Hear from Our Customers
You stop jiggling handles. You stop worrying whether the lock will catch when you leave for work. The door closes smoothly every time, and the hardware feels solid when you turn it.
That’s what happens when door knob installation gets done by someone who knows what they’re looking at. We measure the backset, check the door thickness, and match the hardware to how your door actually operates—not just what looks good in the box.
If you’re upgrading to a smart lock or lever handle, we make sure it integrates with your existing setup. No gaps. No loose plates. No callbacks because something doesn’t line up. Just a door that works the way you expect it to, from the first day forward.
The McCausland family has been doing locksmith work in the Philadelphia area since the late 1800s. That’s four generations of figuring out how doors, locks, and hardware hold up in Delaware County winters and Philly rowhouse layouts.
We’re not a van with a phone number. We operate out of a storefront on Lincoln Ave in Prospect Park, and we stock the parts, tools, and hardware you actually need. When you call, you’re talking to people who’ve installed door knobs in every type of building this city has—old Victorians with uneven frames, new construction condos, triple-deckers in Fishtown.
Chuck and Tom McCausland still run the operation. Their daughter Chrissy works the counter. If you’ve lived here long enough, you’ve probably heard the name.
First, we ask what’s going on. Is the knob broken? Are you upgrading? Changing out old hardware? That tells us what to bring and how long it’ll take.
When we show up, we check the door itself—thickness, backset, bore hole size. A lot of installs go sideways because someone assumes all doors are the same. They’re not. We measure before we touch anything.
Then we remove the old hardware, prep the door if needed, and install the new knob or lever. If it’s a deadbolt combo or a smart lock, we test it multiple times to make sure the alignment is right and the latch catches cleanly. You shouldn’t have to slam your door to get it to lock.
Before we leave, we show you how everything works. If it’s a keyless system, we walk you through the setup. If it’s a rekey situation, we make sure your old keys stop working immediately. The whole process usually takes 30 minutes for a standard replacement, a bit longer if there’s custom fitting involved.
Ready to get started?
You get the installation, obviously. But you also get someone who knows the difference between a passage knob, a privacy lock, and a keyed entry—and which one belongs on which door in your house.
We handle lever installation for accessibility upgrades, which is becoming more common in Philadelphia as homeowners age in place or update rental properties to meet ADA guidelines. Levers are easier on the hands, and they’re required in some commercial spaces. We’ll tell you what applies to your situation.
If you’re dealing with a door knob that’s loose, sticking, or falling off, we can assess whether it’s a repair or a replacement. Sometimes it’s just a stripped screw or a worn latch. Other times the whole mechanism is shot and you’re better off starting fresh. We don’t upsell—we just tell you what makes sense.
Philadelphia homes, especially the older ones in South Philly, Manayunk, and Germantown, have quirks. Doors settle. Frames shift. We’ve seen it all, and we know how to work with it instead of against it. That’s the difference between a knob that lasts two years and one that lasts twenty.
For a standard door knob replacement, you’re looking at somewhere between $80 and $150 per door, depending on the hardware you choose and whether there’s any prep work involved. That includes labor and basic installation.
If you’re installing a smart lock or a high-security deadbolt combo, the cost goes up—usually in the $200 to $350 range. That’s because the install takes longer, the hardware costs more, and there’s often integration or programming involved.
We don’t charge trip fees if you’re in our service area, which covers Philadelphia and Delaware County. If it’s an emergency call or after-hours, there’s an additional service fee, but we’ll tell you that upfront. No surprises when we hand you the invoice.
Usually, yes. Most smart locks are designed to retrofit onto existing door prep, which means if your door already has a standard deadbolt or knob, we can swap it out without drilling new holes.
The bigger question is whether your door is in good enough shape. If the frame is warped, the door sags, or the strike plate doesn’t align, the smart lock won’t work right no matter how new the tech is. We check all that before we install anything.
Some older doors in Philadelphia—especially in prewar rowhomes—have non-standard backsets or thinner door panels. In those cases, we either adapt the hardware or recommend a model that’s built for older construction. We’ve done enough of these installs to know what works and what doesn’t.
A straightforward door knob replacement takes about 30 minutes. That’s removing the old hardware, installing the new knob, and testing it to make sure everything operates smoothly.
If we’re installing a lever handle or a smart lock, it might take closer to 45 minutes to an hour. There’s more to line up, especially with electronic components or multi-point locking systems.
If there’s damage to the door, a misaligned strike plate, or we need to drill new holes, it takes longer. We’ll let you know on-site if we run into anything that changes the timeline. Most of the time, though, we’re in and out faster than you’d expect.
You can do it yourself if the door is already prepped, the new hardware matches the old dimensions, and you’re comfortable with basic tools. A lot of homeowners handle simple knob swaps without issue.
Where it gets tricky is when the bore hole doesn’t match, the backset is different, or the door needs adjustment. If you drill in the wrong spot or force hardware that doesn’t fit, you can damage the door or end up with a lock that doesn’t secure properly. That’s a bigger problem than the cost of hiring someone.
We see a fair number of calls from people who started a DIY install and hit a snag—wrong size, stripped screws, misaligned latch. At that point, we’re fixing the original problem plus whatever happened during the attempt. If you’re unsure, it’s worth having us handle it from the start.
A door knob is the round handle you twist. A lever handle is the flat bar you push down. Functionally, they do the same thing—they retract the latch so the door opens.
The main difference is ease of use. Levers require less grip strength, which makes them better for anyone with arthritis, mobility issues, or if you’re often carrying things and need to open the door with your elbow. That’s why they’re standard in commercial buildings and increasingly common in residential accessibility upgrades.
In terms of installation, they’re nearly identical. Both mount the same way, use the same bore holes, and work with the same locking mechanisms. If you’re switching from a knob to a lever, we can usually do it without modifying the door at all.
Yes. If you’re replacing a keyed entry knob or deadbolt, we can rekey it on the spot so it matches your existing house keys. That way you’re not carrying around an extra key just for one door.
We can also rekey your entire house at the same time if you want all your locks on the same key. That’s common after a move, a roommate change, or if you’ve lost track of who has copies. It’s faster and cheaper than replacing every lock.
Rekeying takes about 10 minutes per lock. We swap out the pins inside the cylinder so the old keys stop working and your new key is the only one that operates the lock. It’s a simple process, and it’s something we do several times a day.
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