DIYbanter - View Single Post - Flip Kwikset left-hand lock knob to right-hand keyhole reversal

SMS

wrote:

It's crazy to me that Kwikset doesn't even SAY on the package that all my
lock cylinders will be upside down unless I can figure out how to switch
the Kwikset lock from being a left-hand knob to a right-hand knob.

Kwikset probably thinks that it's crazy that anyone would care which
direction the keyhole would be. There isn't a "right-side-up" because
it's different on doors with the hole on the right than on the left.

Do you know how?

If you buy the after-market Kwikset re-keying kit at Home Depot, it
comes with the tools, and instructions. You can put the cylinder back in
either way. The procedure is different for the doorknob and the
deadbolt. The deadbolt is easier, and no tools are needed. I've done
rekeying of Kwikset locks many times, I just did one a few weeks ago.

See:

"http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze4vxnd/kwikrekey.html"
"http://www.kwikset.com/Trade/Literature/Resources/Rekeying%20Manual.pdf"

I think that you'll have the same issue with any brand of lock you buy.
You'll have to disassemble it to remove the cylinder and flip it over if
you want the keyhole in the opposite orientation.