How To Change A Mail Box Lock

how to replace a mailbox lock

Wondering how to replace a mailbox lock? Open the mailbox by drilling the keyhole. Remove the nut and slide the lock bar and the metal clip. Pull out the old lock and install the new one. Place the new lock and tighten a nut at its finish. Once done, check if the lock is working properly.

If you lot lost the key to your mailbox or it is already dysfunctional, in that location is an like shooting fish in a barrel way to change a mailbox lock. You can do this tutorial in just five minutes, depending on how skillful y'all are at following instructions.

Table of Contents

What You Need
- Replacement lock
- Wrench
- Drill and drill bit (optional)
What to Do
- Step 1: Open the mailbox past drilling the keyhole
- Step 2: Remove the nut and slide the lock bar and metal prune
- Step 3: Pull out the erstwhile lock and install the new 1
Oft Asked Questions
- How much will it cost me if I pay a locksmith to replace my mailbox lock?
- Is it legal if I gear up my mailbox lock?
Conclusion

What Yous Need

replacing-mailbox-lock

Replacing mailbox lock may be challenging if you don't have the right tools to aid you out. Before you start with the tutorial, prepare the items required to prevent any inconvenience in the future.

Replacement lock

For mailbox lock replacement, the new lock must have the aforementioned size as the onetime i. If the lock is too minor for your mailbox, it won't lock and information technology can be easily pulled out of the mounting hole. If it's too big, your key would get stuck once yous attempt to lock it. It's appropriate to bank check the size of your old lock before purchasing a new one.

Make sure that the mailbox lock is made of tough materials similar steel and nickel. As well, it is better if you would buy a lockset where the nut and keys are already included so you don't have to purchase them separately.

Wrench

Basics have unlike shapes and sizes. The wrench that you will apply depends on the size of the nuts that the mailbox lock has. The sizes of nuts range from ii mm to 20 mm while the size of the wrench ranges from 4 mm to 30 mm.

For this tutorial, an adjustable wrench is handy. Information technology is the most common type of wrench. Compared to some wrenches, this one has an open stop and a flexible jaw.

Drill and drill fleck (optional)

If y'all own the mailbox then you are gratis to drill it. Only if it is owned by USPS, don't drill the mailbox lock since it is illegal. Yous can use a cordless drill for your mailbox since it would provide you with mobility. It would also save you from using an extension wire, especially if your mailbox is far from your house.

For the drill flake, you tin can utilize titanium or cobalt since you will be dealing with metal. Y'all tin can use a smaller size scrap to prevent damaging the housing of the lock. Your goal is to open the mailbox lock and non to create a pigsty in it.

What to Do

change-a-mailbox-lock

Step ane: Open the mailbox by drilling the keyhole

If you cannot open up the mailbox considering you lost your cardinal, you can drill the keyhole of the lock to open it. Avert putting too much pressure on the lock since you may damage its housing. However, if yous are using a USPS cluster mailbox, never attempt to drill it. Y'all tin wait for the postmaster and request him to open it for you.

Stride 2: Remove the nut and slide the lock bar and metal clip

Earlier yous can take off the lock, you lot need to remove the nut and the pivot. You can but slide the lock bar and metal clip that agree the locking mechanism. For the nut, you will demand to apply a wrench in society to remove it. Even so, if you are lucky plenty, drilling could disengage all of them.

Step 3: Pull out the onetime lock and install the new one

Now, pull out the erstwhile lock and install a new one on the spot where the one-time lock used to be located. The latch must be in a vertical position. One time done, use an adjustable wrench to tighten a nut at the cease of the lock. This will secure the lock in place. After that, check if the lock is working properly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will it price me if I pay a locksmith to replace my mailbox lock?

The boilerplate cost for changing the mailbox lock ranges from $xxx to $60. However, if you live in an apartment, you can report to the management regarding the malfunctioning mailbox lock since it is their responsibility to accept information technology fixed. Y'all will likewise get a new mailbox central from them if they supervene upon the lock.

Is it legal if I ready my mailbox lock?

If information technology is non USPS-endemic, it is your responsibility to ready your mailbox lock or replace it with a new one. All the same, if you lot are using a USPS-owned mailbox, you should not drill it or modify the lock without any permission.

Report to the post role or your apartment management regarding the state of affairs of the lock, and they volition call someone who volition fix it for yous.

Determination

Have you solved your trouble through our tutorial on how to replace a mailbox lock? It is piece of cake to change lock on mailbox if yous have the right tools and the proper steps. Past mastering this tutorial, you won't take to pay a locksmith to replace your lock.

You can share this post with your friends who also want to replace the lock of their mailbox merely don't know how to practise information technology. Nosotros would as well beloved to hear your experiences in following the tutorial. Just exit a comment below.