Change or rekey · Oakwood
Lock Rekeying in Oakwood
The whole key ring went missing somewhere between the grocery store and the bus.
In plain words
One key for the whole house is a common request and usually achievable. Cylinders that share the same keyway, the shaped channel the key slides into, can all be pinned to the same new combination, so the front door, back door and garage entry answer to a single key. Where a door carries a lock from a different family with its own keyway, that cylinder is swapped for a matching one rather than repinned, and then it joins the group. The locksmith checks each lock face before the work begins so you know exactly which doors will share the key.
How the visit goesEvery 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. The lock itself is fine; the keys have drifted so far from each other that none fits cleanly.
Inside the lock
What a rekey changes
01
The lock you already have
02
Inside the cylinder
03
Pins, springs and the shear line
04
A new key, new pins
Lock Rekeying
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.
Resetting a user-rekeyable cylinder properly
Some residential deadbolts and handle sets are built so the owner can change the key with a small tool, a working key and the new key. They save a bench session, and they also go wrong in a particular way: without a working key of the correct type, or with a key from the wrong keyway, the reset stalls partway. The locksmith carries the reset tool and the reset procedure for these cylinders, confirms the keyway matches the new house key, and completes the change so the cylinder accepts the new key and rejects the old one. If the mechanism has been damaged by a forced reset, it is replaced with a standard cylinder and pinned to match.
Handing keys out with a little method
Rekeying gives you a clean start on who holds a key, and a few habits keep it clean. Give a key only to people who need one regularly, and know who they are. If a dog walker, a cleaner or a contractor needs access for a season, a lockbox with a code you can change afterwards is simpler than a key you have to ask for back. Tag spares with a colour or a number rather than the address. When a key does leave your control, a lost ring, a departing tenant, a relationship that has ended, that is the trigger to rekey again, and the next visit is simpler because the doors are already on one system.
Lock Rekeying
In the van
Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
Pinning tweezers and tray
Key gauge
Plug follower
Key blanks
Lock Rekeying
What affects the quote
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.
No 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.
Smart 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.
What to have ready
- Which doors do you want rekeyed, and have you counted the door from the garage?
- Do you own the home, rent it, or manage it for someone else?
- Do any locks feel stiff, loose or need a wiggle to turn?
Lock Rekeying: questions
QuestionsCan 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.
I rent. Can I have my locks rekeyed?
Yes, with your landlord's agreement, which is what the tenancy rules here expect before a tenant changes a lock. Most landlords are glad to consent when a key has gone missing or a former roommate has moved out, and the locksmith will want to hear that the landlord knows and will be holding one of the new keys. The rekey itself runs the same as for an owner, and a short note listing the doors done is handy to pass to the landlord.
What exactly does rekeying a lock change?
What changes depends on the cylinder. Many locks turn when a row of small bottom pins lines up at a precise level, set by the cuts on your key, and during a rekey the locksmith tips those pins out and loads a set that lines up with a different key, cut new for you; some residential cylinders instead reset a side-locking bar without removing any pins. From then on the new key operates the lock and older keys do not, and the hardware on the door stays as it was.
Related services
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeSomeone tried the back door while you were away.
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceThe brass knob on the front door of your century home turns, but nothing happens on the other side.
- Smart Lock InstallationHalf the evenings someone asks whether the back door got locked, and nobody is sure.