Sliding door locks are patio door locks that keep a glass door shut by hooking a bolt into the frame when you flip the latch. The call we hear most: the latch flips, door still slides. King Locksmith and Doors Inc. replaces, repairs and installs them across Maryland, Washington DC and Northern Virginia, licensed, insured and bonded for 25 years.
Locksmiths call it a hook bolt mortise lock: a curved bolt swings out of the door edge and hooks behind the keeper, the metal catch screwed to the jamb. The lock body sits in a mortise pocket, a slot cut into the door’s narrow stile, and the handle screws pass through it, most residential doors at 3-15/16 inch spacing.
Commercial aluminum sliding doors run a heavier version: a pivoting deadbolt that swings a long steel bolt deep into the frame, harder to pry. Keepers are surface or mortise style, and the wrong one leaves the hook grabbing air. We stock both in MD and match bolt to keeper before quoting.
You stop propping a broom handle in the track, because a hook bolt grips the keeper from behind and cannot be slid open from outside. Add an anti-lift pin above the door and it cannot be lifted out of its track either.
You keep the door you have, because a mortise lock body drops into the pocket and the handle reuses the same screw holes. A bolt sized to your keeper locks with one flip, not a shove. Ready to upgrade? Our estimate is free.
Patio doors onto decks, porches and pools, balcony doors in condos and apartments, narrow stile aluminum storefront sliders, and townhouse basement walkouts across Washington DC all run this lock. It is usually the least protected door on the whole property.
A hook bolt lock is the wrong answer for a hinged French door, which needs a deadbolt with a one inch throw, or a commercial slider, which needs a pivoting deadbolt. Not sure which fits? We survey your door free.
Our locksmith tests your sliding door lock, prices repair against replacement while you watch, and finishes whichever you pick before leaving. Free estimates, any hour.
5 brands ride on our trucks because their sliding door locks survive salt, sun, slammed doors: parts we stock, keepers that match, bolts that hold.
Prime-Line makes replacement mortise bodies, the lock block in the stile, for most patio doors, keyed or thumbturn, so we swap a broken one same day.
Adams Rite MS1850S, the pivoting deadbolt on aluminum storefront sliders, swings its bolt deep into the frame. We carry bodies and cylinders for same-visit replacements.
Lockey builds mechanical pushbutton sliding door locks, no key, no battery, so a rental or pool house door locks by code and never needs rekeying.
Andersen doors use their own lock and keeper shapes, so we fit genuine Andersen replacement hardware rather than forcing a generic body that never catches.
The latch flips but the door still slides: worn rollers drop the door, so the hook bolt swings under the keeper, not behind. The thumbturn spins, nothing moves: the cam inside the mortise body, the part that drives the hook, has snapped. The lock feels frozen: rain and salt corroded the spring in the pocket.
We check rollers and door height first, then keeper alignment, then the mortise body and cam: most failures start at the door. Locked out? We respond 24/7. Call (240) 345-1455 in Maryland or (202) 800-2622 in Washington DC and NOVA.
For a dropped door we adjust or replace the rollers, the wheels in the bottom rail, until the hook clears the keeper, and reset the keeper. For a snapped cam we fit a new mortise body from the truck. For corrosion we clean and lubricate once, then replace any pitted bolt.
We recommend replacement after a pry attack, or when a thumbturn guards a door that needs a key. We match mortise pocket, screw spacing, keeper style and finish, so the lock drops in with no new drilling: measure, match, install, test. Our in-house door expert squares sagging frames the same visit. Estimates are free.
A patio door that will not lock is an open invitation, not a maintenance chore. Call (240) 345-1455 now or book lock service online.
Sliding door locks secure decks, balconies and storefront sliders, but every door has its match. Browse our lock type resources below to see each function, its applications and our services.
Straight answers from King Locksmith Technicans to on Sliding door locks questions customers ask us most.
(240) 345-1455
The latch flips, the door still slides. In Northern Virginia we swap the mortise body same day.
Usually yes. We match the mortise pocket and screw spacing, no new drilling.
One that swings a long bolt into the frame. A pivoting deadbolt, made for narrow stile aluminum doors.
