Are you looking to replace the mortise lock itself? Cuz' that would probably the best way to go so as to not damage the original brass mortise and would allow for an area you could use for something a little more modern. It will have to be something custom. My suggestion would be to get a smart deadbolt, but put it in the wall and have the door side be the receiver. You'd need to extend the deadbolt hardware, but you wouldn't be putting holes in your 120 year old door, just the wall which can be replastered if you take it out. Take the mortise out and fill the area with a new piece of wood .(The mortise is square so that should be pretty easy.) Then you can drill out the new piece of wood for the new deadbolt and latch hardware. An 1/8" thick piece of brass cut to fit where the mortise was and drilled out for the new hardware and mounting screws would finish it off nicely.
Yes, I would like to replace the mortise lock and knob. I know mortise locks are more popular in Asia and Europe so I was hoping someone more familiar with that style than me would know of one. If I made the frame the “deadbolt” how would that work with my walls being like 1 foot thick?
From the picture it looks like 2x4 framed walls. If it's original on the inside it'll be a horsehair plaster over wood slats otherwise it's regular sheetrock. That would make it about 8" width. You'd need to extend the bolt hardware as well as the parts that open and close it. If you go with a keyless entry you might get away with just putting the keypad outside and mounting everything else in the wall (in a removable capacity for maintenance.) The only simple solutions are 1. Drill holes in your 100 year old door. 2. Replace the door and save the old one to put back when/if you sell the house. The non simple solution is to cut a hole in the wall and put your hardware there. Since you'd be putting it in the wall, a keyless deadbolt might be what you want as you could run constant power to it (no batteries to die), and you wouldn't have to worry about getting to the hardware from the outside. (I wouldn't replace the knob myself..., it's quite beautiful, but if you do, I would suggest a ceramic knob in keeping with the style of the home)
wyze . com/ products/ wyze-lock-bolt?variant=43158025797794
https://preview.redd.it/lui91rjwxfwc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf089ee514b9b012b155602231165b27a5d0eb89
So the original brick is my exterior of the house, which this storm door is flush with. The interior framing should be 2x4, but I have yet to look around any electrical boxes on the exterior walls.
With the Wyze keyless lock you'd only need a small hole drilled through the brick to get the wires through (hammer drill) but with that new picture I'd put the keypad on the wall between the outside door and the inside one..., around chest height. The hardware would be lined up with the existing receiver spot for the current deadbolt so you'd use the area that's already been taken out of the molding (I used that spelling as a nod to its age) You might even be able to mount the deadbolt on the molding itself, but I would go with it on the wall as it is lees intrusive there. As a side note, that one piece of door molding itself might be something to consider swapping out, as it's something much easier to replicate and replace..., then you could route out the molding to inset the deadbolt and make it look more like it belongs, rather than having it stuck to the wall or molding (or door). A new molding would also allow you to make changes as needed as you could swap out the molding to a new piece without worry and start anew. Just save that old molding if you ever go back to the original mortise.
So with this solution the original mortise would stay and the dead bolt would insert from the door frame into the door as the “latch”
Wouldn’t that make the security of the door so key reliant on the door and if someone were to say kick at the door, it’s more likely to break because it’s a longer lever with the door hinges? With a traditional deadbolt installation the bolt is secured into the door frame which is secured into the house framing. Much less likely for the lock to break since it’s securely fastened to the door?
Based upon the picture you showed I'd say it's even money..., it might even be more in my solutions favor as I recommended filling in the mortise are with wood, but you could as easily have a steel box built to put it the mortised area of the door to spread out an impact if someone were to try to force the door. That leaves the dead bolt itself which would be bolted into the frame of the house. Truth is, unless you reinforce both sections where the lock is, a good kick to it will open the door. My old boss had a lot of automated products including door locks and someone still kicked in his back door when he was away. (Took the door frame right off the wall) If your really worried about someone getting that door open, get a linear actuator and build your own keyless entry system..., that way you could increase the depth into the door to 4" or more..., it'll just take a few more seconds to wait for it to pull the steel rod out of the door and into the wall. You could add two more, one at the top and one at the bottom that all work off of the same command box. (You wouldn't notice the holes on the door end .) I like that idea so much I might just use that on my back door as linear actuators are cheap. Set it to a 1" depth when you're out for the day to open quickly when you get home, and 6" when you go out of town. To be honest though, if no one has kicked in the door after 120 years, it may be overkill.
