Break-In Damage Lock Repair: before you call

You came home to find the front door standing open. The deadbolt is still thrown, but the strike plate is dangling from one screw and a fist-sized piece of the jamb is lying on the hall floor.

Worth answering before the call

Would you like stronger hardware fitted while the door is being repaired? Is there glass beside the door or in it? What kind of lock was on the door: knob, lever, deadbolt, mortise or keypad?

Will the repair be visible from outside?

Mostly not. A boxed strike sits flush in the jamb, long screws hide behind hinge and strike plates, and a repaired jamb is filled and dressed so paint or stain covers it. A wrap-around door edge reinforcer is the one part that shows, as a slim steel band at the lock, and it can be finished to match the hardware. New deadbolts are matched to the trim on your other doors where you want them to blend in.

My car was stolen with the garage remote and a house key inside. What now?

Treat it as two exposures. The house key is handled by rekeying every lock it fits. The remote is handled at the garage door opener: its memory is erased so every old remote stops working, and new remotes are programmed. If the car had your address on its paperwork, do both before anything else. A locksmith can rekey the doors and, on many openers, clear the remotes during the same visit or show you the learn button on the motor unit.