Looking for more security in your life? Have a restraining order to enforce? Well, you're in luck. This is a quick how-to for installing or replacing a lock set.

Many of the prehung doors you'll buy at the local big box hardware store already have the holes you need bored, and ready to have the lockset installed. This eliminates a rather difficult task for you, but you can take all the credit. If it's an existing door, it's wisest to find a replacement set that fits in standard holes.

If the doors are not pre-bored, you'll need to locate and bore the holes for the lock. Each set of hardware should come with detailed instructions and a template to be used to locate the centers of the holes. It also specifies the required hole diameters.

Generally, the center of the lock is installed 36" above the bottom of the door. The amount the center is set back from the edge of the door varies with the type and brand of lock.

To install a lock, measure 36" from the bottom of the door, and make a mark across the end of the door. Using this as a guide, place the centerline of the cardboard template that comes with the lock on this mark. Mark the center for the holes on the face and end of the door. Bore the holes at the diameter specified in the packaging.

The large diameter hole can be bored with an expansive bit, lockset bit, or a hole saw. Be careful not to bore all the way through the door, otherwise the finish will chip away on the opposite side. Bore from one side until the top of the bit just shows through the other side, then finish up by boring from the other side. When you have a clean hole, bore the smaller hole from the edge of the door.

Install the lock as instructed by the manufacturer's directions.

The strike (plate) is installed on the door jamb. Locate it opposite the faceplace on the latch, then place it over the installed latch, and close the door carefully. Hold it in place, then mark the top and bottom edges of the jamb. Draw those same lines along the edge of the door onto the strike.

Open the door, place the strike on the marks, and draw around it. Chisel the recess so that the strike is flush with the surface of the jamb. Hold the strike in the recess, and mark the hole for the latch to enter the jamb. Bore that hole, then use wood screws to keep the strike in place.

And there you have it, a new door. Just make sure that you have the keys on you while trying it out. We haven't stumbled upon an adequate tutorial on breaking windows.