24/7 · EH1 · DBS checked engineers
Edinburgh Lock Installation
Need lock installation in Edinburgh? We dispatch 24/7, any day of the year and aim to reach you within 22 minutes. Fixed quote before work begins.
Other locksmith services in Edinburgh need lock changes, repairs, upgrades or commercial help instead?
All services in Edinburgh →Frame settlement on a Victorian terrace property can cause the door stile to sit slightly off plumb relative to the jamb, which shifts the keep position and can prevent the deadbolt from throwing cleanly into the keep recess. We check the door-to-frame relationship on arrival, note the degree of settlement, and address any consequential keep misalignment before fitting begins.
On arrival
Measurement checklist: what we record on arrival
Four measurements are taken before any hardware comes off the van on a Edinburgh installation. A wrong-part revisit costs more than two minutes of careful measuring — we never skip this step.
| Measurement | Why it matters | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Stile width | Sets which door edge prep case will physically fit without weakening the door at the lock rail. Victorian timber stiles dry out and shrink over decades — the door may have been planed once before; check the edge thickness before specifying a mortice with a tight forend. | 44 mm minimum for a full BS3621 mortice; narrower stiles may require a slimline case or a euro-cylinder alternative |
| Frame recess depth | Victorian terrace door prep: check the door edge for square (measure the gap at the hinge side, top and bottom), confirm the rebate face is flush with the frame, and assess the stile clearance before sizing the mortice or nightlatch. | 13–20 mm on most residential timber; composite and UPVC frames can run shallower |
| Door thickness | Controls the cylinder length from face to face. A cylinder sitting proud of the outer face — even by 3 mm — creates a snap-attack leverage point that defeats anti-snap ratings. | 44 mm (standard timber), 54 mm (solid composite), 70 mm (hardwood or fire-rated) |
| Cut-out position | The distance from the door edge to the centre of the existing cut-out sets the backset. Extending an existing cut-out adds time and cost; fitting into the existing position is preferred wherever the hardware allows it. | 45 mm backset (most residential); 60–70 mm on commercial and period doors |
All four measurements are recorded on the job card and referenced in the installation certificate. If the measurements reveal a door that cannot accept the specified hardware without prep work, that is flagged and quoted before any tools come out.
Before quoting
Six door conditions that change the Edinburgh quote
Period property installations are priced around three variables: whether the existing mortice aperture needs enlarging, the BS3621 grade your insurer requires, and whether the door frame needs adjustment before the new hardware will operate cleanly. We assess the door on arrival and adjust the quote before starting any work. From £59 for a standard installation on a door in good condition.
- 01 Narrow stile
Victorian terrace front doors carry stiles that taper toward the top rail onpre-war examples: the nominal measurement at the lock rail may read 44 mmbut the effective dimension at the upper mortice face is narrower. Theforend bed is confirmed before committing the case.
- 02 Composite vs timber construction
Composite and UPVC doors use a different cylinder system from timber — euro profile with a multipoint gearbox rather than a mortice. Hinge adjustment before lock fitting prevents the mortice from being blamed for binding — close the door and check the gap is consistent top to bottom before starting. Confirming construction type before ordering avoids a wrong-part visit.
- 03 Existing cut-out dimensions
Where a period door has been fitted with a replacement lock at some point in its history, the aperture may have been widened to suit a non-standard case. Timber packers restore the correct seat before the new five-lever unit is dropped in, ensuring the bolt engages the keep squarely rather than at an angle.
- 04 Nightlatch position
Where a period terrace door carries an original brass door knocker at mid-rail height, the nightlatch must clear the knocker rose on the stile face by a minimum of 15 mm. This constraint is measured before fixing, as the knocker rose is often wider than it appears and can foul the backplate edge.
- 05 Frame condition
We check the door edge for square the frame for squareness, settlement, and rebate wear before committing hardware to final position. A frame that is out of square or has a worn rebate needs addressing first — fitting a mortice into a moving frame produces a bolt that binds within months.
- 06 Letterbox clearance
On Victorian terrace doors the letter plate flap dimension varies — period plates were not made to a universal standard, and a wider flap occupies more of the door face than a modern slim-profile plate. The flap width is compared to the mortice forend width before finalising the lock position: where the flap is wider than the forend, additional vertical clearance is added to prevent the flap from fouling the forend plate edge.
Specification
Hardware compatibility: will this door accept BS3621?
Three questions answer most hardware compatibility conversations on a Edinburgh installation. We work through each on arrival and confirm the spec before any cutting or drilling starts.
- 01
Can this door accept BS3621?
A BS3621 5-lever mortice requires a minimum stile width (44 mm), a frame rebate to accept the forend, and sufficient door thickness at the lock rail. We check all three before specifying — a door that cannot take a BS3621 case without structural compromise will be quoted with a compliant alternative using a door edge prep or stile clearance instead.
On period terraces in areas with high humidity, timber doors swell seasonally — if the visit is in summer, the door may bind in winter without allowance at the planing stage.
- 02
Cylinder size: 35/35 vs bespoke
Standard residential doors run 35/35 or 35/45 euro cylinders; composite and commercial doors often need bespoke lengths. We assess the stile clearance the cylinder run on site — face to face across the door leaf at the lock rail — and confirm the planing margin specification before fitting. An oversized cylinder leaves the anti-snap collar exposed.
Anti-snap cylinders must be sized with the break-point inside the door face. A cylinder that is even 3 mm too long on the outside is vulnerable to a snap attack regardless of its anti-snap rating.
