Jonesboro Locksmith, GA: New Deadbolts, Rekeys and Car Keys at Any Hour

For Jonesboro, GA, 4Keys Locksmith is the mobile locksmith that answers 24/7. It is ALOA-trained, NASTF VSP authorized for vehicle security work, insured by The Hartford, and on record with the Georgia Secretary of State under the name 4Keys Locksmith LLC. No storefront sits between you and the work. Drills, bits, lock stock, the key cutter and the programming equipment travel in the van, which drives from Brookhaven to your Jonesboro address.

At the house, that means a new deadbolt fitted properly, a rekey after a move, or entry when the keys are on the wrong side of the door. At the car, it means a key cut to the code and programmed to the immobilizer, or a fob set up at the curb. At an office or shop, it means rekeys, master keys, card readers and push bars. Below, each one comes with the details that shape the visit and the things worth having in hand before you dial.

The dispatcher gives you the price on the phone before any van is sent, and a visit that falls between 9 PM and 7 AM local time, and on Sundays and federal holidays carries an after-hours surcharge that is named inside that price. The reference rates live on the 4Keys pricing page. Call in English or in Spanish, whichever is easier for you.

A deadbolt holds only as well as the four things around it: the holes it sits in, its distance from the door edge, the strike it throws into, and the quality of the lock. Adding one to a Jonesboro door that never had one is carpentry as much as lock work, and each of those four decides whether the bolt slides cleanly on the first turn and whether it holds when someone leans on the door from outside.

The holes come first. Standard residential deadbolts are made for a 2-1/8 inch cross bore through the face of the door and a 1 inch edge bore that meets it, according to Kwikset and Schlage door-prep documents; some models sit in a smaller 1-1/2 inch bore instead. The cross bore is cut with a hole saw, and the two holes have to meet square for the bolt to slide freely. Door thickness matters as well: Kwikset rates its standard deadbolts for doors 1-3/8 to 1-3/4 inches thick, with a kit for doors up to 2-1/4 inches.

Then the backset, the distance from the edge of the door to the center of the cross bore. The two standard sizes are 2-3/8 and 2-3/4 inches, and adjustable bolts handle both; on a Schlage bolt the change is made by twisting the faceplate. When the door already carries a knob or handleset, the new deadbolt is laid out on the same backset so the two pieces line up. The faceplate is set into a shallow mortise chiseled in the door edge so it sits flush and the door closes without rubbing.

The strike is the half people forget, and it is where a forced door gives way. A police crime prevention officer wrote in his newspaper column that the forced doors he saw in his career failed where the deadbolt entered the strike, and his fix is longer screws that pass through the jamb into the framing studs instead of stopping in the trim. Some deadbolts ship with a reinforcement plate that goes on the frame under the strike. The bolt also has to throw fully into the strike hole; Schlage's own guide says that if it binds, the strike or the jamb is adjusted. Ask for the strike to be anchored into the framing when you book, and it is part of the visit.

Last, the lock itself. The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association tests residential deadbolts under ANSI/BHMA A156.40, which covers durability, security and finish and includes a test that loads the door against the bolt with 1,350 pounds of force. Look for the BHMA grade on the box. Decide too between a single-cylinder bolt, keyed outside with a thumbturn inside, and a double-cylinder bolt keyed on both sides, which needs a key to get out, so think about who in the house has to leave in a hurry.

To book it, tell the dispatcher how many doors, whether each one is bored already, what the door is made of (wood, steel or fiberglass), and whether you bought the deadbolt or want one supplied. If the lock is yours, keep the box: the technician checks its bore size and backset before drilling. A deadbolt that exists but sticks or no longer latches is a repair, covered on our Norcross page.