Locking Up

Tonight's DIY adventure was installing keyed locks on all of the bedroom doors, and a double-keyed deadbolt on the door to the garage.

I opted for Kwikset SmartKey locks. They aren't the cheapest, but they totally deliver on ease-of-use. I actually know how to rekey regular locks. Trust me, the extra $$ are totally worth it if you anticipate needing to rekey the lock. And let's face it, virtually every lock will need to be rekeyed at one point or another.

Are they less secure? Possibly, but  I've watched a locksmith pick a standard deadbolt in just a few minutes so I'm not sure the difference is relevant. There are absolutely more secure options--the question is whether or not that matters for your application.

For my purposes, going with the easily re-keyable option was a no brainer.

The good

Swapping out the existing lever door handles for the keyed knobs was super easy. Under 15 minutes easy, including the bit where I neglected to read and follow the instructions. (I'm way better at writing instructions than actually following them.)

The bad (But thankfully not that bad)

My first attempt at rekeying one of the locks failed. Thankfully, all was not lost. Kwikset has fully anticipated the user failure scenarios and a quick YouTube search revealed a gem entitled 

Recovering a Misprogrammed SmartKey Cylinder. 

Somewhat to my surprise, following said instructions worked on the first attempt. Wow, these documentation folks really seem to know their stuff!

The ugly (Back to rekeying the old-fashioned way?)

Alas, things didn't go quite so smoothly when it came to swapping out the deadbolt lock on the door to the garage. The Kwikset version requires a larger hole than the original contractor-grade unit, and I don't have the requisite hole saw. Even with the right hole saw, sawing said hole is tricky because of  the existing hole. 

I'm thinking that finding a double-keyed lock that is compatible with the existing hole pattern is the better option. Even if it means having to rekey it manually. Did I mention how much I enjoy dealing with all the fiddly bits? Sigh.

Conclusion

The whole point of this blog is that reality often intrudes when you tackle DIY projects. Having to resort to a Plan B (or C, D, E, or F) is not unusual. Successfully completing projects  requires  a mix of creative problem solving, tenacity, elbow grease, and a healthy sense of humor.

Tonight, I accomplished 80% of what I set out to do. Quite easily, in fact. And I've worked out an interim solution for that last bit that, while not ideal, is totally workable for the time being. I'm okay with that. As a wise person I know keeps saying, "Progress over perfection".