Open House | Changing Locks on a New Home

Ask This Old House general contractor Tom Silva explains why and how to change the locks in a new home. Click here to SUBSCRIBE to the official This Old House YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=thisoldhouse Time: 30 minutes Cost: $40 and up Skill Level: Beginner Steps: 1. When you move into a new home, you should change the locks on your house. You have no idea how many copies of the house keys are floating out there from the previous homeowners, so changing the locks will keep you new house more secure. 2. Take an inventory of all the doors with locks in the house. 3. Purchase new door knob lock sets at a home center. Look for knobs that are labeled “keyed alike” or have a matching code so that you can use the same key on all the doors. Most home centers can also rekey the lock sets when you buy them. 4. To change the locks, unscrew the door knob from the inside and pull the knobs apart. 5. Insert the new knobs into the door opening. 6. Screw the new knobs into the door. Resources: Tom recommends changing the locks whenever a new home is purchased. The door knob and dead bolt lock set Tom demonstrated with was a Plymouth Single Cylinder Knob Combo pack with a bright brass finished. It is manufactured by Schlage (http://bit.ly/2MBDkUS) and can be found at most home centers. Ask This Old House TV Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook. This Old House releases new segments every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Keywords: This Old House, How-to, home improvement, DIY, tom silva, locks, doors, real estate, security Watch the full episode: http://bit.ly/2sPP3WQ Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/1psm4fC Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisoldhouse https://twitter.com/asktoh Pinterest: http://bit.ly/1psm4fE G+: http://bit.ly/1CtsNjJ Instagram: http://bit.ly/1psm1QZ Tumblr: http://bit.ly/1CtsLbH