I’m trying to remove my doors existing deadbolt thumbturn. All the advice I’ve read online says there should be realease screws or pins. I’ve looked very carefullly and can find neither. This house was built in1985 (I moved in a year ago) but the deadbolt may be more recent. I don’t know what brand the deadbolt is but the door handle model VCR. I’d guess the deadbolt could be from the same manufacturer. I’m not sure what else to try aside from grabbing a hammer or calling a locksmith. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thumbturn (turnkey) removal
- Thread starter MrFallon
- Start date
Take a set of Channel Locks and turn the outer ring on the inside of the door counter clockwise.
Thanks for the suggestion and sorry for the delayed response. My water heater decided to start leaking all over the place so I got distracted. Anyway...
I tried what you suggested but the thumbturn seemed to move out of position a little when I turned it and now won’t open at all. I think I’m just gonna give up on this one and call a locksmith before I do any more damage.
I tried what you suggested but the thumbturn seemed to move out of position a little when I turned it and now won’t open at all. I think I’m just gonna give up on this one and call a locksmith before I do any more damage.
Be sure to watch how he does it and please report back for future reference. We can all learn from this one.
I had a locksmith out and got the job done. He told me I had a deadbolt from the 60's, which is weird seen as my house was built in 85 and someone replaced the deadbolt after that. He also said mine had an uncommon mechanism that even some locksmiths may not have seen before. So now I don't feel so bad for not getting the job done myself. So, how did he do it?
He opened the door and removed the two screws holding the strike in place. This meant he now had access to a small cavity on either side of the bolt. He reached into those cavities with small Allen key and was able to loosen a locking screw in each cavity. He was then able to remove the thumbscrew. I would never in a million years have figured that out so glad to have expert help on this one. I'll add a couple of pictures with the strike in place and removed so you can see the cavity on either side of the bolt I'm talking about.
He opened the door and removed the two screws holding the strike in place. This meant he now had access to a small cavity on either side of the bolt. He reached into those cavities with small Allen key and was able to loosen a locking screw in each cavity. He was then able to remove the thumbscrew. I would never in a million years have figured that out so glad to have expert help on this one. I'll add a couple of pictures with the strike in place and removed so you can see the cavity on either side of the bolt I'm talking about.
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That is new to me too. Thanks for the update.