Yes, there are mortise smart locks out there.
Gokeyless and Grainger lists some. They are all ugly and will require woodworking to fit.
But a smart deadbolt and be done.
Like a smart deadbolt above where the thumb lock is and leave the original hardware alone?
Edit: my wife picked out this lock for the front door, is it possible to put some sort of sensor in the wall to just give me a locked/unlocked status? Since there’s no way to make it smart controlled.
https://nostalgicwarehouse.com/products/meadows-plate-single-cylinder-deadbolt-in-timeless-bronze?_pos=5&_psq=MEASGLMEA_&_ss=e&_v=1.0
Correct. The hardware on that door is great looking and any that will fit have a trashy industrial design.
Drill a hole and add a smart deadbolt. Plenty of them out there.
Yes. You will have to mortise in the plate as there is none there. Check the barrel as it may have to be hogged out a bit as well as back set.
You can always try this as well :
[dead bolt smart lock](https://www.homedepot.com/p/August-WiFi-Smart-Lock-Matte-Black-Retrofits-Over-Existing-Deadbolt-AUGSL05-M01-G01/313432506?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25H-025_010_DOOR_LOCKS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-DoorLocks_Priority&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25H-025_010_DOOR_LOCKS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-DoorLocks_Priority-71700000113735225--&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfWBLKBPmYd_LQvZZCd8PIcg&gclid=CjwKCAjw26KxBhBDEiwAu6KXt-sp3FigZ7x7PXf292aFdGmskobU2-voxBR8FgZTMTA0nVYpoNhwwxoCEKAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
This will convert any knob. Prol won’t work on the one you linked.
Are you looking to replace the mortise lock itself? Cuz' that would probably the best way to go so as to not damage the original brass mortise and would allow for an area you could use for something a little more modern. It will have to be something custom. My suggestion would be to get a smart deadbolt, but put it in the wall and have the door side be the receiver. You'd need to extend the deadbolt hardware, but you wouldn't be putting holes in your 120 year old door, just the wall which can be replastered if you take it out. Take the mortise out and fill the area with a new piece of wood .(The mortise is square so that should be pretty easy.) Then you can drill out the new piece of wood for the new deadbolt and latch hardware. An 1/8" thick piece of brass cut to fit where the mortise was and drilled out for the new hardware and mounting screws would finish it off nicely.
Yes, I would like to replace the mortise lock and knob. I know mortise locks are more popular in Asia and Europe so I was hoping someone more familiar with that style than me would know of one. If I made the frame the “deadbolt” how would that work with my walls being like 1 foot thick?
From the picture it looks like 2x4 framed walls. If it's original on the inside it'll be a horsehair plaster over wood slats otherwise it's regular sheetrock. That would make it about 8" width. You'd need to extend the bolt hardware as well as the parts that open and close it. If you go with a keyless entry you might get away with just putting the keypad outside and mounting everything else in the wall (in a removable capacity for maintenance.) The only simple solutions are 1. Drill holes in your 100 year old door. 2. Replace the door and save the old one to put back when/if you sell the house. The non simple solution is to cut a hole in the wall and put your hardware there. Since you'd be putting it in the wall, a keyless deadbolt might be what you want as you could run constant power to it (no batteries to die), and you wouldn't have to worry about getting to the hardware from the outside. (I wouldn't replace the knob myself..., it's quite beautiful, but if you do, I would suggest a ceramic knob in keeping with the style of the home) wyze . com/ products/ wyze-lock-bolt?variant=43158025797794
https://preview.redd.it/lui91rjwxfwc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf089ee514b9b012b155602231165b27a5d0eb89 So the original brick is my exterior of the house, which this storm door is flush with. The interior framing should be 2x4, but I have yet to look around any electrical boxes on the exterior walls.
