Mortise Lock Service & Replacement
A mortise lock sits in a pocket cut into the edge of the door. They are heavy, long-lived and common on pre-war homes and commercial buildings, and they are almost always worth repairing rather than ripping out.
Servicing means taking the case out, stripping it, cleaning decades of hardened grease out of the levers and springs, replacing what has worn and re-setting it in the door. A serviced mortise lock will outlive anything you could replace it with.
Where a case is genuinely beyond saving, modern replacements exist that drop into the same pocket. Getting the backset, handing and face plate right is most of the job, and it is why a mortise replacement takes longer than a cylindrical one.
What the job involves
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Serviced rather than scrapped
Original hardware kept wherever the case is sound.
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Correct backset and handing
Replacements matched to the pocket already in the door.
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Historic doors handled carefully
No enlarging the mortise to fit whatever was on the shelf.
Mortise Locks: what it costs
Typical Austin-metro ranges. Your exact number is quoted on the phone.
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Mortise lock servicedStripped, cleaned and re-set in the door | $120 – $260 |
| Cylinder replacement, per lockLabour plus a standard cylinder | $65 – $145 |
| Lock repair (no parts)Seized cylinders, sagging doors, worn cams | $65 – $140 |
| Rekey, per cylinderTwo keys included per keyway | $20 – $35 |
| Service call / dispatchCharged once per visit, never per lock | $29 – $49 |
| Nights, Sundays & holidaysQuoted on the phone before a van is sent | +$25 – $65 |
These are the ranges most jobs in the Austin metro land between. The exact number is quoted on the phone before a technician is dispatched, and it is the number on the invoice. Parts are itemised separately and priced from a rate card, not invented at the door.
Common questions
My mortise lock is a hundred years old. Can it be saved?
Usually yes. They were built to be serviced, and a strip and clean fixes most of them.
Can a mortise lock take a modern cylinder?
Often, yes. Many accept a standard rim or mortise cylinder, which lets us key it alike with the rest of the house.
How long does a service take?
An hour to ninety minutes per lock, most of it with the case out on the bench.
Part of our Residential Locksmith Services work. Covering Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Leander, Lakeway, Kyle, Buda, Hutto, Manor and Dripping Springs.
What Austin says
about us
Reviews left by customers across Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park and Pflugerville.
Locked myself out at eleven at night with a toddler asleep upstairs. Quoted me on the phone, arrived in half an hour, had the door open in under five minutes without a scratch on it. Charged exactly what was quoted.
Marisol Trevino
Homeowner, Mueller
We turn over about forty units a year and they handle every rekey. Invoiced to the office, keying schedule emailed the same day, never had to chase them.
Dwayne Whitfield
Property manager, North Austin
Dealer wanted a tow plus two days for a lost Kia key. These guys did it in my driveway in about an hour for a lot less. Two keys, both tested before he left.
Priya Raghunathan
Driver, Cedar Park
Panic bar failed on a Friday during service. They came out after close, fixed it properly and talked me through what the inspector would be looking for.
Ben Ostrowski
Restaurant owner, East Sixth
Locked out? We answer the phone at 3 a.m.
One call gets a licensed, insured technician rolling to you anywhere in the Austin metro.
