How to Remove a Deadbolt Lock: Tried-and-Tested Ways

It doesn’t need to be mentioned that security is perhaps our biggest concerns. Being a security expert, I know how important it is to have high-quality locks to make our house burglar-proof. 

In my experience, the best defense against a house burglary is a high-quality deadbolt lock. A deadbolt is a door lock that contains steel and operates by turning a knob or key instead of a spring. The specialty of deadbolt locks is the locking mechanism that is resistant to hammering and physical attacks.

Deadbolt locks are great for home security, but at times, there comes a time when you have to remove them. And since professional help is expensive, you want to make it a DIY project.

Before we learn how a deadbolt lock can be removed, let us discuss the situations where we may have to remove a deadbolt lock.

Why You May Need to Remove a Deadbolt Lock?

Various unexpected situations arise where you may not have absolute control over your deadbolt locks. We all try to maintain our locks and take every necessary step so that such a situation never arises but the reality is such scenarios do arise.

I have listed some of the these situations-

1) You’ve just moved into a house and taken the keys of pre-existing locks. You have no means of knowing whether or not other people have duplicate keys or not.

2) When you’ve had a break-in, you have to be prepared for the worst. The burglars who did it now may have your keys and control of your locks. In such a scenario you can’t take any chances with the well being of your family.

3) You lose your keys, which happens too often with all of us. You can not take the risk and have to replace the lock as you don’t know who has access to your lock’s key.

4) Another common occurrence happens when you lose your keys. And it is the human psyche that when this happens, we always think of the worst.

5) You want to upgrade your deadbolt lock to a higher ANSI grade.

6) You have been using your lock for a long time; therefore, it gets old and worn out.

7) There are cases where people get locked out of their apartment or home. And in such scenarios you might have to remove your deadbolt lock from the outside.

How to Remove a Deadbolt Lock: 5 Tried-and-Tested Ways

There are various ways of removing a deadbolt lock from the door. But to know whether you are following the correct method is very important.

Here, I have listed different tTried and tested ways of removing a deadbolt lock. I have stated everything required to remove the deadbolt lock and the methods.

Let’s look at different methods now!!

How to Remove a Deadbolt Lock Using a Drill Bit

Wondering how a drill bit is used to remove a deadbolt lock? We have just seen and know that drill bits in the drill are used for making holes in the wall.

Here, I have discussed the things you will need and steps to follow to remove a deadbolt lock using a drill bit. 

Things You’ll Need

• Drill
• Drill Bit
• Lubricant
• Screwdriver and,
• A pair of goggles

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Insert a drill bit into the power drill’s tip. Make sure the power drill’s tip is tight while inserting a drill bit.

Step 2: Lubricate the deadbolt lock, drill bit, and keyhole with a generous amount of oil. Now, place the drill bit’s tip in the keyhole’s center, then pull the power drill’s trigger to rotate the drill bit.

Step 3: Now push the screwdriver into the keyhole and force the drill bit until the tumbler pins fall out.

To drive the drill bit into the keyhole, apply pressure to the drill. Apply lubrication to the keyhole once the drill bit has penetrated the lock to prevent the drill bit from breaking.

Keep drilling until the back of the lock has been broken effectively and the tumbler pins fall out.

Safety Tip: While drilling, avoid touching the drill bit or the lock with your bare fingers, as they will get hot, and you may burn your fingertips.

How to Remove Deadbolt Lock Without Screws

Let us now see how to remove deadbolt without screws. But hey are you —wondering where the screws are present in the deadbolt lock?

Let’s find an answer to this mysterious question of how to remove deadbolt without visible screws.

These screws are covered by a base plate that makes the lock strong and enhances the security.

Now, to know how to remove deadbolt without screws, follow the steps given below but first let’s take a look at the things that you will need.

Things You’ll Need

• a screwdriver with a flat head
• a Phillips screwdriver
• An awl with a sharp edge or tip, or a paperclip.

