French Door and Multipoint Lock Service in San Diego

How a multipoint lock works

The edge of a newer French or patio door has a long metal strip running most of its height. That is the faceplate of a multipoint lock. Behind the handle sits a gearbox; when you lift the handle, the gearbox drives rods up and down the strip and throws bolts or hooks at two or three heights into keepers on the frame. Turning the key then deadlocks the whole assembly.

Bolts along the full height pull the door tight to its seal, which is why these doors are quiet, weather-tight and hard to pry. The trade is that one gearbox now does the work three separate locks used to do, and a door that sags a few millimeters takes every bolt out of line at once.

Multipoint locks are standard on the swing patio and French doors in newer homes across Carmel Valley and Black Mountain Ranch, and on many replacement doors in older neighborhoods.

Symptom, likely cause, fix

Find your symptom here; we confirm at the door.

The three failures we see most

The handle lifts but the bolts stay put. The gearbox turns handle movement into bolt movement, and it wears. Once the gears strip, the handle moves freely and nothing else does. The fix is a new gearbox matched to the lock's brand, backset and spacing. On modular systems only the center section comes out.

The key turns and nothing happens. Usually the euro cylinder. The small cam on the cylinder that drives the gearbox has broken, or a replacement cylinder is the wrong length and the cam sits off the drive. A cylinder swap fixes it. If the cam is fine, the deadlocking part of the gearbox has failed.

The door has dropped. Heavy glass doors sag on their hinges over the years. The hooks then hit the keepers instead of sliding into them, and people force the handle until the gearbox breaks. We realign the door and keepers first; caught early, the gearbox survives.

Euro-profile cylinders: swap, rekey, match the house key

The keyed part of a multipoint lock is a euro-profile cylinder, the pear-shaped cylinder held by one screw through the door edge. It is sized by the distance from that screw to each face of the door, so a replacement has to be measured, not guessed. A cylinder that sticks out past the handle is both ugly and easier to attack.

Many euro cylinders sold for US doors come on the Schlage or Kwikset keyway. Where yours does, we rekey it or pin a new one to your front door key so the patio door joins the keyed alike set. Where the cylinder is on its own keyway, we either keep it on a separate key or swap in a cylinder that matches the house.

Restricted and high-security euro cylinders exist as well, for owners who want key control on the door that opens onto the yard.

Older French doors with a deadbolt and flush bolts

French doors from the 1980s and 1990s, and many wood pairs in older homes, do not have a multipoint lock. The active leaf carries a knob or handleset and a standard deadbolt; the inactive leaf is held by flush bolts at the top and bottom that slide into the head and the sill. The deadbolt throws into the edge of the inactive leaf, so the pair is only as solid as those flush bolts.

This style is straightforward for us. The deadbolt rekeys like any other, we replace worn flush bolts so the inactive leaf actually locks, and we add a deadbolt where a pair has only a latch. A full-throw deadbolt and a reinforced strike in the inactive leaf make a real difference. Rekey vs. change locks applies here as it does to a front door, and lock replacement covers the hardware.

Keypad and smart lock options for French doors

Most smart deadbolts do not fit a multipoint door. They expect a standard deadbolt bore and a separate latch, and a multipoint door has neither; the handle and key are one assembly that throws every bolt.

What can work: a keypad handle set designed for multipoint doors, which puts a code on the handle while the gearbox stays, or a retrofit made for a particular lock system. Both depend on the brand and spacing of the existing lock, so we identify it from photos before quoting rather than guess. On an older French door with a standard deadbolt, an ordinary smart deadbolt or keypad usually fits as long as the inactive leaf is bolted solidly.

Smart lock installation cost lays out what these installs typically run, and the smart lock hub covers the models we fit.

Salt air, and what the visit includes

Multipoint hooks and rods are steel, and near the coast they corrode. In La Jolla and Coronado we see hooks rusted solid in the strip, pitted keepers and cylinders that stop turning long before the door wears out. Coastal replacements use stainless or corrosion-resistant strips and solid brass cylinders, and a dry lubricant twice a year keeps the rods moving. The salt air guide covers the finishes that last.

What the visit includes:

1. Identify the lock brand, backset and bolt spacing from the faceplate, ideally from your photos before we come.
2. Check the door for drop and realign hinges and keepers first.
3. Replace the gearbox, strip or cylinder as needed, and pin the cylinder to your house key where possible.
4. Test lift, lock and unlock from both sides with the door closed.

Hardware is quoted up front; the gearbox is often the expensive part. Sliding patio doors are a different mechanism, covered on our sliding door and gate locks page.

Where we do this

We do this everywhere in San Diego County, same day in most cases. Some of the places we cover:

• Jamul
• Julian & the Backcountry
• Poway
• Escondido
• San Marcos
• Vista
• 4S Ranch
• Rancho Santa Fe
• Fallbrook
• Valley Center
• Carmel Mountain Ranch
• Black Mountain Ranch & Del Sur
• Torrey Highlands & Pacific Highlands Ranch
• Downtown San Diego
• Hillcrest
• Mission Hills
• Bankers Hill
• North Park
• South Park
• Golden Hill
• All service areas

Related guides

• Rekey vs. Change Locks: Which Do You Actually Need? – Rekeying keeps your locks and kills old keys. Replacing swaps the hardware. Decide in two minutes with costs, timing and San Diego examples.
• How Much Does Smart Lock Installation Cost in San Diego? – Smart lock install labor in San Diego typically runs $100 to $250 plus the lock. What moves the price, what a proper install includes, DIY vs pro.
• Salt Air and Locks: Keeping Coastal San Diego Doors Working – How salt air corrodes door locks near the San Diego coast, which finishes and materials hold up, a maintenance routine, and when to rekey or replace.