Installing a Deadbolt – Part 1

For the past few years I’ve wanted to install a deadbolt on the door leading from the master bedroom out to the deck:

We’ve never locked that door because we were too afraid [at least I was] of getting locked out.  We’ve always had the kind of doorknob you can pull closed behind you and BAM! stranded 15 feet in the air.  I knew I’d sleep better at night with a deadbolt.

About 5 years ago our local handyman installed a deadbolt on our laundry room door.  This time around I felt confident I could do it myself.  I had NO IDEA what a bitch they are to install!!!  But I did it 😊

I bought a kit on Amazon [#affiliate] back in the Fall of 2018:

When I finally opened it a few weeks ago it took me a few minutes to figure out how the heck to set it up [the kit came with no instructions]:

Just screw the doohickeys together and screw into the drill chuck:

       

I decided to start with the large hole.  I screwed the large hole saw attachment to the drill:

Used the plastic template that came with the kit to mark holes on the door:

       

Drilled central pilot holes like the internet suggested:

Then started drilling with the hole saw.  WOW that was hard.  It took quite a while, but I got through:

       

Towards the end I started smelling burnt wood and the door started smoking… HOLY CRAP!!!  I unplugged the drill from the wall and like an idiot started blowing on the hole trying to get the smoke to go away.  HA!  I’m lucky it didn’t burst into flames.  OMG…

I should have read more online about drilling the large deadbolt hole so I’d know to only drill halfway through and then move to the other side of the door and drill the rest from that side so you don’t rip apart the door frame… [or catch your door on fire].  Oops:

        

Nothing a little wood filler and paint couldn’t fix:

The core was huge:

Then I switched back to the smaller hole saw and drilled the hole from the side of the door into the deadbolt hole.  That went fine, but when I was finished the core was wedged tightly in the saw attachment.  D’OH!  Nothing I did would get it to budge.  I was about to light IT on fire when I turned to the internet for help.  I learned that if you stick it in a vice and drill a screw into it, you can pull the screw out with a hammer and the core will come with it:

       

Not!!!  I ended up screwing the heck out of it with drill bits and about 5 different screws before the core disintegrated to sawdust and fell out:

       

Back up to the deadbolt installation.  I marked the rectangle for the deadbolt plate, chiseled it out, and installed the deadbolt hardware into the door.  PERFECT FIT!:

       

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I have an absolute WAR trying to drill the hole in the door frame for the deadbolt to slide into… GAWD nothing is ever easy!