How to Cut Dead Bolt Holes With a Hole Saw

Paper templates provided by door hardware manufacturers make dead bolt layout easy; do-it-yourselfers simply position and affix the templates to the door's edge. Despite assistance from templates, drilling dead bolt holes with a hole saw requires a steady hand. If holes are slightly misplaced, dead bolt components might fail to fit within the door frame and the entire door could be beyond salvage. Additionally, do-it-yourself builders must consider that drilling through metal and fiberglass doors usually requires more powerful equipment than drilling through wooden doors.

Tape measure
Pencil
Dead bolt lock set with layout template
Masking tape or painter's tape
Power drill
Hole saw with pilot bit, sized per manufacturer's specifications
Spade bit, sized per manufacturer's specifications

Instructions

- 1
  Stretch a tape measure from the floor to the desired height of the dead bolt installation on the door. Although installation heights vary, standard heights range from approximately 36 inches to 45 inches above the floor's surface. Lightly mark the dead bolt height on the door's surface with a pencil.
- 2
  Align the layout template from the dead bolt lock set with the height mark. Align the template's corner lines with the corners of the door and affix the template to the door with masking tape or painter's tape.
- 3
  Attach a hole saw with pilot bit to the power drill; consult manufacturer's specifications to determine hole saw diameter. Position the hole saw's pilot bit over the center point of the dead bolt hole on the layout template, activate the drill and bore into the door at the dead bolt's center point.
- 4
  Drill approximately halfway through the door with the hole saw's body. Remove the hole saw from the door and move to the opposite side of the door. Align the hole saw's pilot bit with the dead bolt hole's center point on the opposite side of the door and bore through the door to complete the hole. Attempting to completely drill through the door from one side generally causes splintering on the exit side of the cut.
- 5
  Remove the hole saw from the power drill. Attach a spade bit to the power drill; spade bits create a hole through the door's edge for the dead bolt cylinder. Align the spade bit with the center point of the dead bolt cylinder hole on the layout template. Activate the drill and bore through the edge of the door until the spade bit protrudes into the previously drilled dead bolt hole.

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