Change or rekey · Zephyr
Lock Rekeying in Zephyr
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.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 212-7829In plain words
A rekeying visit follows a straightforward order. First the locksmith confirms you are entitled to change the locks, which for an owner is identification and for a tenant includes the landlord's agreement. Next comes a walk around the house to list every door to include, read the keyway on each cylinder and check its condition. The cylinders come out one at a time, are pinned to the new key and go back in. Every door is then tested with the new key and with the old one, spares are cut and tried in each lock, and you receive a note of what was done.
How the visit goesThe whole key ring went missing somewhere between the grocery store and the bus. You got back in with the spare, but a set of keys is out there, and you would sleep better knowing they open nothing.
Lock Rekeying · Zephyr
How the visit goes
- 1
Counting the keys that are already out there
Part of planning a rekey is understanding why it is happening. The locksmith asks how many keys exist as far as you know, who has held one, and whether any went missing with something identifying the address. The answers do not change the pinning, but they shape the advice: whether a padlock or mailbox shares the same risk, whether a garage keypad code should change on the same visit, and how many new keys make sense to cut. It also helps to know whether any key is a restricted or patented type, since those are cut from a record rather than duplicated and may involve the original supplier.
- 2
Cutting the new key and gauging the depths
On this cylinder type, the new key comes first, then the pins to match it. The locksmith cuts a fresh key from a blank on a code cutter or duplicator, choosing a combination that is not close to the old one, and reads each cut with a key gauge to find its depth on the manufacturer's scale. Bottom pins of the matching lengths are picked from a graded pin kit and dropped into the plug chamber by chamber, so that when the new key is inserted every pin top sits exactly at the shear line. A key cut from a clean blank and pins matched to it by gauge is what gives a rekeyed lock that crisp, new feel.
- 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
- Reset tool for user-rekeyable cylinders
- Pinning tweezers and tray
- Cylinder shim
- Replacement cylinder for odd keyways
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
What affects the quote
- 1
Condition 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
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.
- 3
Access to each door being rekeyed
A rekeying visit goes smoothly when every door is reachable without delay: an empty unit, a cleared hallway, or someone available to let the locksmith into each room. Locked common areas, tenants who are out, or furniture blocking a cylinder all add time the locksmith accounts for on site.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Lock Rekeying: questions
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.
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.
My house is older and has a mortise lock. Can that be rekeyed?
Yes. A mortise lock, the kind with a large case set into the edge of the door, uses a threaded cylinder held by a set screw reached from the door's edge. The cylinder unthreads, is pinned like any other and screws back in. Where a very old lock uses a bit key or a lever mechanism instead of a pin cylinder, the locksmith will explain the options, which may include fitting a modern cylinder into the existing case so the door keeps its original hardware.
Durham, Ontario
Zephyr information
- Town
- Zephyr, Durham, Ontario
- In business
- 13 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 212-7829
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
42%
Homes of every age. About 42% of homes in Uxbridge were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
In neighbourhoods with a mix of older and newer homes, the finishes on the doors vary widely: aged brass, satin nickel, matte black. A locksmith serving such an area keeps a range of finishes so replacement hardware suits each house.
81%
Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 81% of homes in Uxbridge (2021 Census).
Where homes are mostly detached, patio and sliding doors deserve attention alongside the hinged ones. Auxiliary locks, pin locks and better latches for sliders are routine additions that a locksmith brings on the same visit as the front door work.
Open 24/7
Request a visit
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.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 212-7829- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 13 years in business