Arvada runs from the century-old bungalows of Olde Town to the brand-new tracts backing onto foothill land at Candelas. The right door hardware is not the same in both, and the lock you can see matters less than the screws you cannot. Here is what actually holds.
The hardware that holds is a graded deadbolt mounted into a reinforced strike plate, with three-inch screws reaching past the trim into the wall framing. That is the whole secret most homeowners miss. In our experience across Arvada, the deadbolt almost never fails during a break-in attempt. The jamb does, when the short factory screws tear out of soft pine and the door swings open with the bolt still locked.
So the priority order is backwards from what people expect. First, reinforce the strike on every exterior door. Second, make sure the deadbolt is a real graded unit and not the lightest builder option. Our residential locksmith crew carries the heavy strike plates and longer screws on the truck, because that small upgrade outperforms a fancy lock bolted onto weak wood every time.
Arvada splits cleanly into two hardware worlds, and treating them the same is a mistake. Olde Town’s older bungalows and the small storefronts along Grandview carry aging hardware and original door frames. Those doors often need a cleanup, longer strike screws, and sometimes a fresh bore before a new lock seats right. The wood has settled over decades, so prep matters.
The newer Candelas, Leyden Rock, and Westwoods tracts on the northwest edge are the opposite. They ship with clean modern doors and light builder-grade locks, which means they take a deadbolt upgrade or a smart-lock retrofit with almost no door prep. The homes backing onto open foothill land out there sometimes warrant a step up to higher-security cylinders. Same city, two completely different hardware conversations.
Most modern Arvada doors accept a smart deadbolt with little or no prep, especially in the Candelas and Westwoods builds where the bores are clean and standard. You swap the existing builder deadbolt for a smart unit, set it up, and you have keyless entry and remote control without touching the door itself. That is the easy path, and it is common out on the new-build edge.
Older Olde Town doors are where it gets case by case. A settled frame or a non-standard backset can mean the bore needs reaming or adjusting before a smart lock fits properly. We check the door first and tell you whether it is a drop-in or a prep job, so you are not stuck with a lock that will not close. Our smart lock installation guide covers which models suit common Denver-area doors.
A deadbolt install in Arvada usually runs $100 to $250 with the hardware included, and a reinforced strike plate is a small add-on to that. A smart-lock install usually runs $150 to $350 per door plus the hardware. The number moves with the grade you choose, whether the door is already bored, and how much prep an older Olde Town frame needs before the lock seats.
| Upgrade | Usual cost | Best fit in Arvada |
|---|---|---|
| Graded deadbolt install | $100 to $250 | Any exterior door with light builder hardware. |
| Reinforced strike plate | Small add-on | Every door; the real anti-kick upgrade. |
| Smart-lock install | $150 to $350 per door | Clean modern Candelas and Westwoods doors. |
We tell you which doors actually warrant the spend rather than upgrading every entry by reflex. A mid-block Lake Arbor home and a foothill-edge Candelas home have different exposure, and the hardware should match it. If you want the technical side on lock grades, the ANSI grade guide explains what the numbers buy. We quote the figure before any work begins.
A graded deadbolt paired with a reinforced strike plate and three-inch screws into the framing. On most Arvada homes the deadbolt is fine and the strike plate is the weak point. The bolt rarely fails in a forced entry; the soft jamb does. Fixing the strike does more for real security than swapping the lock itself.
Yes. Olde Town bungalows often carry aging hardware and original door frames that need cleanup, longer strike screws, and sometimes a new bore. The newer Candelas and Leyden Rock tracts ship with light builder-grade locks and clean modern doors, so they take well to smart-lock retrofits and deadbolt upgrades without much door prep.
Most modern Arvada doors in the Candelas and Westwoods tracts accept a smart deadbolt with little prep. Older Olde Town doors sometimes need the bore reamed or the backset adjusted first. We check the door before recommending a model and tell you if it needs prep, so you are not buying a lock that will not seat properly.
A deadbolt install in Arvada usually runs $100 to $250 with the hardware included, and a reinforced strike plate is a small add-on. A smart-lock install usually runs $150 to $350 per door plus the hardware. We quote the figure before we start and tell you which doors actually warrant the upgrade.
For most homes a graded deadbolt and a reinforced strike on every exterior door cover the realistic threats. Homes backing onto open foothill land at Candelas or Westwoods sometimes add higher-security cylinders or a safe. We match the hardware to your actual exposure rather than overselling a hillside package to a mid-block house.
We match the hardware to your door, reinforce the strike that actually stops a kick-in, and quote the figure first. Olde Town bungalow or Candelas new-build, we know what each one needs.
Last updated: May 28, 2026.
