Kwikset 81231-001 Metal Strike Dust Box

It's the steel box that drops into the bored hole in the door jamb behind a deadbolt strike plate, so the bolt throws into a lined pocket instead of raw wood or an open cavity. The 81231-001 is a deadbolt strike part, not the visible strike plate itself, so if the face plate on the jamb is what's damaged you need the strike plate, not the box.

The box measures 15/16 x 2-7/10 inches, so the mortise pocket in the jamb has to be at least that. On a standard deadbolt jamb prep that's a 1 inch bore for the bolt with the pocket routed out to accept the box. Measure your existing cutout against those two numbers before ordering, because an undersized pocket means chiseling and an oversized one leaves the box loose.

They cover two different parts of the same strike prep. The Kwikset 81231-001 is a metal strike dust box, a steel cup measuring 15/16 inch by 2-7/10 inch that drops into the bolt hole in the jamb so the deadbolt throws into a lined pocket instead of bare wood. The Emtek 83223 is a standard deadbolt strike plate with square corners, the visible face plate that screws to the jamb surface. On a residential deadbolt install a locksmith commonly uses both together, the box behind and the plate in front, so treating the 83223 as a replacement for the 81231-001 leaves the bolt pocket unlined.

Residential. It's a Kwikset deadbolt part, sized for the strike prep on a house or apartment entry door. For commercial openings in a multifamily or institutional building, spec the strike hardware that comes with the commercial lock rather than a residential replacement box.

Steel, so it does more than hide the hole. The bolt lands in a metal pocket rather than bare jamb wood, which spreads the load off the edge of the cutout and keeps debris out of the bore so the bolt keeps throwing all the way. The dust box alone is not a reinforcer, though; the pull-out resistance on a kick comes from long screws through the strike plate into the framing stud behind the jamb.

Fit is decided by the pocket, not the brand. The 81231-001 is 15/16 x 2-7/10 inches, so any strike plate whose mortise is at least that size will sit over it. Where it won't work is a latch strike or an ASA-size prep: the Codelocks ASA strike plate, for example, is a full ASA-format plate and its cutout is a different geometry than a residential deadbolt box.

Sometimes, yes. If the bore is packed with sawdust, insulation, or splintered wood, the bolt bottoms out short and the lock feels stiff, and a steel box lining the pocket stops that from coming back. If the bolt is instead hitting the edge of the hole, the problem is alignment between the bolt and the strike, and you need to re-cut or shim the strike plate rather than add a box.

No. It's a box that seats in a mortised pocket in a wood jamb on a residential opening. Hollow metal frames come factory-prepped with their own strike box formed or welded into the frame, so there's nothing to add. If you're working a steel frame, the strike is part of the frame prep and the fix is a different part entirely.

The Emtek 83223 is a standard deadbolt strike plate with square corners, which suits a jamb mortised with a chisel to square edges rather than routed with a radius. The Deltana SP2753 is the other deadbolt strike plate option, a steel plate at 2-3/4 inch by 1-1/4 inch. Neither is interchangeable with the Kwikset 81231-001, which is the metal strike dust box that lines the bolt hole behind the plate.

No, they solve different openings. The Codelocks part is an ASA strike plate in a stainless steel finish, and ASA is a commercial mortise strike format sized to a mortise lock prep, not to a residential bored deadbolt hole. The Kwikset 81231-001 is a metal strike dust box for a residential deadbolt, sized 15/16 inch by 2-7/10 inch to line the bolt pocket. A property manager replacing dust boxes on apartment entry doors wants the 81231-001; the Codelocks ASA plate belongs on a door already prepped for an ASA strike.

One per deadbolt. Each deadbolt throws into its own strike pocket, so a door with a deadbolt above a keyed knob needs a box only at the deadbolt strike, and the latch strike above or below it takes a different part. Property managers standardizing a building should count deadbolts, not doors.

The Kwikset 81231-001 metal strike dust box is steel, and the Deltana SP2753 deadbolt strike plate is steel at 2-3/4 inch by 1-1/4 inch. The Codelocks ASA strike plate carries a stainless steel finish. For a maintenance team standardizing on entry doors that get slammed daily, the steel dust box and a steel face plate are the two pieces working together at the bolt: the box takes the bolt end, the plate takes the door edge.