Lock installation
Lock Installation in Lancing
Call with your postcode for a current arrival estimate.
- 24-hour emergency cover
- No call-out charge
- Price agreed before work starts
Need a New Lock Fitted in Lancing?
L.M.N Locksmiths Lancing supplies and fits new locks on doors, windows, outbuildings and gates across Lancing, including British Standard and high-security locks where an insurer asks for them. Four situations bring most people to us: a door with no lock or only one, an upgrade to meet an insurance requirement, a new or replacement door that needs locks fitting, and an internal room, office, outbuilding or gate that needs securing.
There is no call-out charge. Tell us about the door, how it is used and anything in writing from your insurer, landlord or managing agent, and we will work from that. To replace a lock that already exists, see lock replacement.
Replacing an Existing Lock or Fitting a New One?
Quick test: adding a lock, or changing to a different type or standard, means installation. Swapping the existing lock for the same sort means replacement.
When you need a lock fitted
Fitting covers a second lock for a patio or French door, a newly hung or replacement door, and a lockable side gate, shed, outbuilding, office or internal room, plus an upgrade to an anti-snap or British Standard lock, and a door with no lock, or only a nightlatch where your insurer wants a deadlock too.
A door with no suitable locking hardware, a door that needs an extra lock and a door that must be key-controlled may all justify a new lock. When a door has just been fitted, it may need a compatible lock, cylinder, handles or other hardware to go with it. We consider the door, where it is and how it is used before any options are put forward. The door and frame have to be checked to find out which lock types and fitting positions may be appropriate, since the specification depends on material, thickness, construction and intended use. Where the configuration permits and another locking point is required, an additional lock may be fitted after we weigh up the existing hardware, fitting space and any written security requirements. The lock is judged as part of the complete door arrangement.
When a lock needs replacing instead
Lost or stolen keys, a newly bought home, a failing lock and a forced door are replacement work, which our lock replacement page explains.
Which Standard Applies to Your Door? BS 3621, BS 8621 and PAS 3621
The short answer: BS 3621 for most timber final exit doors, BS 8621 where people must be able to get out without a key, and PAS 3621 for multipoint locks on uPVC and composite doors. The longer answer depends on your policy, because insurers do not all ask for the same thing. Many of the largest UK insurers take guidance from RISCAuthority, but each sets its own conditions. "Insurance approved" really means a lock certified by BSI to a standard that some policies specify; whether it satisfies yours is a question for your policy wording.
| Standard | What it means in use | Typical door |
|---|---|---|
| BS 3621 | A key is needed from inside and outside | External timber final exit door |
| BS 8621 | Key from outside, thumbturn inside, keyless exit | Door on an escape route, flat or HMO |
| PAS 3621 | Multipoint equivalent of the above | uPVC or composite door |
Extra rules for fire, flat and communal doors Any lock fitted to these doors must be compatible with their fire-safety and escape requirements. It must not stop the door closing properly or affect its ability to hold back fire and smoke. Fire and smoke resistance, the door, frame and essential seals, effective self-closing, keyless exit where required and safe access for other occupants all have to be kept intact.
Before arranging any alteration, check with the landlord, freeholder, managing agent or other responsible person. Approval may be required for a door in a rented or leasehold property, a flat in a managed building, a communal entrance or shared area, or a designated fire or escape-route door. When you contact us, provide whatever approval, fire-door information or required hardware specification you have. If it is unclear what the door is or what it needs, guidance may be needed from a competent fire-safety professional.
Important: please identify any fire door, flat entrance or communal door that your enquiry relates to. Our types of door locks guide puts these standards in context.
Does Your Lock Actually Meet Your Insurance Requirements?
Most people assume the locks on their doors already satisfy their home insurance. Plenty of them are wrong, and nothing about the lock's appearance will tell them so.
Five-lever lock: not automatically a BS 3621 lock
A five-lever description alone does not confirm that a mortice lock meets BS 3621. Many generic five-lever locks carry no British Standard marking at all, and they often arrive with a house bought from a previous owner. The thirty-second check: open the door and read the faceplate on its edge for the kitemark and the BS number. Check the certification and product markings rather than relying on the lever count, because the number of levers alone does not confirm that a lock meets BS 3621.
In seconds, a cheap euro cylinder can be snapped
Euro cylinders come in different sizes and security ratings, and a generic one offers little resistance to snapping, a common attack on uPVC and composite doors. Depending on the product, certification may include a TS 007 star rating or an SS 312 Diamond rating, marked on the cylinder face. The cylinder must also suit the lock and be correctly sized for the door, and its security is judged alongside the handles, protective hardware and the whole locking system.
