Philadelphia's housing stock is dominated by row homes — two- and three-story brick attached houses built mostly between 1880 and 1930. They're solid buildings, but the original door frames and hardware weren't designed for modern security expectations. Here's what we see regularly and what we actually recommend.
The original hardware problem
A lot of Philadelphia row homes have layered hardware from multiple eras — original mortise locks from the early 1900s (cylinder replaced once or twice, the box mechanism never serviced), a rim lock added above it at some point, and a modern deadbolt bolted onto the top rail because someone's landlord bought one at Home Depot in the 1990s.
None of this is necessarily bad. Mortise locks are actually excellent hardware when they're in good condition — more durable than a modern cylindrical deadbolt and less vulnerable to certain attack methods. The problem is when the cylinder is 30 years old, the strike plate is held by two half-inch screws, and the door frame is original softwood that's softened over a century of Philadelphia humidity.
The front door: where most row home security fails
First check: the strike plate. On most Philadelphia row homes, the original jamb is pine or hemlock and the strike plate screws are 3/4 inch to 1 inch long. A solid kick breaks that jamb at the strike plate in seconds regardless of what deadbolt you have on the door. The fix is often not a new lock — it's a reinforced strike plate with 3-inch screws that reach through the jamb into the structural framing behind it. That upgrade costs very little and makes an enormous difference.
Second check: cylinder brand and condition. A Kwikset deadbolt is easy to pick and fairly easy to bump. If your neighborhood has any history of lock-manipulation burglary, consider upgrading to a Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, or ANSA cylinder. We can rekey your existing hardware or upgrade the cylinder at the same time — you don't need to replace the whole lockset.
The alley door and back door
This is where a lot of Philadelphia row homes are actually vulnerable. Blocks in Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Point Breeze, East Passyunk, and Kensington have shared alleys running behind them — which means your back door is accessible from a passage that's open to anyone who walks in.
Back doors on row homes are often neglected. We see hollow-core wood doors with lightweight knob locks and no deadbolt on alley-facing entrances. At minimum: a solid-core door or metal door, a Grade 1 or Grade 2 deadbolt, and a reinforced strike plate. Same principles as the front, but often worse starting point.
Cellar bilco doors (the angled metal doors leading down to the basement) are another entry point. The standard hasp-and-padlock setup on older Bilco doors isn't great. A hardened-shackle padlock from Abus or American Lock is a significant step up from a basic Master Lock and costs under $50.
Renter advice: what you can and can't do
In Pennsylvania, tenants generally can't change the locks without landlord permission. What you can do: install a door security bar on the back door or a sliding door, add a door reinforcement plate (available at hardware stores, no permanent alteration), and ask your landlord in writing to upgrade the deadbolt and strike plate before you move in. Many landlords will do it — it protects their property.
If you've moved in and don't know how many key copies are floating around, ask the landlord to rekey. If they won't and you're concerned, call us at (267) 587-7778 — we can talk through what options exist within Pennsylvania tenant law.
Owner advice: what to prioritize
Every exterior entry — front door, back door, alley gate, bilco door — should have a Grade 1 or Grade 2 deadbolt with a reinforced strike plate. Rekey every exterior lock when you take possession of the property, even if the previous owner hands you keys. You have no idea what copies exist.
If you're doing renovations and replacing doors, get a locksmith involved in hardware selection before you buy the doors. Not just for aesthetics — the wrong prep hole configuration, the wrong backset, the wrong door thickness creates problems that are expensive to fix after the fact.
Stop by 702 W Girard Avenue or call (267) 587-7778. We've been working Philadelphia row homes since 1993. We know what the hardware actually looks like in these buildings and what needs attention versus what's fine as-is.