A mortise lock is a lock body that fits into a pocket in the door edge, with the lever, deadbolt and cylinder in one case. We repair, rekey, replace and install mortise locks across Washington DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland, matching the function and cylinder to your door. Licensed, insured and bonded, with 25 years of mortise work behind us.
Mortise locks fall under ANSI/BHMA A156.13, the standard for lock bodies set into the door edge. The case holds the latchbolt, the spring bolt keeping the door closed; the deadbolt you throw for security; and the hub the lever spindle turns to pull the latch back. Most commercial doors use a 2-3/4 inch backset, the edge-to-cylinder distance.
The cylinder threads into the case, and its cam, the tab on its back, must match the body or the key spins uselessly. We stock Schlage, Yale and Corbin Russwin cams, plus SFIC and LFIC cylinders, interchangeable cores a control key pulls out, so a District of Columbia storefront keeps its existing keys.
One mortise case gives you a latch and a deadbolt under one key, so a tenant locks up with one thumbturn. The case sits inside the door, so mortise hardware outlasts bored locks on high-traffic doors.
Because the cylinder threads out, we rekey or swap it in minutes without touching the case. Handing reverses in the field on most Grade 1 bodies, the top commercial rating, so one lock fits either door swing. Upgrading from a bored lock? We survey the door free.
Mortise locks run on the doors that take the most abuse: storefront and office entrances, apartment units, hotel guest rooms, church corridors, and older rowhouse front doors cut for mortise decades ago. Across NOVA we see them on medical suites and homes alike.
Mortise is the wrong answer for a hollow-core door or thin slab that splits around a pocket; a Grade 2 cylindrical lever, the bored type, serves those for less.
Solid wood, steel or fiberglass slab? We measure the edge, confirm it can hold a mortise pocket, and quote the right body on the spot. If bored hardware serves your door better, we tell you that instead. Free survey, no obligation.
Five mortise brands ride on our trucks because their cases, cams and cylinders keep working on the region’s hardest doors, and we stock their parts.
Schlage L9000 is the Grade 1 mortise body we repair most, so its hubs, latchbolts and armor fronts, the door-edge plate, ride on every truck.
Sargent 8200 accepts Sargent cylinders plus SFIC and LFIC housings, so we key it into a Best or Sargent system already running in your building.
Corbin Russwin ML2000 reverses handing, which way the door swings, in the field with no parts, so one lock from our truck fits your door.
Yale 8800 sits in many older institutional and rowhouse doors, and we carry its cams and cylinders, so a worn lock gets repaired, not replaced.
Key turns but the lever stays locked: the cam is worn or the wrong brand, so it spins without working the lock. Cylinder turns in the door: the set screw behind the faceplate has backed out, so every key turn unscrews it further. Exterior doors: rain and road salt seize the hub and bolts solid.
We pull the armor front, check set screw and cam, then work hub, latchbolt and deadbolt by hand before naming parts. Locked out? Our mobile units respond 24/7. Call (240) 345-1455 in Maryland or (202) 800-2622 in Washington DC and NOVA.
A worn or mismatched cam means a new cam or cylinder; a spinning cylinder gets a fresh set screw and a thread check. Seized cases get stripped, cleaned and relubricated; once springs rust through, repair costs more than a new body, and we say so.
We replace after a break-in, when parts are discontinued, or when the function is wrong. We match function code, grade, backset, cam and finish so it drops into the existing pocket, then rekey it to your master system where the keyway allows. Measure, match, install, test egress. Our in-house door expert corrects frame alignment that visit, and estimates are free.
Mortise locks secure storefronts, apartment units and institutional corridors, but every door has its match. Browse our lock type resources below to see each function, its applications and our services.
Straight answers from King Locksmith Technicans to on Mortise Locks questions customers ask us most.
(240) 345-1455
A156.13, which defines functions like F04 office and F07 storeroom and rates Grade 1 highest.
Both thread into the same hole, so Maryland buildings keep their existing keys.
Many Grade 1 bodies carry a UL fire-door listing; we verify the label on rated Northern Virginia openings.
A door-edge pocket for the case, cylinder and spindle holes, and a frame strike.