Step-by-Step Instructions

• From the inside of your house, stand in front of the lock. A thumb turner is located on the inside of the door, while a key lock is located outside.

• Now, examine the shaft that links the thumb-turn latch to the gearbox on the inside and locate the pin-hole. 

• Use a paperclip or a fine-pointed awl to press the pin-hole to release the liver. The thumb turn lever is removed; you can keep it aside safely.

• Find a slight gap on the baseplate from the outside of the door to unlock it with the help of a flathead screwdriver. As a result, by removing the base plate, you’ll be able to see the two screws. Remove the base plate from the lock and set it aside.

• Open and remove the two screws from the door lock with your Philips screwdriver. Now, grip the lock from either side of the door and pull them apart to remove the lock.

• After you’ve removed the lock frame from the door, open it and look for the two screws holding the latch mechanism in place.

• Remove both screws from the door and pull the latch machine out of the hole or section of the door gently.

By following this method, you may quickly remove the deadbolt lock without causing any damage to the lock or the door.

How to Remove Old Deadbolt and Replace It

It is easy to remove the old deadbolt as it becomes weak due to the wear and tear of prolonged usage. But replacing it is a bit tricky. Therefore, I thought of providing the steps to remove and old Deadbolt and replace it.

Let’s begin reading it, to use it practically!!

Things You Will Need:-

• A deadbolt kit.
• A flathead screwdriver.
• A Phillips-head screwdriver.
• Paint (same color as the door).
• Sandpaper.
• A paintbrush.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1) First remove the two screws behind the lock knob on the rose plate/ base plate; with the help of a Phillips-head screwdriver or driver.

2) Remove the lock from the door from both the knob and key sides. 

3) Now remove the latch assembly, which is held inside the door with the two screws, with the help of a Phillips-head screwdriver or driver. 

If the latch assembly gets stuck, insert a screwdriver into one of the latch assembly’s holes and try to pull the body out of the door.

The old deadbolt has been removed; it is time to replace it with the new one.

The steps to replacing an old deadbolt are given below:-

The replacement will be done in the opposite order as the removal. Read the steps below to know how to do it:-

1) The latch assembly should be installed first. There are two possible variations for the latch assembly to be correctly mounted.

• First, make sure the cam slot (the area that holds the cam bar and spins the deadbolt) is in the center of the circular hole in the door.
• Rotate the latch assembly cylinder till the cam slot stretches to the required distance if it falls short of the center. If it’s too far, spin the cylinder in the other direction until the cam slot is in the right place.
• Second, the faceplate of the latch assembly should be at the same level as the door. If it doesn’t lie on the same level, You may need to remove some wood from the region.
• Using a razor knife, remove the unwanted wood, so the faceplate is parallel and at the same depth as the door’s surface. Once the plate is flat with the door, use a screwdriver or driver to secure it with the screws provided.

2) After following the above steps, you can insert the deadbolt cylinder into the door lock hole with a cam bar.

3) Install the rose plate by aligning the lock cylinder with the rose plate on the other side of the circular opening. 

Pro Tip- Touch up the paint by sanding the area and adding a couple of coats, if it’s smaller than the original base plate/ rose plate

• Now, place the screws one at a time into the cylinder, spinning and wiggling them until they catch. Do not attempt to insert the second screw after the first has been fully tightened. 
• Get one screw to catch, then tighten it with one turn of the screwdriver before moving on to the other. Screw the two sides of the cylinder together once they’ve both caught.     The new deadbolt lock has been installed.

How to Remove Deadbolt Stuck in Door

Did your get stuck in the door frame??? Don’t worry, it’s normal, as most wooden doors expand and shrink due to changes in season. Due to this, a deadbolt lock might become stuck or unusable.

Many of you must be worrying about how to remove a deadbolt stuck in the door, right?

Don’t worry; I have listed all the steps so that you can follow to remove the deadbolt stuck in the door.

