Smart Lock Installation — uPVC, Composite & Timber Doors

Yes — if it’s a multipoint-compatible unit. Your door locks by lifting the handle to throw hooks into the frame, and only units built for that (Yale Conexis, Ultion Nuki, Avia) can drive it. The heavily advertised Yale Linus and most marketplace units are for different door types and simply don’t fit — the biggest smart-lock mistake we see.

Certified, multipoint-compatible units only: the Conexis family (TS621, Secured by Design), Ultion Nuki (3-star cylinder paired with a Nuki drive), Avia (SS312 Diamond cylinder), and proven keypad units for timber and communal doors. If a unit can’t be serviced with parts in five years, it doesn’t go on.

Almost always yes — and it’s where cheap installs fail. The cylinder is still the mechanical heart, so every conversion keeps snap protection as the baseline, with certified TS007 3-star or SS312 Diamond tiers when the door or your insurer wants more.

Certified units are — insurers look for TS621:2018, Sold Secure SS504 or a kitemarked cylinder behind the unit, and some policy wordings still specify BS3621 on final exit doors. Max fits to the standard your policy actually names, and it’s worth a two-minute check of the wording.

No. Reputable units warn for weeks before a battery dies, and every install keeps a backup: a mechanical key override or an external power point, in line with Master Locksmiths Association guidance. You’ll also keep a physical spare key — the app is convenience, not the only way in.

The real-world risk on certified units is low — encrypted Bluetooth, no permanent radio broadcast on most, and firmware that actually gets updates. The genuine risk is the uncertified £40 unit: weak electronics on thin metal. Attackers still prefer snapping a cheap cylinder — which is why the metal underneath matters most.

Labour is £120 + the lock + VAT, agreed exactly on the phone first. Most installs land between £270 and £650 all-in depending on the unit — same price for emergencies and appointments, and the alignment check is included rather than a second visit.

Yes — it’s one of the best uses. Codes rotate between tenants or guests instead of cutting keys, lost-key call-outs disappear, and the better units keep an entry log. Landlord and communal-door regulations are part of the visit, not your homework.

Unit-dependent: most work over Bluetooth as standard, with Wi-Fi bridges for remote access and voice control as an add-on. Max will tell you honestly which integrations are useful and which are gimmicks you’ll turn off within a month.

Yes, but the door gets fixed first. A motorised lock forcing a misaligned mechanism burns out fast — so hinges and keeps are adjusted until the door closes sweetly, then the smart unit goes on. That adjustment is included in the install visit.

Usually, yes. Cylinder-retrofit units like the Ultion Nuki replace only the cylinder and sit on the inside face — the outside of the door looks unchanged and the original cylinder goes back when you move out. Worth a word with the landlord; many say yes to that arrangement.

Systems like TouchKey are factory-fitted into new door sets and can’t be retrofitted to an existing door. If you want that integrated look without a £2,000 new door, a certified retrofit unit gets you the same daily experience — and Max will say so rather than sell you a door.

Yes — smart nightlatches and keypad deadbolts replace the old rim lock or mortice setup directly. Victorian terraces around Nottingham take them well, and the certified options carry the same insurance-recognised standards.

Typically 60–90 minutes including the alignment check, cylinder work and walking you through the app and codes before Max leaves. One visit, carried in the van.

Units carry their manufacturer warranties (typically two years) and the workmanship is Max’s own — every install leaves with a 12-month workmanship warranty and maintenance guidance, and if something isn’t right he comes back. That’s how a 600-review reputation stays at 5.0.

As electronics, occasionally clever; as locks, no. Thin zinc bodies, uncertified cylinders, abandoned apps and zero spare parts — a security downgrade with a shiny interface. Fitting one properly costs the same labour as fitting one that lasts, which is why Max doesn’t fit them.

Yes — that’s the killer feature. Reputable units issue scheduled codes or app keys that only work in the windows you set, then expire on their own. Cleaners, dog-walkers, Airbnb changeovers, letting the in-laws in — all without hiding a key in a plant pot.

Nothing dramatic — the lock runs on its own batteries, not the mains, so it keeps working. A Wi-Fi bridge for remote access goes offline until power returns, but the door still locks, unlocks and takes codes at the handle.

On certified units, yes — modern readers are quick and reliable, and every unit Max fits keeps a code and key backup so a wet finger never locks you out. On the uncertified cheap ones, the fingerprint reader is usually the best part of a bad lock.

Yes — conversions are reversible. Handle units swap back to standard hardware and cylinder retrofits go back to a plain cylinder, which is exactly why they suit rentals. Keep the old parts and it’s a quick return visit.