How do I remove this deadbolt?!

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jonathan18

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#310631 7-Nov-2023 18:07

So I'm struggling to work out how to remove a deadbolt on our front door, so hoped for some advice.

It's an old Faultless deadbolt to which we've never had the keys; I'd like to remove it to replace with a smart deadbolt.

It has no visible screws, but has (or had!) two small bulges on the inside; in thinking these were caps hiding screws underneath, and in trying to remove them I managed to somehow pop one INTO the hole (how it fits in there is beyond me!) so I can't even see what's at the bottom. The other one is much more resistant to removal, and I'd rather not risk creating more problems without having some idea of what I'm doing!

Will it be that these are indeed just caps covering screws at the base of the hole? (From what I can tell the holes are smooth-edged, and no wider than the opening, which makes me think they're not just entry points to remove the wider cap.) And, if so, I assume I somehow will need to remove the cap from the hole - outside of removing the door, how can I do this?!

Any ideas are appreciated.

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#3157098 7-Nov-2023 18:12

got some pics of both sides?

i would suspect the inside half has a clip around the edge which will pop the cover off. look for a small hole or gap.

pih

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#3157124 7-Nov-2023 21:47

Locks don't have screws accessible on the outside, for obvious reason, so those are definitely not "caps" but may actually be the pan heads of screws or barrel nuts which are fastened from the inside, and hold the outside casing against the door. My guess is that these two screws are all that's holding the lock to the door.

If that's the case then it seems like your "Faultless" isn't really living up to its name: you can probably take a punch to the other one and you may just find that once that's punched in the whole lock mechanism falls apart.

Bung

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#3157127 7-Nov-2023 21:57

Some Schlage have similar looking caps that are pressed into the Philips or socket head screws. You have to prise the caps out before you can undo the screws.

pih

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#3157137 7-Nov-2023 22:15

Sorry, rereading I see you said the image was of the inside, not the outside. Still, the punch trick might work. Someone marked my reply as the answer, not sure if that was the OP but it would be good to know if that worked.

eracode

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#3157163 8-Nov-2023 07:03

If you can't punch out the second cap maybe you could centre-punch a dimple on it - so that you can centre a drill bit there to drill it out. As mentioned above, a photo of the other side could be very helpful - and of the door edge.

You mentioned taking the door off. I don't think I'd do that - it's difficult to understand how that would help - unless it's just to enable you to work on the lock downward rather than it being vertical.

(If you squint and look at the lock name, it might actually be 'fruitless'. 😃 )

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

jonathan18

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#3157175 8-Nov-2023 08:24

HP

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jonathan18

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#3157176 8-Nov-2023 08:30

Thanks for the posts. Here are a couple more views of the lock.

Weirdly, the catch plate thing is attached to the lock mechanism; I had seen that some deadbolts have small hex screws accessible under the plate, but in this case it's not removable!

So it does look like there are screws under the covers, but I'm still concerned about how I'd access the one with the cover pushed in - this is why I mentioned removing the door (mostly joking!) as a way to remove the cover from the whole (ie, let gravity so it's thing). Would I look to just drill out the cover, not the screw below this?

Appreciate the advice!

Edit: will also have a proper go at removing the second cover this evening. I don't care about damaging the bolt given we don't even have the keys for it...

itxtme

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#3157180 8-Nov-2023 08:47

jonathan18: Thanks for the posts. Here are a couple more views of the lock.

So it does look like there are screws under the covers, but I'm still concerned about how I'd access the one with the cover pushed in - this is why I mentioned removing the door (mostly joking!) as a way to remove the cover from the whole (ie, let gravity so it's thing). Would I look to just drill out the cover, not the screw below this?

If I was you I would get the biggest metal drill bit you have and use those little holes as your guides and drill (from inside where the little holes are) out a big hole. Then A) you can see whats going as to how its held in place and B) you can remove the cover that's potentially blocking access to the screws. Only other thought was that the cylindrical outer face may rotate and screw out of the hole. Doing the drilling though will reveal all.

wellygary

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#3157182 8-Nov-2023 08:52

jonathan18:
So it does look like there are screws under the covers, but I'm still concerned about how I'd access the one with the cover pushed in - this is why I mentioned removing the door (mostly joking!) as a way to remove the cover from the whole (ie, let gravity so it's thing). Would I look to just drill out the cover, not the screw below this?

Yip, Those covers are where the long bolts/machine screw run through to hold the front of the lock assembly and pull it tight onto the front of the door,

Get a torch and have a look inside the hole, you should be able to see the end of a bolt, ( it may have sheered off thou)

or it may just be under the cap and a screw or hex key will un screw it...

Worst case, look at drilling the other cap ,this should allow you to remove the long bolt under it, which should free up the rest of the mechanisms if you wanted to physically attack the lock with a pry bar or other large lever...

Crysoganus

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#3157183 8-Nov-2023 08:54

I have one of these deadlocks.

The little rivet like things are simply covers for the holes to access what I remember as being allen key hex bolts that hold the deadlock together, undoing the little bolts has the inner section come off, and the outer one can be drawn out as it is screwed into the body.

Pretty simple really.

kiwi_64

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#3157184 8-Nov-2023 08:54

I know you said that you don't have a key, but I can't help but wonder if this answer at least describes what's going on with the design:

https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/598345/How+remove+deadbolt+with+no+visible+screws

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mdf

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#3157189 8-Nov-2023 09:18

I've seen quite a few random ways to take locks apart. However, I would be surprised if the dimple rivet things on the inside didn't hide the screws. If you cannot get them out and you're happy with destructive removal, I would suggest drilling them out. A step drill would be ideal for this, but otherwise you can use a set of bits and go up size by size. A big enough hole should reveal its secrets! You will probably need to either centre punch the remaining rivet or file a flat spot on it if you are trying to drill out using a hand drill.

tecnam2003

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#3157437 8-Nov-2023 22:13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM8qfA-wEbY

think this may help

😄

SepticSceptic

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#3157444 8-Nov-2023 22:54

Angle grinder.

Wear appropriate safety gear.

Dynamic

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#3157460 9-Nov-2023 07:01

SepticSceptic: Angle grinder.

Wear appropriate safety gear.

Even if this was in jest, I'm still going to down-vote it. The potential for serious injury or damage to the door outweighs the benefit by a big margin.

Drilling the lock bolts out won't take much longer and carries very little risk.

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

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