Change or rekey · Burlington
Lock Rekeying
One key for the front door, another for the back, a third for the side door into the garage, and a fourth for the shed. You stand on the step every evening flipping through them in the dark, trying each one until something turns.
Lock Rekeying
In plain words
Rekeying is really about knowing who can open your door. Over the life of a home, keys are lent to trades, handed to neighbours for the holidays, given to a cleaner or a dog walker, and copied at the hardware store. Nobody keeps a list. Rekeying draws a line: from today, the only working keys are the ones counted into your hand. Good practice afterwards is simple, and a locksmith will suggest it: know how many keys exist, know who holds each one, tag them with a colour or code rather than the address, and rekey again whenever a key leaves your control.
How the visit goesThe builder handed over your new home with a stack of identical keys, and you know the framing crew, the painters and the flooring installers all used a construction key during the build. The doors are brand new, but the key that opens them should be yours alone.
Burlington
How the visit goes
Walking every door that should be included
Before a single cylinder comes out, the locksmith walks the property with you and lists each opening: the front door, the back and side doors, the door from the garage into the house, a walkout basement, a gate with a keyed latch, a shed, a mailbox, and any interior door you want on a key. It is surprising how often the garage's side door or the storm door is forgotten and left on the old key. The list becomes the plan for the visit and, at the end, the record of what was done. A door that is not on the list is not rekeyed, so the walk is worth two careful minutes.
Bringing several doors onto one key
Keying doors alike is the same operation repeated with the same new key. Once the first cylinder is pinned and proven, the locksmith removes the second, follows the plug out, and loads bottom pins to the identical depths so the same key operates it, and so on around the house. Where a door carries a cylinder from a different keyway family, that cylinder is exchanged for a matching one in the same finish and then pinned to the house key. The result is one key on your ring that turns every exterior door, with the individual locks unchanged in appearance and function.
A written note of what was done
A short record closes the job: which doors were rekeyed, whether any cylinder was replaced, how many keys were issued and to whom, and any door that was deliberately kept on its own key. For a homeowner it is a line in the house file that answers the question, years from now, of which key opens what. For a landlord it is the handover to give the incoming tenant and to keep for the next turnover. For a property manager it is the start of a proper keying chart. It also makes any later work simpler, since the next locksmith can see what system the house is on.
Lock Rekeying
In the van
- Key tags and keying record
- Graded bottom pin kit
- Replacement cylinder for odd keyways
- Code cutter or key duplicator
- Cylinder shim
What affects the quote
Same fees day, night or weekend
1Smart lock override cylinders and codes
Pinning the backup cylinder of a keypad or app lock to the house key is a small extra task, and reviewing or deleting user codes at the same time is another, each named in the quote.
2Upgrades chosen during the visit
Some people take the opportunity to replace a double-cylinder deadbolt with a thumb-turn model, add a reinforced strike or move to a heavier deadbolt. None of it is needed to rekey; each is a separate line.
3Mismatched keyways needing a cylinder swap
Where one door's cylinder cannot take the key the other doors share, a compatible replacement cylinder is fitted and pinned to match, and that hardware appears as its own line in the quote.
Lock Rekeying: questions
What happens to my old keys?
They become ordinary pieces of brass. Once the cylinders are pinned to the new combination, the old keys turn nothing on your property, so there is no security reason to keep or hide them. Hand them to the locksmith for disposal or drop them in the metal recycling. If a former roommate or contractor still has one, it no longer matters, which is the whole reason for the visit. Keep only the new set, counted and tagged.
How is rekeying different from replacing the lock?
Rekeying keeps your existing deadbolt or handle set and gives it a new key, commonly by changing the pins inside, though some cylinders reset a different way. Replacing removes the whole lock or cylinder and fits new hardware. Rekeying suits locks that are in good condition and simply need a fresh key. Replacement is the better call for hardware that is worn or damaged, built to a low grade, on a keyway the other doors cannot share, or due for a change of style or a keypad.
My locks are different brands. Is that a problem?
Not a problem, just a detail to plan around. What matters is the keyway, meaning the profile of the slot the key fits, rather than the name on the lock. Different makers sometimes share a profile and sometimes do not. Where two cylinders cannot accept the same key, one is exchanged for a compatible cylinder in the same finish and pinned to match. From the outside the door looks the same and from your pocket it is one key.
Change or Rekey Locks
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeThe century home's original mortise lock takes a key the size of a spoon, sticks in humid weather…
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceThe knob flops loose on its spindle and never springs back to level.
- Smart Lock InstallationYour mother still lives on her own, and the personal support worker, the pharmacy delivery and two…
Lock Rekeying near you
The lock services offered in Burlington are grouped the way a door is used. Getting back in when you are locked out. Deciding who holds a working key. Upgrading the hardware so the door resists more than a casual try. Keeping commercial entrances working. Opening and maintaining safes. Each is described below.