Upside Down Door Locks?

Question

Hey guys, I never post in this type of thread simply because I'm not an expert on some things.

I've changed my fair share of door locks in my time. This weekend, while a long time tenant vacated one of my props I picked up some new locks at Home Depot and went on my way change the locks. I bought a 4 pack(2 handles, 2 deadbolts) for the front/side door.

The front door went on just fine as expected. When it came to the side door, it just wouldn't work unless it was upside down...

I left it but its been consuming my thoughts all weekend. Any idea what I did wrong? I double, triple and quadruple checked, it just wasn't going to work right side up.

Thoughts?

John Teachout · Answer

We always change locks between tenants. (we save and label the old sets and then reuse them in a different property.)

Steven R. · Answer

I always rekey between tenants. There are too many variables and it's not always the tenants themselves that would be an issue. Better to protect yourself and just always do it. With Smartkey-type locks you can DIY in 30 seconds.

Uwe K. · Answer

I personally wondered about that, too. But then it never consumed a whole weekend, max 5 minutes. I always left them as I thought it's not a big deal and I see that all the time with other locks, too (not installed by me. :cool: )

On another note: Do you guys change locks after each tenant? What's your policy there, assuming you got all the keys back (of course, you never know about addl. copies) and that the tenant left on a good note (i.e. not evicted, no grievances...).

Jeff B. · Answer

It's probably due to the backset of the door.  Some doors are are 2 3/8, and some are 2 3/4.  You should be able to flip the cylinder pretty easily.

Carlos Flores · Answer

Kwikset sells a tool to remove the cylinder so you can flip it right side up. google kwikset removal tool. Cost a couple of dollars.

Nick J. · Answer

ya, that only makes a difference if the keyhole is on the left or right side of the door right?

Both doors are right sided. They were just a kwikset combo pack.

Marc Freislinger · Answer

Some types of locks require that you pop the cylinder out of the lock in order to reverse the direction. This is pretty easy with basic tools. I've re-keyed dozens if not hundreds of locks between my time in apartment maintenance and property management. What type of lock is it?