Kwikset Door Locks

[vytoland]

I need to replace some door locks around the house and garage. I saw Kwikset's Line of Door Hardware and Door Locks. seems like this product has the advantage of keying the new lock with the setting of your existing key.

for those that have used this type of lock ....what are the pros and cons....

 

[Bat Guano]

I have had Kwikset door locks on two new houses. Spend a few bucks more and get decent quality. You'll save money in the long run and have less aggravation.

 

[Leslie Sapp]

Kwickset Titan is a decent line of locks. There are locks that I believe are better( Schlange), but the Kwicksets are easier to install, rekey, and find keys for in my area, so I always recommend my customers choose Kwickset, if possible. I am a General Contractor, so I've put in quite few locks over the years. Since they've come out,we've used the self-keyable locks on a few houses. The customers like them and I've heard no complaints about changing keys in them.

 

[Jyezahn]

I would spend more money and get a higher quality lock. Check this out, it's possible because KwikSet (Smartkey locks) uses cheap innards: How to Open a Kwikset Smart Key Lock in 10 seconds Video by Mr. Locksmith - YouTube

 

[arjay]

Kwicksets are good locks Schlages are a little better.The most common way they are defeated is by kicking the door at the lock until the door jamb splits.Use long screws so the striker plate is anchored to the trimmer stud.

 

[Kanewpadle]

There is some truth to that video. But it mostly pertains to early model Kwikset "you change locks". Not the new models. For those that don't know, I am a locksmith.

Kwikset's entry line of locks is OK. Not great. Kwikset's Titan line is better and was rated a best buy by Consumer Reports when the line was introduced several years ago.

For many years Schlage's residential line of locks were terrible even though thought to be great by many people. They were junk. But in the last few years they have changed that with their deadbolts but their knobs and handles stink. And they stink bad!

I would go to your nearest big box store or locksmith and buy Schlage deadbolts but NOT the knobs or leversets. Make sure the deadbolts DO NOT have a plus (+) sign above the key hole. This was a do it yourself model that you could rekey yourself. They had so many problems and they reportedly lost a law suit so they quit making them. SO any of those you see are new old stock.

Then I would buy a Titan knob or leverset that matches the finish of the Schlage deadbolt. You do not need locking knobs/levers. The security is all in the deadbolt. If they get by that no wimpy knob or lever is going to stop them and it also will prevent you from locking yourself out of your house.

When installing the deadbolt make sure to use the security strike plate that comes with three inch wood screws. If you don't you're just wasting you money.

If you can find a wrap around plate to install with the deadbolt. It will significantly strengthen your door. https://www.pro-lok.com/c-240-entry-armor-wrap-plates-1-12-bore.aspx

Some stores carry them and most locksmiths do too or can order them.

I believe current Schlage deadbolts are the strongest you can buy at any home center. If cost is not a concern, find a locksmith that carries Medeco. Medeco is far better than anything you can buy anywhere. But with a price to match at $150-$200 each.

FYI- Locks are graded 1, 2, or 3.

Grade one is heavy duty commercial. You could expect to pay $300 to $600 for an American made lock.

Grade two is light duty commercial/heavy duty residential. An American made lock would cost $150-$300.

Grade three is all junk. Normally the $5-$10 lock made in Taiwan that you can find everywhere.

Also, the deadbolt strike is very important as I mentioned previously. If you want something stronger take a look at this. May be a little difficult to find but worth it. Check your local locksmith. Products

You need to be good with power tools and a chisel.

 

[cougar14]

I work in a home-improvement store, we sell Schlage, Kwikset, and NoName in that order. I represent the NoName at entry level, Kwikset at midpoint, and Schlage as premium. The Schlage has no nonmetal internals and a better finish. We sell hundreds of Kwiksets to apartment renters because of the high turnover rate, I would expect there's hundreds of keys to every apartment nearby in the wind, everyone who's been in that apartment in the last two years has keys to it, unless you're smart and replace it upon moving in. A high percentage of our Kwikset sales are to apartment managers who discover a (vacant in the middle of the night) unit when the rent's due, and guess what, their key doesn't work. Welcome to California.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I work in a home-improvement store, we sell Schlage, Kwikset, and NoName in that order. I represent the NoName at entry level, Kwikset at midpoint, and Schlage as premium. The Schlage has no nonmetal internals and a better finish. We sell hundreds of Kwiksets to apartment renters because of the high turnover rate, I would expect there's hundreds of keys to every apartment nearby in the wind, everyone who's been in that apartment in the last two years has keys to it, unless you're smart and replace it upon moving in. A high percentage of our Kwikset sales are to apartment managers who discover a (vacant in the middle of the night) unit when the rent's due, and guess what, their key doesn't work. Welcome to California.