What decides the right lock
The right lock depends on how the door is built, where it is, how it is used and how people need to get in and out, so a lock that suits one door may not suit another. Before choosing a product, you should check any instructions supplied in writing by an insurer, landlord or managing agent. Before discussing options, we consider: - whether the door is timber, uPVC, composite or aluminium - whether it is external or internal - its thickness, frame and existing preparation - how users need to enter and leave - whether you need an additional lock or a complete locking arrangement
Those details narrow down which lock types, sizes and fitting methods may be suitable.
| Standard or rating | What it generally indicates | Important consideration |
|---|---|---|
| BS 3621 | A tested thief-resistant single-point lock worked by key from both sides | Usually linked with suitable external timber doors |
| BS 8621 | A tested thief-resistant single-point lock worked by key from outside, with keyless exit from inside | May be relevant where keyless egress is needed |
| TS 007 / SS 312 | Security ratings for cylinders and related door hardware | The rating needed depends on the door and any documented requirement |
Which option applies depends on the complete door arrangement and how the property is used. The next section covers the additional points that need consideration for fire doors, flat entrances and communal doors.
Have a written security requirement? Before installation takes place, provide us with the wording exactly as written. We can discuss products that may match the stated specification, but your insurer, landlord or managing agent must confirm whether the proposed option satisfies their requirement. More on cylinder attacks is in our anti-snap locks guide, and full uPVC work is on our uPVC door locks page.
Proof of What We Fitted, for Your Insurer
Why a record matters
After a break-in, your insurer may ask what locks were on the doors and whether they met the policy. A spoken assurance proves nothing; a written record of the installation does. It also makes future maintenance, sourcing replacement parts and keeping property documents straightforward.
What you receive
- Lock details, being the available information about the lock, cylinder or hardware that was fitted
- Keys and operation, with the supplied keys handed over and the lock's operation checked on completion
Put it in the same place as your insurance policy.
Locks We Fit on Lancing Properties
Lock installation covers far more than front doors. In each case the appropriate lock depends on what the door is made of, how much fitting space there is, how it needs to be operated and whether any security requirement has been confirmed.
The mortice deadlock
Set into the door edge, mortice deadlocks and sashlocks suit suitable timber doors, and certified versions exist where a recognised standard is required. Initial checks are needed to establish the door's thickness and construction and assess its frame and the fitting position. Fitting one where there was none means cutting the door, which is skilled work.
Nightlatches and rim locks
Fitted to the surface on the inside of a suitable door, nightlatches (the Yale-style lock) come in models with different entry, exit and deadlocking options. Whether one should be the primary or additional lock depends on the door, product specification and intended use; on final exit doors, a mortice deadlock usually goes alongside it.
Euro cylinders and upgrading to anti-snap
These work within compatible lock cases and multipoint systems, which lock uPVC, composite and some aluminium or timber doors at several points. Correct sizing and compatibility with the lock and protective hardware are essential, and various security ratings can be supplied where required. We can assess compatible cylinders, handles and locking parts in an existing multipoint system, with the scope set by the door design and component compatibility.
Gate, outbuilding and internal locks
Key-operated or privacy locks can be fitted to bedrooms, offices, stockrooms and stores. The right one depends on construction, frequency of use, the privacy needed and who should have a key. A locked side gate or shed also protects a rear door that is out of sight.
The window locks
Under some policies, accessible windows need key-operated locks.
Give us the door details, its location and what needs securing on the call, and we will discuss options and price the job. The price stays as given unless the work differs on site; we explain any change before work starts. See window locks, compare common door lock types and.
Locksmith pricing
How Does the Job Work?
Step by step
Why test with the door shut? Because that is when a misaligned keep or frame puts strain on the lock, and catching it on the day protects the new hardware. Ready to start? Contact us.
Your brief
the door, where it is, what needs securing and any written requirement you have received, such as wording from your insurer.
Our recommendation
we discuss options and price the job from your description on the call; any inspection follows, and the price holds unless the job differs on site, with changes explained before work begins.
The finish
the keys are handed to you with a written record of what went in.
Locksmith pricing
What Affects the Cost When Fitting a New Lock
Fitting a new lock is priced on the lock, the door and the preparation needed, and a door with no existing provision always takes longer than a like-for-like swap because it has to be prepared before the lock goes in. There is no charge for the call-out, and your price is given on the call. You pay for the work carried out, any parts needed, and VAT. Rates outside Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, are higher, but the call-out itself is never charged.
