Hear from Our Customers
A properly installed door knob does more than turn. It aligns perfectly with your strike plate, engages smoothly every time, and holds up under daily use without loosening or failing.
You won’t deal with sticky latches, loose handles, or doors that don’t close right. The hardware fits your door’s thickness and backset measurements exactly, so there’s no gap, no wiggle, and no compromise to your home’s security.
Most big-box installations fail because the installer doesn’t account for door prep, hinge alignment, or the difference between a 2-3/8″ and 2-3/4″ backset. We measure before we drill. We check the bore hole diameter. We make sure your new lever or knob works with your existing door without forcing anything or creating new problems. That’s the difference between a quick fix and a real installation.
The McCausland family has been in the locksmith business for over 100 years. Chuck and Tom McCausland represent the fourth generation, following their father Walt and the family legacy that started in the late 1800s.
We’re not a franchise or a call center dispatching random techs. We’re a family-owned storefront at 1101 Lincoln Ave in Prospect Park, serving Trainer and the surrounding Delaware County communities with the same standards our great-grandfather used when he started this trade.
You’re working with licensed, insured professionals who’ve seen every door hardware issue you can imagine. We’re BBB accredited, members of the American Locksmith Association of Pennsylvania, and we’ve built our reputation on doing the job right without the runaround.
You call or stop by our storefront, and we’ll ask a few questions about your door and what you need. Interior or exterior? What style are you looking for? Do you have the hardware already, or do you need help selecting something that actually fits your door?
If you’re not sure what you need, we’ll walk you through it. Most residential doors use standard measurements, but older homes in Trainer sometimes have non-standard bore holes or unusual door thicknesses. We’ll figure that out before we show up, not after.
Once we’re on-site, we assess the door, confirm measurements, and prep the area if needed. Installation includes fitting the latch, aligning the strike plate, and testing the mechanism to make sure everything engages correctly. We don’t leave until the door closes flush, the knob turns without resistance, and the lock engages the way it should. If there’s an issue with the door itself—like a sagging frame or misaligned hinges—we’ll tell you what’s causing it and what it’ll take to fix it.
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Door knob installation covers everything from basic passage knobs for interior doors to keyed entry sets for exterior doors. We handle privacy locks for bathrooms and bedrooms, dummy knobs for closets, and commercial-grade levers if you need something more durable.
If you’re upgrading to a smart lock, we’ll install it and walk you through the setup so it actually works with your phone. A lot of homeowners in Trainer are moving toward app-based locks, especially after dealing with lost keys or wanting to let someone in remotely. We install those too, and we make sure the deadbolt aligns and the battery compartment is accessible.
We also handle door knob repair if your current hardware is salvageable. Sometimes it’s a worn latch or a loose spindle, and replacement isn’t necessary. We’ll tell you honestly what makes sense. If your door has damage from a forced entry or a failed DIY job, we can address that during installation so the new hardware sits correctly and your door is secure again.
Cost depends on the type of hardware and whether your door needs any prep work. A basic interior passage knob installation is less expensive than a keyed exterior entry set with a deadbolt.
If you already own the hardware, you’re just paying for labor and any materials needed to prep the door. If you need us to supply the knob or lever, that’s included in the total. We use quality components—not the stuff that loosens up in six months.
Most residential door knob installations in Trainer fall within a reasonable range, and we’ll give you a clear price before we start. No surprise fees, no upselling you on things you don’t need. If your door has an issue that’ll affect the installation—like a damaged bore hole or misaligned frame—we’ll explain what’s required and let you decide how to proceed.
Yes. If you’re adding a knob to a new door or a door that previously had different hardware, we’ll drill the bore holes and mortise the latch area to fit the new lockset.
This requires precision. The bore hole has to be the right diameter for your specific knob, and it has to be positioned at the correct height and distance from the door edge. The latch mortise needs to be deep enough that the faceplate sits flush with the door, or the latch won’t engage properly.
We bring the tools to do this on-site. It’s not something you want to attempt with a spade bit and a hand chisel unless you’ve done it before. One mistake and you’ve got a door that doesn’t close right or a knob that sits crooked. We measure twice, drill once, and make sure everything lines up before the hardware goes in.
A door knob requires you to grip and turn. A lever requires you to press down. Functionally, they do the same thing, but levers are easier to operate if you have your hands full or limited grip strength.
Levers are also required by ADA standards for commercial properties, which is why you see them in offices and public buildings. For residential use, it’s mostly preference, though a lot of homeowners in Trainer are switching to levers because they’re easier for kids and older adults to use.
The installation process is nearly identical. Both require a bore hole, a latch, and a strike plate. The main difference is the handle mechanism. If you’re replacing a knob with a lever or vice versa, the existing holes usually work as long as the backset and bore diameter match. We’ll confirm that before we start so there’s no guesswork.
A straightforward replacement on a prepped door usually takes 20 to 30 minutes. If we’re drilling new holes or fixing a problem with the door, it takes longer.
Exterior door installations take a bit more time because we’re also installing or adjusting the deadbolt and making sure the weatherstripping doesn’t interfere with the latch. If you’re upgrading to a smart lock, add time for programming and testing the connectivity.
We don’t rush. If something’s not right—like a misaligned strike plate or a door that’s swollen from humidity—we fix it during the installation so you don’t have issues later. Most of our calls in Trainer are done the same day, and if you need emergency service because a lock failed or broke, we’ll get there fast.
Usually, yes. Most exterior doors have separate bore holes for the knob and the deadbolt, so replacing one doesn’t affect the other.
If you want them to match or use the same key, we can rekey the deadbolt to match your new knob’s key, or vice versa. That way you’re not carrying two keys for the same door.
The only time there’s an issue is if the door has a handleset—where the knob and deadbolt are part of the same unit. In that case, you’d replace the whole assembly. We’ll look at what you have and tell you what works. If your deadbolt is worn or outdated, it might make sense to replace both at the same time so your entry hardware is consistent and secure.
Most of the time, yes. A loose knob is usually caused by loose screws, a worn spindle, or a latch that’s not aligned with the strike plate.
We’ll tighten everything down, check the alignment, and test the mechanism. If the spindle is stripped or the internal components are worn out, replacement makes more sense than trying to band-aid it. Cheap hardware fails fast, and if it’s already falling apart, it’s not going to hold up much longer.
If the door isn’t latching, the problem is often the strike plate position or a door that’s sagging on its hinges. We’ll adjust the strike plate or shim the hinges to get the door back in alignment. Sometimes it’s a quick fix. Other times the door needs more work. We’ll tell you what’s going on and what it’ll take to make it right.
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