"Nonmetal internals"? Please explain. Never seen one of those.

 

[Hillbilly77]

Yes, your local hardware store should have the service kit to re-key your new lockset to your existing key. Most places will do this free of charge when you purchase the new lockset. Many will charge a fee per lock to re-key after the fact.

As far as one lock being better than another and/or more secure, etc., I agree.


BUT, locks are there to keep the honest people honest.

Kind of like saying more gun laws will prevent violence...

 

[smokindog]

We bought a house two years ago with Titan locksets and I'll NEVER have them again.

The locking handles on the keyed entry sets are easily compromised. The handle on the outside can be removed by depressing the spring loaded pin and pulling it off. At that point, a small flat head screwdriver can be inserted and the lock can be turned. VOILA, access in 20 seconds.

Also, many of the bigbox stores will no longer rekey locksets making changes expensive. The new Schlage line allows you to use the "blue key" they provide to change to a new key without removing the lockset. It cost nearly $1K to make the change (wife picked the most expensive style for many doors) but it was still cheaper in the long run.

I don't see the Schlage as any more difficult to install.

Kwickset Titan is a decent line of locks. There are locks that I believe are better( Schlange), but the Kwicksets are easier to install, rekey, and find keys for in my area, so I always recommend my customers choose Kwickset, if possible. I am a General Contractor, so I've put in quite few locks over the years. Since they've come out,we've used the self-keyable locks on a few houses. The customers like them and I've heard no complaints about changing keys in them.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Yes, your local hardware store should have the service kit to re-key your new lockset to your existing key. Most places will do this free of charge when you purchase the new lockset. Many will charge a fee per lock to re-key after the fact.

As far as one lock being better than another and/or more secure, etc., I agree.


BUT, locks are there to keep the honest people honest.

Kind of like saying more gun laws will prevent violence...

I disagree to a point. I have those products installed on my doors. Nobody and I mean nobody will get in quickly. It WILL take them a while. These days the expression "if they really want to get in, they will" simply means they are willing to use very extreme measures to do so.

So many products exist that people don't know about. Such as this. Products - Security Bars - 265DCCSEN - Master Lock®
Add this to a good deadbolt and you double your strength. Of course this is only good when you're home but that's the point.

By extreme measures, I mean non conventional ways of breaking in. For example, a friend had someone use a chainsaw to cut a hole in the side of his house. He lived out in the country and nobody questioned the use of a chainsaw because they all did.

 

[Kanewpadle]

We bought a house two years ago with Titan locksets and I'll NEVER have them again.

The locking handles on the keyed entry sets are easily compromised. The handle on the outside can be removed by depressing the spring loaded pin and pulling it off. At that point, a small flat head screwdriver can be inserted and the lock can be turned. VOILA, access in 20 seconds.

Also, many of the bigbox stores will no longer rekey locksets making changes expensive. The new Schlage line allows you to use the "blue key" they provide to change to a new key without removing the lockset. It cost nearly $1K to make the change (wife picked the most expensive style for many doors) but it was still cheaper in the long run.

I don't see the Schlage as any more difficult to install.

Guess you didn't read my post. The Schlage rekey yourself locks with the blue key are JUNK!! They quit making them.

I've lost count of the people that called because theirs quit working requiring me to go out and drill the lock off the door because they couldn't get into their house.

No offense, but this is my professional opinion of them. Not hearsay.

Also, Kwikset does not use a spring retainer to remove the outside knob. Yours sound like Taiwan specials because they do use a spring retainer on the outside knob.

 

[Hillbilly77]

I disagree to a point. I have those products installed on my doors. Nobody and I mean nobody will get in quickly. It WILL take them a while. These days the expression "if they really want to get in, they will" simply means they are willing to use very extreme measures to do so.

So many products exist that people don't know about. Such as this. Products - Security Bars - 265DCCSEN - Master Lock®
Add this to a good deadbolt and you double your strength. Of course this is only good when you're home but that's the point.

By extreme measures, I mean non conventional ways of breaking in. For example, a friend had someone use a chainsaw to cut a hole in the side of his house. He lived out in the country and nobody questioned the use of a chainsaw because they all did.

My only point was just that - if they want in, they'll get in. How many houses have doors that a bank vault would be proud of, but then only five feet away, there is a nice, fragile window that a rock or hammer will make quick work of?

Like I said, it keeps the honest people honest.