The cost breaks down into:
How it works, start to finish We move from a call price based on your description, to any inspection, your approval and installation; the price holds unless the job differs on site. First, describe what the door is made from, where it is situated and how you plan to use it. If you can, provide images showing the door, its frame and the hardware already fitted, along with any requirements you have been given in writing. We discuss lock options that may suit and give your price during the call using that information. Before any work starts, you hear about any price change and agree the work and final lock specification. Finally, the lock is fitted in the agreed position and the lock, keys, relevant hardware and door operation are all tested.
Lock selected
the lock type, its size and security rating, and any additional hardware.
Door preparation
what the door is made of, the openings it already has, and work required on the door or frame.
Installation requirements
the number of locks and doors, the complexity of fitting and the conditions of the appointment, such as time of day.
Lock Fitting Across Lancing
Fitting is planned, appointment-based work, so we book visits and talk through what each door needs rather than rushing in. We fit locks for homeowners, landlords, letting agents and business premises in Lancing.
Our visits cover North Lancing, South Lancing and Lower Cokeham, every postcode in BN15 and the parts of BN43 around Lancing, and Sompting has its own page. Around 23,000 usual residents live in the area (Census 2021, ONS, output areas approximated to the built-up area).
Housing type changes what is being fitted to. In Lancing 37.7% of households are in semi-detached homes, 21.1% in flats, 20.1% in detached homes and 19.4% in terraces (Census 2021 TS044, ONS); North Lancing is mostly houses, and for a flat the first question is whether the lock is on your own door or on a shared entrance. Homes built between 1945 and 1982 make up 48.5% of stock, 1900 to 1939 another 32.4%, 1983 to 2008 11.4%, since 2009 5.9% and before 1900 1.8% (VOA council tax property stock, 31 March 2026).
North Lancing is a conservation area (planning.data.gov.uk, designated 1975). Fitting a lock rarely changes how a door looks; if you plan a whole new door there, ask the council. The national data shows no Article 4 direction on doors or windows, but absence in that dataset means unknown.
See all areas we cover.
Emergency and planned locksmith services
Book a Lock Fitting in Lancing
Ring 01903 377061 to choose a time, and have your insurance wording to hand so we can check the locks you already have against what the policy asks. There is no call-out charge, and the price is agreed before work begins.
- Phone: 01903 377061
- Booked work: Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm
01903 377061
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my lock meets my insurance policy?
It comes down to two things: what is stamped on the lock and what your policy says. A certified mortice lock carries a kitemark and BS number on its faceplate, and a rated cylinder shows a star or Diamond mark on its face. If neither is present, do not rely on the lock meeting the standard. Then compare it with the security conditions in your policy.
I have a five-lever lock. Is that enough?
Not necessarily. A five-lever description alone does not confirm that a mortice lock meets BS 3621. Generic five-lever locks sold in DIY shops often carry no kitemark and do not meet the standard, and many homes have one fitted by a previous owner without anyone noticing. What counts is the kitemark and BS number on the faceplate, so check the door edge rather than counting levers.
Can you fit a lock to a door that does not have one?
Yes, though it is more involved than replacing a lock. With no existing provision, the door must be prepared, usually by boring for a cylinder or cutting a mortice pocket, depending on the lock and the door. That preparation makes it a longer job. It is skilled work, most of all on composite doors, which are easy to damage during cutting.
What is the difference between BS 3621 and BS 8621?
The difference is how you get out. A BS 3621 lock needs a key from inside and outside; it covers thief-resistant single-point locks keyed on both sides. A BS 8621 lock is keyed from outside but has keyless exit from inside, typically a thumbturn, suiting flats, HMOs and escape routes. PAS 3621 applies to multipoint locks on uPVC and composite doors. Which applies depends on the door, how the property is used, its fire strategy and means of escape.
Why do different insurers ask for different locks?
Insurers set their own rules. Although many of the largest in the UK take guidance from RISCAuthority, there is no universal standard they all apply, so one policy may name a specific standard while another on a similar house asks for something different. Check your policy's security section, confirm anything uncertain with the insurer, and send us the wording before the installation.
Will you give me proof of what was fitted?
Written proof comes with the job. In the event of a claim, an insurer may ask what locks were fitted and whether they matched the policy, and a written record carries far more weight than anyone's word.
Should I buy the lock myself and just pay you to fit it?
You can ask, but it often works out as a false economy. We would rather advise on the right lock for the door and your policy before anything is bought.
How much does it cost to have a new lock fitted in Lancing?
It depends on whether the door is already prepared or needs cutting, the lock type and security rating, the door material, how many doors there are and the time of day. Fitting a lock into a door with no existing provision takes longer than swapping a cylinder. Describe the door when you ring and you are given a price on the call, with no call-out charge, before any work starts.
Still have a question or need urgent assistance? Call 01903 377061, tell us what has happened and receive a current arrival estimate.