- 03
Nightlatch: rim vs mortice
Rim nightlatches surface-mount on the door face and require backplate clearance from the door edge and from any adjacent furniture. Mortice nightlatches fit into the door thickness and suit doors where the face is already occupied by a letterbox or knocker. The choice depends on the stile geometry confirmed at measurement, not a preference.
On insurance-graded installs both the primary lock and the nightlatch are noted on the compliance certificate. If the policy specifically names a rim nightlatch at a given standard, we confirm that against the door construction before the certificate is issued.
Completion
Handover and testing
The installation is not complete until every lock has passed a full function test on a closed door. On Edinburgh jobs we sign off three checks before handing back keys.
- Cycle test
On period timber front doors the cycle test covers the full throw of the BS3621 5-lever mortice, the nightlatch operation from both sides, and — where a supplementary bolt is fitted — that bolt extended and retracted. Period doors that settle seasonally are tested under the frame pressure present at installation. If the bolt engages cleanly on the day, the test is signed off; where seasonal movement is expected, that is noted on the job card with guidance on what to check after the first winter cycle.
- Key issue
Keys are counted against the job card in front of the keyholder. Each key is labelled with the door reference it was cut for. No key leaves site unaccounted — if the agreed number is not present at handover, the job card flags the discrepancy before the engineer leaves.
- Written summary and certificate
Victorian terrace handover summaries include a note on whether the letter plate, knocker, or other original door furniture was disturbed during the installation, and confirm each item was refitted to its original position. This record protects both the installer and the homeowner if a furniture item is later found loose.
Questions
Lock installation FAQ: Edinburgh
Locks on period terraces raise questions that rarely come up on modern doors: whether the existing cut-out can accept a new case, how to handle narrow stiles, and what compliance looks like on a door that predates modern standards. The questions below cover the topics our customers on Victorian terrace properties ask most often.
- Do I need to measure my door before calling?
- No — we measure on arrival. It helps to know whether the door has alreadyhad a mortice fitted: period terrace doors often have an older case that thenew hardware will replace, and the existing cut-out dimensions affect theprice. If you have access to the door age or previous locksmith records thatis useful, but not required.
- Will the new lock look different from the original?
- On like-for-like replacements — same case position, same forend size — the external appearance changes only in terms of the new cylinder rose or escutcheon. On period doors where the original furniture is being retained, the escutcheon fit is checked for compatibility before the hardware is sourced. Where the new spec requires a different door face profile (e.g. switching from a mortice keyhole to a euro cylinder profile), we flag that on the booking call before the job date.
- How long does a Edinburgh lock installation take?
- A standard like-for-like cylinder replacement on a composite or UPVC door takes around 30–45 minutes including the full test cycle. A new BS3621 mortice installation on a timber door — where the existing cut-out is the right size — takes 60–90 minutes. If the door needs prep before the hardware fits (rebate adjustment, aperture extension, hinge correction) we agree the additional time and cost before starting. We do not proceed past the assessment stage without a confirmed price.
- What if the door needs repair work before the lock can be fitted?
- Where a period door is found to have a cracked stile at the original mortice position, the crack is assessed for depth before any lock work begins. A surface crack that does not extend beyond 4 mm depth can be consolidated with structural adhesive and a timber cleat on the inside face; anything deeper is flagged as out-of-scope joinery and the homeowner is advised before the visit proceeds.
Lock Installation in Edinburgh — FAQ
Common questions about lock installation in Edinburgh.
Can you install a lock on a brand-new door?
Locks on period terraces raise questions that rarely come up on modern doors: whether the existing cut-out can accept a new case, how to handle narrow stiles, and what compliance looks like on a door that predates modern standards. The questions below cover the topics our customers on Victorian terrace properties ask most often. Yes — this is one of our most common installation jobs in Edinburgh. Carpenters and joiners often hang the door and leave lock fitting to specialists. We measure the rebate, chisel for a BS3621 mortice case, fit the strike plate, and test through a full key cycle. Finished work looks factory-fit.
Do I need BS3621 on a new installation?
For external doors on Edinburgh homes with standard insurance — yes, almost certainly. BS3621 is the minimum most UK home insurers specify on final-exit wooden doors. We fit BS3621 as standard and issue written paperwork confirming the standard for your insurance file.
Can you keyed-alike multiple new locks?
Yes — if you want one key to open your front and rear doors, we supply keyed-alike cylinders on the most common profiles. Arrange at the survey stage so we bring matching parts. This works cleanly on UPVC euro cylinders and on certain mortice profiles.
We've just moved into a new-build in Edinburgh — do the locks already meet insurance standards?
Not always. Many Edinburgh new-builds come with entry-level euro cylinders on UPVC or composite doors that lack the TS007 3-star anti-snap rating, and sometimes a mortice case that predates BS3621 on the side door. We survey the whole property, identify any hardware gaps, and upgrade to compliant standards on the same visit — with a compliance pack for your insurer.
Also nearby
Areas near Edinburgh
we also cover
Our engineers don't just cover Edinburgh — we serve the surrounding towns and neighbourhoods too. If you're just outside Edinburgh, we can still reach you fast.
- Livingston 15.8 mi
- Kirkcaldy 14.5 mi
- Dunfermline 17.2 mi
- Musselburgh 5.8 mi
- Dalkeith 7.4 mi
Ready when you are
Need lock installation in Edinburgh now?
24/7 dispatch across Edinburgh and the EH1 area. Fixed quote before work starts. Free call-out with every completed job.