Does kind of make you wonder about the chainsaw.
If the thief has that much ambition, why not just get a damn job?!

 

[Kanewpadle]

My only point was just that - if they want in, they'll get in. How many houses have doors that a bank vault would be proud of, but then only five feet away, there is a nice, fragile window that a rock or hammer will make quick work of?

Like I said, it keeps the honest people honest.


Does kind of make you wonder about the chainsaw.
If the thief has that much ambition, why not just get a damn job?!

True, but as I stated in another thread, I have this installed on all my glass. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/WW3/Country/?WT.mc_id=www.3M.com/us

After twenty years of seeing the creative ways thieves break in, I have done everything I can to keep them out.

My point is, it is possible to keep them out regardless of how bad they want to get in. I often joke that if they want to get into my house they will have to drive through it!

 

[smokindog]

No I did not! My post took a long time for me to complete with all the distractions going on around here and your post didn't exist when I started! I was responding more to the fact that the Titan locks are easy to compromise.

HOWEVER, thanks for the heads up on the "blue key". First I'd heard of it. We've had no problems but I'll be going to the big box tomorrow and I'll bet I come home with all new locks sets. You see, at the time I bought them, they had both the non "blue key" and the "standard" which always includes a "key match" since they didn't have the number I needed with the same key. The manager, who is still there and knows the amount I spend there, steered me to the blue key.

Guess you didn't read my post. The Schlage rekey yourself locks with the blue key are JUNK!! They quit making them.

I've lost count of the people that called because theirs quit working requiring me to go out and drill the lock off the door because they couldn't get into their house.

No offense, but this is my professional opinion of them. Not hearsay.

Also, Kwikset does not use a spring retainer to remove the outside knob. Yours sound like Taiwan specials because they do use a spring retainer on the outside knob.

 

[Tommytom092971]

Take your existing key to any Home Depot and buy the new locks. They will match your new lock keys to the key your keeping

 

[smokindog]

Yes, they will re key anything you buy there. Used to be you could take existing locksets and have them keyed for a minimal cost but no more. Well, almost. I already had a Schlage on the front door when I dropped the $1K so they rekeyed it to match All things are negotiable in life!

Take your existing key to any Home Depot and buy the new locks. They will match your new lock keys to the key your keeping

 

[Kanewpadle]

No I did not! My post took a long time for me to complete with all the distractions going on around here and your post didn't exist when I started! I was responding more to the fact that the Titan locks are easy to compromise.

HOWEVER, thanks for the heads up on the "blue key". First I'd heard of it. We've had no problems but I'll be going to the big box tomorrow and I'll bet I come home with all new locks sets. You see, at the time I bought them, they had both the non "blue key" and the "standard" which always includes a "key match" since they didn't have the number I needed with the same key. The manager, who is still there and knows the amount I spend there, steered me to the blue key.

I understand buddy. The sales guy was just doing his job. Little did he know that Schlage would have so many problems with that lock. Glad you haven't had any problems but don't be surprised if you do. Buy a new one and move the old one to a door that you don't need to access from the outside. Other than that it's still a strong deadbolt.

Take your existing house key and have them rekey the new lock to that key. They SHOULD do that for no extra charge. I know Lowes and Home Depot does.

In the last 20 or so years Schlage has sold an extremely inferior residential lock. And they knew it. I used to go to trade shows and complain to the sales reps but they didn't care. But lately their deadbolts are very good.

Good luck.

 

[smokindog]

Oh, I don't intend to BUY new locksets! I'll get even
exchange, I guarantee!!!!

BTW, the locksets I referred to with the spring pins to remove the handle are Titan branded on the parts.

I understand buddy. The sales guy was just doing his job. Little did he know that Schlage would have so many problems with that lock. Glad you haven't had any problems but don't be surprised if you do. Buy a new one and move the old one to a door that you don't need to access from the outside. Other than that it's still a strong deadbolt.

Take your existing house key and have them rekey the new lock to that key. They SHOULD do that for no extra charge. I know Lowes and Home Depot does.

In the last 20 or so years Schlage has sold an extremely inferior residential lock. And they knew it. I used to go to trade shows and complain to the sales reps but they didn't care. But lately their deadbolts are very good.

Good luck.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Oh, I don't intend to BUY new locksets! I'll get even
exchange, I guarantee!!!!

Good for you. You may have to contact Schlage directly. But good luck with that. They are currently owned by Ingersoll Rand but not for long. Hope you don't lost in the shuffle.

If your attempt fails, there is a solution that won't cost too much. The key cylinder is the weak link but can be replaced. I've done it.