# Can a Handyman Replace Door Locks, Handles, and Hinges? What Florida Homeowners Asked in September The Handyman Company · https://the-handyman-company.com/blog/door-locks-handles-and-hinges-handyman · 800-931-1106 A lock that will not turn, a handle that wobbles, a door that swings shut on its own: none of it needs a locksmith or a new door. Here is the door hardware Florida homeowners asked us about in September, and what our handymen do about each one. We would be glad to help. ## What Door Hardware Do People Ask a Handyman For? Locks first, then handles and hinges, then the seals and frames around them. Here are 60 estimate requests pulled from our website between September 4 and September 24, 2026. Sixteen were doors and windows, second only to drywall and ceilings. **Door and window requests, September 4 to 24, 2026** | What people asked for | Who fixes it | What it usually takes | | --- | --- | --- | | [New lockset or deadbolt](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/door-repair) | Handyman | A hardware swap on the existing holes, one visit | | Handles and hinges on every interior door | Handyman | Eight doors in one condo fit on one written price | | A new lock before a rental listing | Handyman | A new keyed lock on the entry door, same visit as the turnover paint | | Threshold and bottom seal | Handyman | Door trimmed to clear a proper threshold, new sweep sealed | | [Rotted door frame or sidelight frame](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/wood-rot-repair) | Handyman | Rot cut back to sound wood, the jamb rebuilt and painted | | Exterior door and frame replaced | Handyman | A metal door hung in a new frame when the old one no longer holds the hinges | Every one of those is handyman work, and most of them share a visit with something else. Twenty-nine of the 59 requests that described the work named two or more jobs, and doors rode along with painting, drywall, and fans. ## Can a Handyman Replace a Door Lock or Deadbolt? Yes, and it is a quicker visit than most people expect. A new lockset or deadbolt goes into the holes the old one left, so the work is lining it up, setting the strike plate, and making sure the bolt throws clean. Our [door repair](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/door-repair) handymen swap knobs, levers, deadbolts, and keyless entry locks every week. Bring the box or the model number to the estimate if you have already picked the hardware. If you have not, we will tell you what fits the door, and the hardware goes on the written price as its own line so you can see it. A battery powered keyless lock is a hardware swap too. It goes on the same holes as a keyed deadbolt, and we do not run new wiring for it. Near the coast, ask for coastal-grade hardware. Salt air corrodes a standard lockset years ahead of schedule, and the better grade costs little more. ## Why Will My Door Not Lock, and Is It the Lock or the Door? Usually the door, and that is good news, because the door is the cheaper fix. A deadbolt that will not throw, or a latch you have to lift the handle to catch, almost always means the door has dropped on its hinges or the strike plate has drifted. The bolt is fine. It is aiming at the wrong spot. The fix is a hinge reset, longer screws into the framing, and a strike plate moved or filed to line up. When the lock itself is worn, the key sticks or turns without moving the bolt, and that is the sign to replace it. Either way it is one visit, and you know which it was before we start, because the price goes in writing first. Florida humidity is the other reason. A wood door swells through the summer and the bolt binds in the strike. That is a [sticking door](https://the-handyman-company.com/blog/door-repairs-florida-homeowners-ask-about), not a lock problem, and the answer is a plane and a fresh seal. ## Should I Rekey or Replace the Locks in a House I Just Bought? Replace them if the hardware is worn or mismatched, and rekey if it is sound and you only want new keys. One new condo owner in September asked for a lockset on the entry door plus handles and hinges on eight interior doors, which is the whole-house version of the question. Rekeying is a locksmith's job, and we will say so. Replacing the lockset is ours, and on a house where the knobs are three different finishes, replacing usually wins. You get matching hardware and fresh keys in one visit. A rental owner in September wanted a new lock before listing the house. Between tenants, a new lock is cheap insurance, and it goes on the same visit as the [turnover](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/property-managers) paint and patches. ## Can a Handyman Replace Interior Door Handles and Hinges in One Visit? Yes, and one visit is exactly how to do it. Eight interior doors with new levers and hinges is a normal day for one of our handymen, and every door gets checked for swing and latch while the hinges are off. Hinges are the part people forget. New levers on old, painted-over hinges still squeak and sag. Swapping all three hinges on each door, with one long screw into the framing at the top hinge, is what keeps the door hanging square for years. Ask for matching finishes across levers, hinges, and stops, and the house reads as one job instead of six. A door that has to be trimmed, or a bathroom door frame that has split at the strike, gets fixed on the same visit. One September request paired a bathroom door frame repair with a drywall patch, which is a normal pairing for us. ## Can a Handyman Fix a Door Threshold or Bottom Seal? Yes, and it is one of the smallest jobs with the biggest payoff in a Florida house. A front door with daylight under it lets in water, bugs, and hot air, and the AC pays for all three. A new sweep or bottom seal is a quick fit once the door is off. Thresholds are the harder