From our video THE HOUSE KEY
The Front Door Check
What a locksmith checks on every front door, written so you can look and test each one yourself. Checking only: if a check fails, call a locksmith. Every check cites the lock makers’ own published instructions, listed at the bottom.
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CHECK 01
The strike plate screws
Check
Open the door and find the metal plate on the frame, the one the bolt slides into. Every screw should be there and tight, and the plate should sit flat.
Why
That plate is what holds the bolt in the frame. Schlage’s installation instructions for its deadbolt drill the plate’s two screw holes 3 inches deep. [1]
If it fails
A locksmith can fit longer screws, or the reinforcement plate those same instructions list as an option. [1]
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CHECK 02
The deadbolt goes all the way out
Check
With the door open, turn the deadbolt out and back a few times. It should move smoothly both ways. [1] Then close the door and lock it: it should turn just as easily, with no push, pull or lift on the door.
Why
Kwikset’s support team says the hole in the frame should be at least 1 inch deep so the bolt fully extends, and the door should close so the bolt goes in without hitting the plate or the frame. [2]
If it fails
A bolt that turns easily with the door open and hard with it shut is catching on the frame. A locksmith can line the plate up again.
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CHECK 03
The latch catches on its own
Check
Unlock the deadbolt and close the door the normal way. The latch should click into place by itself.
Why
Kwikset’s troubleshooting guide says that if you have to push, pull or lift the door to get it to close, the plate the latch goes into needs moving. [3]
If it fails
A locksmith can move the plate so the latch meets it.
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CHECK 04
A key that sticks
Check
Try your key with the door open, then with it closed. If it only sticks when the door is closed, go back to check 02: the bolt is rubbing. If it sticks both ways, it is the key or the lock.
Why
Schlage’s service manual says only graphite or a similar material should go into the lock’s cylinder, and nothing else. So keep oil and household sprays out of the keyhole. [4]
If it fails
Ask a locksmith to clean the lock, or to tell you whether the key is the problem.
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CHECK 05
The shear line
What to know
Inside the lock, a split pin rests on each cut of your key. The cylinder turns only when every split sits on one line, where the turning part meets the body. [5]
Why it matters
On a Schlage key, each depth step is 0.015 inch (0.38 mm) [5], half the thickness of a 0.76 mm bank card. [6] A cut one step off leaves its pin across the line, and the key won’t turn. That is why check 06 matters.
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CHECK 06
Worn keys and copies
Check
Try every key you have in every lock on the door, spares included. A key that needs jiggling or a second try is the one to replace.
Why
Schlage’s rekeying guide warns that copies wear faster and can carry small cut differences that make the cylinder stick. [7] A copy made from a worn copy starts from those differences.
If it fails
Have new copies cut from the original key if you still have it, or ask a locksmith.
When to call a locksmith
A check above fails, a key breaks off or stays stuck, you’re locked out, or you want the lock rekeyed or changed. This page is for looking and testing only.
Sources, read 6 Oct 2026
- Schlage, Schlage Control smart deadbolt (BE467F) installation instructions: step 2, “Drill pilot holes 1/8″ x 3″ deep, 2 places”, with an optional reinforcement strike; step 5, “Bolt should extend and retract smoothly.”
- Kwikset support, “What should I do if my bolt jams” (Home Connect 620): “Check that the bolt hole is at least 1″ deep so the bolt fully extends.”
- Kwikset, Troubleshooting: door jamming and door handing: “If you have to push, pull or lift the door to get it to close, adjust the position of the lower strike.”
- Schlage, A-Series service manual, pages 25 and 28: “Use only graphite or similar material for cylinder lubrication.”
- Schlage, Primus service manual, page 8 (the pins at the shear line) and page 12 (key depths, “Increment: 0.015″”, the same for Schlage Classic keys).
- EUR-Lex, Decision No S2 of 12 June 2009, section 3.2: the ID-1 card format is 0.76 mm thick. Half a card is our own arithmetic.
- Schlage, Rekeying quick start guide, page 3: “Duplicate keys wear faster and can result in key cut discrepancies” that “cause the cylinder to stick.”
Written by PromptLens from the sources above. Schlage and Kwikset are named only to cite their published instructions; this page is not made with or for them.