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Wasaga BeachLock Services · Ossossane BeachOpen 24/7(249) 492-2389Request a visit
Two detached brass lock cylinders and four house keys on a wooden counter. — Lock Rekeying, Ossossane Beach

Change or rekey · Ossossane Beach

Lock Rekeying in Ossossane Beach

The previous owners left a coffee tin of keys on the counter, some labelled, most not. The house is yours now, but you have no idea how many copies were cut over the years or who still has one in a drawer somewhere.

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Lock Rekeying

In plain words

Moving into a home is the moment most people first hear about rekeying, and it is the most sensible time to do it. A resale house has usually passed through owners, real estate agents, home inspectors, cleaners and trades, each of whom may have held a key at some point. Rekeying every exterior cylinder on move-in day means the only keys that work are the ones cut for you, and the same visit is a chance to put every door on one key so the coffee tin of mystery keys can go in the recycling.

Sound familiar?

Three months of renovation are finally done. The kitchen looks wonderful, and along the way a general contractor, a tile installer, a plumber and an electrician each carried a key to your front door at one point or another.

How the visit goes

Ossossane Beach

How the visit goes

  1. Deciding the key groups

    Not every door in a home needs to answer to the same key, and the plan is written down before work starts. Most households want the exterior doors keyed alike so one key does everything. Some want exceptions: a basement suite on its own key, a home office or a storage room that visitors should not enter, a shed on a separate key that can be lent out without exposing the house. The locksmith sketches the groups with you, notes how many keys each group needs and who will hold them, and only then begins removing cylinders. Getting this straight first means no cylinder is pinned twice.

  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.

Lock Rekeying

In the van

  • Cylinder shim
  • Graded bottom pin kit
  • Code cutter or key duplicator
  • Retaining clip tool
  • Replacement cylinder for odd keyways

What affects the quote

Same fees day, night or weekend

  1. 1Restricted 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.

  2. 2Smart 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.

  3. 3How many cylinders are included

    Each cylinder is removed, pinned and tested on its own, so a single deadbolt and a house with six exterior locks plus a shed and a gate are very different visits, and the quote follows the count.

What to have ready

0 of 3 ready

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Lock Rekeying: questions

Will my door hardware look any different afterwards?

No. The work happens inside the cylinder, so the bolt, handle, finish and strike plate stay exactly as they are, and nothing new is cut into the door. The only visible change is the key in your hand. If a cylinder does have to be replaced, because its keyway is incompatible with the others or it has worn out, the locksmith picks one in a matching finish so the door keeps a consistent look.

Should I rekey when I move into a new home?

It is the single most common reason to rekey, and a sensible one. A resale home has typically passed through owners, agents, inspectors, cleaners and trades, any of whom may have had a key cut. A newly built home has been opened by construction crews using a builder's key. Rekeying on move-in means the only working keys are yours, and the same visit can bring every exterior door onto a single key, retiring the assorted keys you inherited.

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.

Change or Rekey Locks

Close view of a satin-nickel deadbolt thumbturn and edge faceplate on a painted timber door. — Deadbolt Installation, Ossossane Beach
Deadbolt InstallationThe front door has a handsome lever and a keyed knob, and that is all.

Lock Rekeying near you

A door in Ossossane Beach has more parts than most people think: the cylinder, the latch, the deadbolt, the strike, the closer, the hinges and the frame around them all. The services listed here touch every one of those parts, from a straightforward rekey to a full storefront hardware overhaul.

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