Replacing an exterior lockset isn’t difficult. I’m sure I’ve done at least 100 by now in my life. LOL
Installing an electronic exterior lockset was the perfect remedy, even on this temporary door for while the contractors were working on the house.
There are some great advantages of using an electronic lockset. The obvious is no keys! Also, when you need to let someone have access to your place when you’re not there, you can just create a unique code for them and then delete it when they are done.
If you’ve never replaced a door handle with an electronic one, here’s how I did it.
First, this is the electronic lockset I bought. HERE is where you can find this one. I’ve used Schlage for many years, on several different properties. I learned my lesson after going cheap and having the lock break or freeze up, it is worth it to buy a good brand for this.
This electronic Schlage lock comes with it’s own unique master code.
You need that master code to add or subtract entry codes, so try not to lose the paper with the yellow sticker on it telling you what the code is. If you do lose it, there is a sticker inside the lock itself with that master code printed on it, you just have to take the lock apart to get it.
Removing the old door handle.
Pretty straight forward. I just unscrewed everything that had a screw, until the front came apart from the back.
Typically, that’s only 2 screws inside on the backplate and 2 screws on the latch. (rarely I’ve run across a type of set screw or release mechanism that takes a little more thinking than this simple type)
After all the screws were removed, (4 in this case) the latch was a little stuck. A little leverage with the screwdriver took care of that. The front and back handles come out first, then the latch can be removed.
Out with the old, in with the new.
Here are the ingredients to the new electronic lockset, with the instructions. (remember, keep those instructions for the master code on it!)
Schlage electric locksets have a key also, just in case the battery fails. We’ve never had to use the key in any of the electronic locks we’ve had.
To install the new lock, I basically did the same process as removing the old one, only in reverse.
First I slid in the new latch:
On a side note, it used to be that you had to order the latch with a backset according to the door hole. That’s a little different now… in most cases the backset is adjustable, usually it can be adjusted to the 2 most common backsets, either 2 3/8″ or 2 3/4″. The is the distance from the edge of the door to the center of the hole where the handle goes.
When installing this type of electronic lock, I’ve learned to follow the directions closely. There is a reason! The steps to activate the lock must be done in the right order, with the inside lock in a certain position, or it won’t lock as it should. If that happens, disconnect the battery and do it over, this time as the directions state.
They have precisely designed where the wires go inside the lock.
This shows you how to carefully slide the door handle part through the latch. There is an exact cutout in the latch backset piece to hold the curved things and post from the handle to go through the center of latch center:
I had to fit the wire into this back piece and snap the connection together, being sure the wires weren’t pinched by the cover piece.
This was the hardest part of the whole project.
The battery was provided in the Schlage box.
Here it is all screwed together:
To change this door lock to an electronic lockset was quite easy.
The directions in the Schlage box were simple and intended for a homeowner to be able to do by themselves. So if you’re considering changing your locks, I encourage you to give it a shot.
We love being able to use the electronic keypad instead of having to fumble with keys, or worse yet leave a key hidden outside. We have found the battery to lasted for a couple years before it gave us the red light warning that it was running low.
When that happens, it’s just a matter of removing the inside back piece to replace the battery. It’s nice that it gives you plenty of warning before it actually does go dead.
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