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

Change or rekey · Singhampton

Lock Rekeying in Singhampton

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.

Request a visit(249) 492-2389

Lock Rekeying

In 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.

Sound familiar?

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.

How the visit goes

Singhampton

How the visit goes

  1. Reading the keyway on each lock

    Whether several doors can share one key depends on the cylinders, not the number of doors. Each lock has a keyway, the profile a key must match to enter the plug, and only cylinders with the same keyway can be pinned to the same key. The locksmith looks at the face of each cylinder and the profile of each existing key to sort the house into families. Most homes carry one or two of the common residential keyways, sometimes with an odd one on a side door or a padlock. Anything from a different family is noted so you can decide whether to swap that cylinder for a matching one and bring the door onto the house key.

  2. Taking the cylinder out of the lock

    Each type of lock releases its cylinder in its own way, and the locksmith works door by door, finishing one before opening the next, so every entry stays lockable throughout. On a knob or lever set, the handle comes off after a retaining clip or set screw is released, and the cylinder slides out of the handle. On a deadbolt, the interior thumb-turn and housing are removed and the cylinder is withdrawn from the outside body. On an older mortise lock, a small set screw on the door edge is backed out and the cylinder unthreads from the case. Nothing is pried or forced; the door and trim stay untouched throughout.

  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. 1Condition of the existing cylinders

    A clean cylinder is repinned as it is. One with collapsed springs, a plug packed with old oil or a worn housing needs service or replacement while it is apart, and that shows separately.

  2. 2No working key for a door

    When a cylinder must be shimmed, decoded or picked open before it can be repinned because no key exists for it, that extra step is included in the quote for that door.

  3. 3Restricted 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.

What to have ready

0 of 3 ready

Call (249) 492-2389

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, Singhampton
Deadbolt InstallationThe front door has a handsome lever and a keyed knob, and that is all.

Lock Rekeying near you

These are the services we bring to doors across Singhampton. Residential work covers lockouts, rekeying, lock replacement, deadbolts, smart locks and older hardware brought back to life. Commercial work covers storefront doors, exit devices, closers, master keys and safes. Vehicle key cutting rounds out the list when it is needed.

Open 24/7 · call(249) 492-2389Request a visit