Door Repair & Lock Installation in NYC

Door repair in NYC costs from $110 flat — that covers planing a sticking door or repairing sagging hinges so the door closes properly again. A new lockset installed is from $95. I quote flat from photos before the visit, work evenings and Sundays, and clean up the shavings before I go.

Text me a photo of the door and the gap (or lack of one), and you’ll get a real price back from me — the person actually showing up — usually within the hour.

What’s Included in a Door Repair Visit

A door that won’t close is almost never a mystery. The visit goes like this:

• Diagnose first. I check the hinges, the gaps top and bottom, the strike plate, and the frame before touching a tool. Fixing the wrong thing is how doors end up planed into trapezoids.
• Hinges before wood. Loose or worn hinges cause most sagging doors. Tightening, upsizing screws into solid framing, or swapping hinges often fixes it without removing any wood — from $110.
• Planing when it’s actually the wood. Swollen or rubbing edges get planed just enough, then sealed — bare planed wood in a humid NYC summer swells right back.
• Strike plates and latches adjusted so the door doesn’t just close, it latches. That click is the whole point.
• Cleanup included. Wood shavings, sawdust, old hardware — all gone when I am.

Also in scope: squeaky hinges, doors that swing open on their own, bifold and sliding closet doors off track, door stops, weatherstripping, and privacy locks for bedrooms and bathrooms. If the drama around the door left dents in the wall, drywall patch + paint is from $140.

Lock Installation NYC: What I Install

From $95 I’ll install or replace a lockset or deadbolt in an existing door — knobs, levers, keyed deadbolts, the works. Upgrading to a keypad or app-controlled lock? Smart lock installation is from $100, and I’ll make sure it actually fits your door’s backset and your building’s fire-rated door rules before you buy the wrong one. Renters: keep the old lockset in a drawer and I’ll swap it back at move-out — a very renter-friendly two-visit trick.

Heads up for apartment dwellers: many leases and most co-ops require that management keeps a key or that you use approved lock types on the entry door. Worth a quick email to your management before changing an entry lock — I’ll flag it if your building type suggests it.

Why NYC Doors Misbehave

New York is hard on doors. Prewar buildings and brownstones settle for a century and their frames go quietly out of square. Steam heat cooks doors bone-dry in January; July humidity swells them shut. Walk-ups get decades of paint layers — I’ve met doors wearing so much paint the hinges gave up out of principle. And original solid-wood prewar doors are worth saving: they’re heavier and better than anything the big-box store sells, so I repair them rather than talk you into replacement.

Building rules are part of the job here too. Co-ops and condos often have their own paperwork and work-hour windows — tell me what your building needs and I’ll plan around it. Fourth-floor walk-up? The plane and the toolbox make the climb with me.

What I Don’t Do (Honestly)

• Locksmith work. Lockouts, picking locks open, rekeying cylinders, cutting keys — call a licensed locksmith. I install hardware into doors that open.
• Fire-rated entry door replacement. Swapping the actual apartment entry door in a multifamily building involves fire codes and building sign-off. Repairs and hardware on that door, yes; replacing the door itself, no.
• Structural frame problems. If a frame moved because the building is moving, that’s beyond a handyman visit, and I’ll say so instead of selling you a fix that won’t hold.
• Full door replacement with new frame — that’s a carpentry job I’ll refer out rather than half-do.

Prices (Flat, From)

• Door planing or hinge repair — from $110
• Lockset installed — from $95
• Smart lock or video doorbell — from $100
• Drywall patch + paint (doorknob holes) — from $140
• Dimmer/outlet swap while I’m there — from $85 (minor electrical)
• Other work — $75–95/hour, flat quote from photos
• Minimum visit — $90. Materials extra.

Full list on the pricing page. The quote is the price — no discovering “additional issues” at your expense.

Why One Guy Beats an App

Book a platform and the algorithm sends you a stranger. Text me and you get the same person every time: the one who quoted it, the one who fixes it, the one who picks up when you call in October because the heat came on and a different door started sticking. 5.0★ across 66 Google reviews, evenings and Sundays — often bookable same day.

Send a photo of the door. Get your flat quote.