If you’ve owned your home for over a decade, you have probably changed your locks by now – and if you haven’t, you really should! Locks can accumulate damage and degradation over the years, and it’s essential to have them changed in order to maintain their integrity as defining aspects of your home security. In terms of figuring out the price of lock change, there’s a few factors that need to be analyzed; in this blog post, the experts at Chicago Locksmiths will help you understand these key points.
Lock Change Method
You can try to attempt a DIY lock installation, which is only really a good approach for homeowners with a good level of skill around hardware and installation tools. If you’re taking this approach, you need to make sure that you have the correct tools. The cost of this installation of course will also be determined by what type of lock you choose to buy – as a Grade 3 lock is cheaper, and weaker, than a Grade 1 lock. It’s essential to sort through the various options that fit your practical needs, security requirements, and material budget in order to determine whether it’s worth it, or even possible at all, to complete a DIY installation.
The best approach would to be to have your lock professionally installed, which might end up being even cheaper than a DIY installation as you can be certain the lock will be correctly installed the first time, resulting in zero need for additional tools. Secondly, a professional locksmith can install a lock much faster than an amateur – and time is money, according to the old saying. The average cost of a professional lock change starts around $35, a fair price for a service that will provide your household with irreplaceable and invaluable security.
Security Level
High security locks are more expensive than low security locks as a matter of general fact. You are going to want to choose what lock you want for your home based on how much importance you place on security. If you want to simply go to the hardware store and buy the first lock you spot, your lock installation won’t be too expensive. But if you want to buy a lock that will truly ensure the full security of your home, it will cost a little bit more.
Exterior VS. Interior Locks
Interior locks shouldn’t be used on exterior doors, and vice versa. Since they have different security uses, these locks have different prices and different set-ups. Exterior door locks are the first defense parameter for many homes, so they are often built to be more sturdy and strong than interior locks. The price point variance between these two types of locks reflect their differences – and often exterior locks are more expensive than interior ones. Additionally, the level of lock strength as mentioned before makes a major difference in the prices.
Upgradability
You can upgrade existing locks in many different ways that vary from upgrading a normal lock to a high security counterpart, making an existing lock an electronic smart lock, or a simple upgrade from a Grade 3 to Grade 1 deadbolt. These upgrades vary in price. If you were, for example, looking to switch to a Medeco brand high security deadbolt, the price would range between $140 and $240 dollars. If you were trying to upgrade to a smart lock by the popular brand August, the price of an upgrade would likely start at over $200 dollars. If you choose to upgrade your locks when you change them, the price variances will be greater than if you were simply reinstalling another version of the same lock you already have – but the increase in price will also result in a major increase in security.
