Change or rekey · Georgina
Lock Rekeying
Every copy of your house key seems to work a little differently. One needs a jiggle, another sticks halfway, and the original wore down years ago.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 803-2818In plain words
The choice between rekeying and replacing comes down to the condition of the lock and what you want from it. A cylinder that turns smoothly, sits firmly in a solid deadbolt and matches the look of the door is worth keeping, and rekeying gives it a new key for a fraction of the effort of replacement. Replacement earns its place when the hardware is worn, low grade, damaged, a mismatched keyway that cannot join the house key, or when you want a keypad or a heavier deadbolt anyway. A locksmith looks at each door and tells you which one applies.
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.
Lock Rekeying · Georgina
How the visit goes
- 1
Smart locks and user-rekeyable cylinders
Modern hardware gets its own look. Many keypad or app-controlled deadbolts have a conventional override cylinder behind a cover that can be rekeyed to the house key so the backup key is not a stranger on your ring, though some models are key-free and use an external battery backup instead. Some residential cylinders are designed to be reset by the owner with a small tool and a working key; the locksmith checks whether one has been reset correctly and whether it accepts the new key. Where a smart lock is being kept, codes are reviewed at the same time so a departed keyholder's code goes the way of their key.
- 2
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.
- 3
Looking after a freshly pinned cylinder
A cylinder that has just been rekeyed turns as smoothly as it ever will, and a little care keeps it that way. Once or twice a year, a puff of whatever lubricant the cylinder maker specifies into the keyway and a few turns of the key is all it needs, since some current cylinders use oil while too much graphite can itself gum a cylinder. When you need more copies, cut them from one of the locksmith's originals rather than from a copy, because each generation drifts a little from the true depths. A key that starts to need a jiggle is the cylinder asking for a clean and a new key, not a sign of anything serious.
In the van
- Key tags and keying record
- Code cutter or key duplicator
- Key blanks
- Replacement cylinder for odd keyways
- Graded bottom pin kit
What affects the quote
- 1
Number of keys cut
Keys are cut and tested individually, so the total depends on how many the household or the tenants need. Say the number when you book and the quote reflects it from the start.
- 2
Restricted or high-security cylinders
Patented keyways use controlled blanks and pins that cost more than standard ones, and their keys are produced from a controlled record instead of being copied, so a system of that kind is quoted differently from builder-grade hardware.
- 3
Interior doors added to the plan
Bedroom, office or storage-room locks brought onto a key are lighter work than exterior deadbolts, but each is still a cylinder to pin and test, and the count includes them.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Lock Rekeying: questions
Can the entry door of my condo suite be rekeyed?
Often, but check with your property management first. Condominium corporations have a right to enter a unit on reasonable notice, and without notice in an emergency, and many buildings ask that suite doors stay on a system the corporation can open or that a key be lodged with management. Lobby, garage and locker-room doors belong to the corporation and are theirs to manage. A locksmith will ask about your building's rule and work within it.
How many new keys will I get, and can I get more later?
As many as you ask for, cut on site from the fresh pinning and tested in each door they should open; two or three is typical for a household. More can be cut later. When you do, bring one of the locksmith's originals to be copied rather than a copy of a copy, since every generation strays slightly from the intended depths. If any key is a restricted type, additional copies come from the record kept for that system rather than from a hardware store.
Can a smart lock or keypad deadbolt be rekeyed?
The mechanical part of it can. Many keypad or app-controlled deadbolts hide a small keyed cylinder under a cap for the day the batteries fail, and that cylinder can be pinned to your house key so the backup key on your ring is the same one that opens the other doors; some models are key-free and rely on an external battery backup instead. Codes are a separate matter: the locksmith will suggest deleting any code belonging to someone who no longer needs access at the same time.
York, Ontario
Georgina information
- Town
- Georgina, York, Ontario
- In business
- 16 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 803-2818
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
43%
Homes of every age. About 43% of homes in Georgina were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Where housing is mixed, doors that have been replaced sit beside doors that never were. A new door in an old frame, or an old door in a repaired frame, needs its strike and hinges checked together so the whole assembly works as one.
83%
Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 83% of homes in Georgina (2021 Census).
Garage entry doors on detached houses are often the household's real front door, used more than the formal entry. They deserve the same quality of lock, and keying them alike with the house means one key does the whole daily routine.
Nearby
Open 24/7
Request a visit
Every copy of your house key seems to work a little differently.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 803-2818- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 16 years in business