locks are junk and break all the time. I get about 3 or 4 of these broken each year in one of the local developments around here with about 1000 homes.

The mortise cost about $125 or the whole lock set $125? Do you know of a source for parts? Thanks.

MC

So here is some free advice:

Now that you know exactly what type of lock you have, and know that it is broken, you can call around to the locksmiths in your area and tell them what you know... It sounds as if you experienced "less than completely professional service" up to this point, so why not investigate possible locksmiths you would consider hiring by checking with the local Better Business Bureau, and the ALOA...

Hint: Most locksmiths who are registered and certified by the ALOA are very nice professional tradespeople...

The price of your item will depend on how much it costs the locksmith you hire to replace it to obtain the part/item, where you are in the country (labor rate), and how quickly you want it done (express or overnight shipping on parts/stock is expensive and you will pay the cost of that plus mark-up for such service)...

Call around in your area asking for estimates -- that is the only way you will KNOW what it will cost you...

Evan, ~~ formerly a maintenance man, now a college student...

The whole crap-o lock with the lock cylinder and all the trim, handles,

I'm on my way out the door for the day, so I can't look for a lock for you at the moment.

Shiva Thanks for the link. I looked and searched everywhere, saw a few close ones but nothing matchin exactly...

I re-examined the door, front, back, side, edges, hinges everywhere including the top edge, the only edge I did not see is the bottom edge. No markings of any kind. On each door on the inside edge there is a permanent marker with a writing 152438 but that was hand written probably means some "internal" number of some sort. I then did a search on metal+entry+door and found nothing.

This place you directed me to:

MC

I already called around, most are locksmith in a van that basically knows how to cut keys only. I took the lock apart and drove to a few nearby places and no one except this one can locate a replacement part. I am not asking for any installation. I can do it myself in 10 minutes. All I am asking for from him is a replacement mortise (or repair it but he can't). He located (I don't know how long it took him) a replacement part locally (don't know where, won't tell me) and said the replacement mortise is $250. That is the mortise and the turn cylinder he broke.

I will try BBB and see if they have additional locksmith I have not yet been to. Thanks,

MC

doubt it.. each lock has their OWN idea of internal parts, so 'brand differences wont interchange'

--Shiva--

go to

see if there is anyone listed there local to you --Shiva--

I ran into one similar a few years ago. The lock had failed in the locked position, and of course had to do some damage to the lock itself to get it open and removed. As you seen, you have to have access to the door edge to get access to the mounting and retaining screws to get anything out of these critters. Upon research to find a replacement, it was going to COST me to get the parts around $300 not including any mark up, plus my time to reinstall the lock, plus the time for the original opening. Total bill would have been around $500-$600. They chose just to replace the doors with normal doors and get rid of the cheap atrium style locks. As I seen someone else post here, they are cheap and junk and fail quite a bit. However they do look nice.

I found a locksmith in the next town that was able to fix the deadbolt for me by inserting two pins in the original track (labor cost $10). He also replaced the broken cylinder the other locksmith damaged for about $40. So the other locksmith said to sell to me the cylinder at cost for $100 since he broke it, how can someone else sell it to me for $40 (and presumably made a profit!). So I paid $50 to get most of the problem resolved.

The only other thing to get which even this locksmith does not have in stock or don't know where he can get one, is the latch. Here is a few pictures of the latch. I was able to take a picture because I have two sets of these locks. I put a dime next to the latch so we know what size it is.

Mortise with latch on:

Cutout front view:

MC

The problem is replacing the door will be expensive. And it is a metal entry door, so filling in holes and repainting like wood door is not possible in this case.

Thanks,

MC

I found a locksmith in the next town that was able to fix the deadbolt for me by inserting two pins in the original track (labor cost $10). He also replaced the broken cylinder the other locksmith damaged for about $40. So the other locksmith said to sell to me the cylinder at cost for $100 since he broke it, how can someone else sell it to me for $40 (and presumably made a profit!). So I paid $50 to get most of the problem resolved.

The only other thing to get which even this locksmith does not have in stock or don't know where he can get one, is the latch. Here is a few pictures of the latch. I was able to take a picture because I have two sets of these locks. I put a dime next to the latch so we know what size it is.

Mortise with latch on:

Cutout fr>

DonJo makes wonderful wrap-around plates that come in various metal finishes... A pair of them and a brand knew entry-set with a matching dummy knob or lever would work wonders...

But that is only an option for you to consider...

Evan, ~~ formerly a maintenance man, now a college student...

I can look into retro kits. The wrap around thing won't work, because my metal door has a "lip" on it's end. It is a double door so one side sort of covers the other side a little bit, can probably see better in this pic:

MC

The door having a lip doesn't mean a damn thing to someone who knows how to modify the metal wrap around plate as needed...

It would be a more elaborate installation, but I have seen them done on older double doorways to replace ancient hardware... They look better if a second wrap-around plate and dummy trim are installed on the inactive side of the door...

But it is possible...

Evan, ~~ formerly a maintenance man, now a college student...