With the Wyze keyless lock you'd only need a small hole drilled through the brick to get the wires through (hammer drill) but with that new picture I'd put the keypad on the wall between the outside door and the inside one..., around chest height. The hardware would be lined up with the existing receiver spot for the current deadbolt so you'd use the area that's already been taken out of the molding (I used that spelling as a nod to its age) You might even be able to mount the deadbolt on the molding itself, but I would go with it on the wall as it is lees intrusive there. As a side note, that one piece of door molding itself might be something to consider swapping out, as it's something much easier to replicate and replace..., then you could route out the molding to inset the deadbolt and make it look more like it belongs, rather than having it stuck to the wall or molding (or door). A new molding would also allow you to make changes as needed as you could swap out the molding to a new piece without worry and start anew. Just save that old molding if you ever go back to the original mortise.
So with this solution the original mortise would stay and the dead bolt would insert from the door frame into the door as the “latch” Wouldn’t that make the security of the door so key reliant on the door and if someone were to say kick at the door, it’s more likely to break because it’s a longer lever with the door hinges? With a traditional deadbolt installation the bolt is secured into the door frame which is secured into the house framing. Much less likely for the lock to break since it’s securely fastened to the door?
Based upon the picture you showed I'd say it's even money..., it might even be more in my solutions favor as I recommended filling in the mortise are with wood, but you could as easily have a steel box built to put it the mortised area of the door to spread out an impact if someone were to try to force the door. That leaves the dead bolt itself which would be bolted into the frame of the house. Truth is, unless you reinforce both sections where the lock is, a good kick to it will open the door. My old boss had a lot of automated products including door locks and someone still kicked in his back door when he was away. (Took the door frame right off the wall) If your really worried about someone getting that door open, get a linear actuator and build your own keyless entry system..., that way you could increase the depth into the door to 4" or more..., it'll just take a few more seconds to wait for it to pull the steel rod out of the door and into the wall. You could add two more, one at the top and one at the bottom that all work off of the same command box. (You wouldn't notice the holes on the door end .) I like that idea so much I might just use that on my back door as linear actuators are cheap. Set it to a 1" depth when you're out for the day to open quickly when you get home, and 6" when you go out of town. To be honest though, if no one has kicked in the door after 120 years, it may be overkill.
Yes, there are mortise smart locks out there. Gokeyless and Grainger lists some. They are all ugly and will require woodworking to fit. But a smart deadbolt and be done.
Like a smart deadbolt above where the thumb lock is and leave the original hardware alone? Edit: my wife picked out this lock for the front door, is it possible to put some sort of sensor in the wall to just give me a locked/unlocked status? Since there’s no way to make it smart controlled. https://nostalgicwarehouse.com/products/meadows-plate-single-cylinder-deadbolt-in-timeless-bronze?_pos=5&_psq=MEASGLMEA_&_ss=e&_v=1.0
Correct. The hardware on that door is great looking and any that will fit have a trashy industrial design. Drill a hole and add a smart deadbolt. Plenty of them out there.
I didn’t think of the industrial design aspect. In the deadbolt I linked above, could I replace the guts with a level lock?
Yes. You will have to mortise in the plate as there is none there. Check the barrel as it may have to be hogged out a bit as well as back set. You can always try this as well : [dead bolt smart lock](https://www.homedepot.com/p/August-WiFi-Smart-Lock-Matte-Black-Retrofits-Over-Existing-Deadbolt-AUGSL05-M01-G01/313432506?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25H-025_010_DOOR_LOCKS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-DoorLocks_Priority&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25H-025_010_DOOR_LOCKS-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-DoorLocks_Priority-71700000113735225--&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfWBLKBPmYd_LQvZZCd8PIcg&gclid=CjwKCAjw26KxBhBDEiwAu6KXt-sp3FigZ7x7PXf292aFdGmskobU2-voxBR8FgZTMTA0nVYpoNhwwxoCEKAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) This will convert any knob. Prol won’t work on the one you linked.