Buyer guide · New builds and conversions
Locks and door hardware for new builds
On a new build or a conversion, the lock specification is still open — which makes it the cheapest moment to fix, and the hardest moment to fix later.
Who this guide is for
What changes when this is the way you buy.
The specification window is short
Once the unit doors are ordered and the openings are prepared, the cylinder size is decided for you — by the door, not by preference. The practical window for specifying locks and door hardware is during door selection, not after installation.
A new facility needs more than unit locks on day one
Opening day usually requires the unit hardware, overlock or lockout hardware for units that will stand vacant, and a key plan that staff can actually follow. Ordering only the unit locks leaves the operation short at the point it goes live.
What buyers like you ask us most
The questions that decide whether an order goes smoothly.
When should we specify the locks in a build programme?
At door selection. The cylinder size follows the door preparation, and the keying follows a decision that has to be made before manufacture. Specifying after the doors are hung means either accepting what fits or replacing hardware.
Can you deliver against a construction programme?
Yes. Phased delivery is normal on projects: goods are released in scheduled shipments so each building or phase receives hardware when it is ready for it, rather than everything arriving at once and sitting on site.
What if the door type changes during the project?
Tell us before production. If the change alters the cylinder size or the fixing, the specification has to be re-confirmed — and a sample on the new door is the fastest way to do that. This is exactly the kind of change that is cheap early and expensive later.
Do we need overlock hardware from day one?
Most new facilities do. Units that stand vacant while the site fills up are usually secured with overlock or lockout hardware, and it is easier to include it in the opening order than to source it after the first delinquent account.
How far ahead of opening should we place the order?
Work back from the opening date: batch production averages around 30 days after order and artwork confirmation, and samples take from 5 days before that. Peak periods such as Chinese New Year should be planned around rather than discovered.
Where it usually goes wrong
The four mistakes we see most often in this kind of order — and the way around each.
Leaving locks until the end of the programme
Locks are often treated as a finishing item and specified after the doors are installed — at which point the only remaining variable is price, and the fit is whatever was built.
Opening date versus lead time
A 30-day batch lead time plus sample approval does not compress because the opening is fixed. Place the order against the programme, not against the handover date.
Forgetting overlock at handover
The first vacant units usually appear before the first delinquent account. Having the hardware on site from day one avoids an urgent small order later.
No key plan at handover
If staff cannot say which key opens which unit on opening day, the key plan was never written. It has to be decided before production, because keying cannot be changed after.
How we work with you
What the first conversation looks like, and what we need from you.
We start from the door schedule
Send the door types and the unit count per building. We confirm the cylinder size and whether the openings need anything beyond a standard unit lock.
We verify on a sample before the bulk order
A physical sample on the actual door is the control point that stops a project discovering a fit problem at handover.
We schedule delivery to your programme
Phased shipments per building or per phase, so hardware arrives when the site is ready for it.
Send us the two things we always ask for
A photograph of the door, and the number of units you need to cover. That is enough for us to confirm the family, the cylinder size and what a first order would look like — before you commit to anything.
Related reading
Guides that go deeper on the points above, and the other buyer guides.
Converting a Building to Self Storage: Hardware Checklist
Read the guide →
Climate-Controlled vs Drive-Up Units: How the Spec Changes
Read the guide →
Securing Vacant Units: A Facility Checklist
Read the guide →
Overlock vs Lockout: Which Hardware for Vacant Units
Read the guide →
Multi-Site Operators
Buyer guide →
Single-Facility Owners
Buyer guide →