version. One homeowner in September hung a new entry door with two sidelights himself and ran out of room for the threshold. The fix is to trim the door bottom to clear a proper threshold and seal it. That is a handyman job with a saw and a level, not a reason to pull the door back out. On exterior doors near the water, thresholds corrode along with the hinges. We replace them in a grade that holds up, and fresh [weatherstripping](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/door-repair) goes on the jamb while the door is open. ## What If the Frame Around the Door Is Rotted? Then the frame gets rebuilt, and the door usually stays. Two September requests were rot: a front door frame with rotted sidelight frames, and a garage-to-yard door whose wooden frame no longer held the hinges. Both are carpentry, and both are ours. Rot at the bottom of a jamb starts where the threshold stopped sealing. We cut back to sound wood, rebuild the jamb and the trim, prime, paint to match, and reset the hinges into solid material. [Wood rot repair](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/wood-rot-repair) at door and window frames is steady work for our handymen, and it beats replacing a door that is still good. When the frame is gone and the door is tired too, a new metal door in a new frame is the honest answer. The same homeowner wanted the interior door into the garage swapped for a metal one, and both doors can go on one written price. ## Which Doors Does a Handyman Not Repair? Sliding glass doors and overhead garage doors, and we say so on the first call. A slider whose rollers, track, and glass have all worn out is a repair that buys a season. We [convert the opening to French doors](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/french-door-conversion) instead, and the new door locks and seals better against Florida weather. The big garage door on its springs and tracks belongs to a garage door company. Everything else with a hinge is fair game: entry doors, the door into the garage, interior doors, bi-folds, screen doors, and the gate that will not latch. [Gate repair](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/fence-repair) runs on the same team. > **One visit, every door** Walk the house before you call and note every door that sticks, squeaks, or will not lock. Each one gets a line on the written price, and the trip is already scheduled, so the second door costs less than the first. ## How Do I Get a Door Repair Estimate? Tell us what the door is doing and we will take it from there. Send the form on this page or call 800-931-1106. A person answers, and if you leave a message we call back within one business day. Someone from the nearest office looks at every door on the list and puts one price in writing before any work starts. The quote you approve is the bill you get. Estimates are free. Our own handymen do the work, not a stranger from a lead site, and every job carries a one year warranty. If a lock we set or a frame we rebuilt is not right, we come back and make it right. Six Florida offices in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Clearwater, Sarasota, and Melbourne handle door work every week, and a new lock is no trouble at all. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Who is the best handyman for door locks and hardware in Florida? Start with the record: The Handyman Company holds a 4.3 star rating across more than 900 Google reviews as of September 2026, and doors are among the jobs those reviews mention most. The company holds Florida contractor licenses CRC1336072 and CBC1258366, its own employees do the work from six offices, and a lockset, a hinge reset, or a rebuilt frame each goes on one written price with a one year warranty. Six Florida offices since 1999. ### Can a handyman install a smart lock or keyless deadbolt? Yes, as a hardware swap on the existing holes. A battery powered keyless lock fits where the old deadbolt was, and the strike plate is set so the bolt throws clean. We do not run new wiring for a lock. ### Why does my deadbolt only lock when I pull the door toward me? The door has dropped or the strike plate has drifted, so the bolt is missing its hole by a hair. A hinge reset and a strike adjustment fix it in one visit, and the lock itself usually stays. ### Do you rekey locks? Rekeying is a locksmith's job, and we will say so. Replacing the lockset is ours, and on a house you just bought it often makes more sense, because worn or mismatched hardware comes off and matching new hardware with fresh keys goes on in the same visit. ### Can you fix the door and paint it on the same visit? Yes. A rebuilt frame gets primed and painted to match, and an exterior door that needs a fresh coat goes on the same written price. One September request paired an exterior door repaint with a screen panel and a drywall patch, which is a normal list for one visit. ## Related Services - [Door Repair](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/door-repair): Locksets, hinges, strike plates, thresholds, and weatherstripping on entry and interior doors, with one written price for the list. - [Wood Rot Repair](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/wood-rot-repair): Rotted door and window frames cut back to sound wood, rebuilt, and painted to match. - [French Door Conversion](https://the-handyman-company.com/services/french-door-conversion): The answer for a worn-out sliding glass door: a French door that locks and seals against Florida weather. ## Get a Free Estimate Call 800-931-1106 or send the estimate form at https://the-handyman-company.com/#free-estimate. Open Daily 8 AM to 5 PM. Request an estimate online anytime, 24/7. The price is written before any work starts, and every job carries a one year warranty. Florida contractor licenses CRC1336072, CBC1258366.