How To Install a Single-Cylinder Deadbolt Lock

Determine whether your door has a steel-clad or wood trim. If your door has a wooden edge, install the lock as you would with an all-wood door. If it has a steel-clad edge, look for a plastic piece covering the area.

If you have a steel-clad edge, look for marks on the plastic piece. These marks correspond to different bolt plate sizes. Pick the size you need, and cut through the plastic piece with a utility knife.

With the paper template from the lock kit, mark the centers of the bolt and the lock. Using these marks, drill through the face of the door with the holesaw. When the pilot bit just pokes through, finish the hole from the opposite side. Then, drill into the door’s edge with a 1-inch spade bit.

Insert the bolt into the hole you drill on the edge, and screw the bolt plate in place. Then, slide in the latch side of the lock, and make sure it engages the bolt mechanism. Finally, install the cylinder half of the lock on the opposite side of the door. Secure everything with the screws from the lock kit.

Install the strike plate into the doorjamb. Hold the strike plate against the jamb and trace around it with the utility knife. Then, drill into the jamb, and chisel out the strike-plate area to about one-sixteenth of an inch deep, and secure the plate with the mounting screws.