Mortise Lock Installation & Repair in Palo Alto, CA.

If you need mortise lock installation & repair in Palo Alto, this is how One & Only Locksmith handles it.

A mortise lock is a complete lock case that sits in a pocket cut into the door edge, with latch, deadbolt, cylinder and trim all working through one body. They are the standard on heavy-traffic commercial doors, schools, hotels and older buildings because the case absorbs abuse that a cylindrical lock cannot. We install new mortise locks in prepped and unprepped doors, rebuild worn bodies, change functions and trim, and keep original hardware in historic buildings working where the parts allow.

The technician comes to your address in Palo Alto, in the Peninsula. The dispatch line at (888) 492-0666 is answered around the clock, and the dispatcher confirms the details and an ETA before anyone is sent.

• Survey of door thickness, existing mortise pocket, backset, handing and the function the room needs
• Grade 1 mortise lock bodies installed in prepped hollow metal or wood doors, or a fresh mortise pocket cut where the door allows it
• Rebuild of worn or failed bodies: broken springs, stripped hubs, bent latch bolts and jammed deadbolts replaced inside the case
• Function changes (office, classroom, storeroom, entry, privacy) by swapping the case or the internal parts where the manufacturer supports it
• Cylinder and trim work: mortise cylinders pinned to your master system, lever or knob trim, roses and escutcheons, ADA-compliant lever trim
• Strike, latch and deadbolt alignment so the door closes and locks without slamming or lifting the handle
• Service on early-20th-century mortise locks, including sourcing compatible parts or fitting a modern body behind the original trim

• Authorization from the business owner, facilities manager or property manager; historic buildings may also need sign-off from whoever oversees preservation requirements
• Photos of the door-edge faceplate (which usually carries the brand and model), the trim on both sides, and the strike
• Door thickness and material if you know it (1-3/4 inch is standard; thicker doors need longer spindles and cylinders)
• The function you want: always locked from outside, lockable from inside with a button or thumbturn, or free during business hours
• Your existing key or master system records if the new cylinder must join a keying system

Typically 45-90 minutes to replace a mortise lock body and trim in a door that already has the matching pocket and face prep. Cutting a new mortise pocket in a solid wood or hollow metal door, converting a door from cylindrical to mortise, rebuilding an antique case, or matching obsolete trim extends that, often to a half-day for the harder cases.

• Mortise bodies are not universal. Case size, backset, cylinder thread and trim spindle vary by manufacturer and era, so a replacement must match the pocket or the door needs rework. We confirm the model from the faceplate first
• Fire-rated doors: a mortise body on a rated door must be listed for it, must latch automatically, and cannot be field modified beyond what the door's listing allows. Cutting a new mortise pocket into a rated door is generally not permitted
• Doors on a required exit path must open from inside with a single motion. Functions where the deadbolt must be retracted separately are not allowed there, and we select functions that comply
• Some antique lock parts are no longer made. We can often repair springs and fit replacement cylinders, but a fully worn case may need a modern body behind the original trim
• Lever trim on accessible routes follows accessibility rules for operation and mounting height. We install to them, but the building inspector makes the final call on the building
• Cylinders joining a restricted keyway require the registered authorizer on file before keys are cut

Lock body grade and function, new installation versus repair, whether the door needs a fresh pocket or face prep, trim style and finish, cylinder keying (standard, master or restricted), and the number of doors set the price. Rebuilds of historic locks are quoted after we open the case and see what is salvageable.

The dispatcher gives you a range on the phone, and the technician confirms a written quote before any work starts.

Payment is by Cash, Credit Card, Debit Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and you receive an itemized receipt listing what was done.

• Sargent 8200 series
• Schlage L9000 series
• Yale 8800 series
• Corbin Russwin ML2000 series
• Best 35H and 45H series
• Baldwin and Accurate mortise bodies for wood and historic doors
• Mortise cylinders in Schlage C, Sargent LA, Yale GA, Best SFIC and restricted keyways
• ANSI/BHMA A156.13 Grade 1 mortise locks

Palo Alto is at the northwest corner of Santa Clara County on the Peninsula, bordering Stanford University, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. It has two downtowns, University Avenue and California Avenue, while El Camino Real, Alma Street/Central Expressway and Foothill Expressway run the length of the city, with Stanford Shopping Center, Stanford Research Park on Page Mill Road and the Baylands preserve on its edges. Homes north of Oregon Expressway include Craftsman and California Colonial houses dating to the 1890s; the south side is largely post-war Eichler and Eichler-style tracts. US-101 and I-280 bracket the city.

Getting to you: US-101 (Bayshore Freeway) runs along the bay side and I-280 along the foothills; Embarcadero Road, Oregon Expressway/Page Mill Road and San Antonio Road are the main cross-town connectors from US-101, with Page Mill Road continuing up to I-280.

ZIP codes served: 94301, 94302, 94303, 94304, 94306. Addresses just over the line in Stanford, Menlo Park and East Palo Alto are dispatched the same way.

For mortise lock installation & repair in Palo Alto, tell the dispatcher your address and what is wrong. You get an ETA before anyone is sent, a written quote before any work starts and a receipt when it is done. The line is answered around the clock.

One & Only Locksmith is bonded and insured; a certificate of insurance is available on request.