Things You’ll Need

• A Philips Screwdriver
• A flathead screwdriver.
• Hammer
• Tube of locksmith’s graphite
• New deadbolt kit

Step-by-Step Instructions

•  First, start with loosening the mounting screws on the lock cylinder on the inside side of the door and pull both the exterior and interior cylinder from the door.
• To remove the lock from the frame, insert a Phillips screwdriver into the backset of the deadbolt mechanism from the hole in the door and pull the backset toward the center of the door. 

Pro Tip- If pushing the backset does not release the lock, use a hammer to hit the side of the screwdriver on the frame to remove the deadbolt

• Open the door and unscrew the two screws holding the deadbolt’s mounting plate to the door’s edge and remove the lock from the door.

How to Remove a Deadbolt Lock Without a Key

Are you wondering How to Remove a Deadbolt Lock Without a Key? Don’t worry; I have stated all the steps so that you can know how to remove a Deadbolt Lock without a Key in just minutes.

Things You’ll Need

• A screwdriver
• Some paper clips

Step-by-Step Instructions

• The first step is to look for the base plate and unscrew the two screws which are screwed on the upper and lower part of the base plate. It is done to uncover the body of the lock.
• The next step is to remove the screw present in the lock’s body. If you find the locking screw, start unscrewing it, but be careful not to remove the nuts that hold the faceplate in place.

Pro Tip- The locking screw is located in the door chamber.

• Using the metal paper clip, try to change the cylinder piston to the 12 o’clock position. The metal paper clip should be inserted on the right side of the lock, above the cylinder piston. Push the cylinder cam downwards with force until it enters the lock.
• You can now expel the lock from the door chamber after completing the preceding procedure.

FAQs

Q2. How do I remove a single-cylinder deadbolt?

Answer – Steps to remove a single cylinder deadbolt are given below:-

• Start by opening the door.
• Using a Phillips screwdriver, remove the two flathead screws holding the lock faceplate to the door edge.
• Now, remove the thumb latch assembly from the interior side of the door by unscrewing the two screw bolts on either side of the latch handle and lifting the assembly horizontally away from the door.
• Place a long shaft on either side of the sliding bolt and twist the set screw counterclockwise two to three complete rounds. 
• Now, remove the deadbolt cylinder by rotating the cylinders counterclockwise. For assistance when rotating the cylinder, place the deadbolt’s key halfway inside it.
• In the end, remove the cylinder housing from the door hole after removing the sliding bolt assembly from the edge of the door.

Q3. How to remove a deadbolt faceplate?

Answer – Follow easy and simple steps given below to remove a deadbolt faceplate:-

• Look for a single screw and two or more screws on the faceplate on the lever shaft.
• To remove the shaft screw, turn it counterclockwise with a screwdriver.
• Now, pull the lever outward from the shaft to remove it.
• Turn the faceplate screws counterclockwise with a screwdriver to remove them.
• Now, remove the faceplate by gripping and pulling outward along the shaft.

Q4. How do I remove a double deadbolt lock?

Answer – The steps to remove a double deadbolt lock are given below:-

• Start by opening the door.
• Now, loosen and remove the two mounting screws that attach the internal lock to the mounting plate, with the help of a Phillips screwdriver.
• Remove the two mounting screws from the mounting plate on the inner side of the door while holding the deadbolt on the outer side. The mounting plate and the remaining half of the deadbolt will be loose when the screws are removed.
• Remove the outside lock from the striker or deadbolt assembly by pulling it out and away from the door.

Final Words

I hope your problem has been resolved after reading the methods given in my article on How to Remove a Deadbolt Lock. 

As deadbolt locks help us provide high security, we should not take anything lightly and be aware of the hacks and methods so that we can handle any issues without needing assistance.

If you feel that this article has helped you in any way, please share it with your friends. I would also be interested in hearing about your experiences with the methods you tried. Write a message in the section below.