Tag Archives: lock

What Is Rekeying? Is It Expensive?




lock-rekeying-If you move into a new house, or rent a new commercial space or an apartment, change cleaning companies, or fire an employee, you may find yourself thinking about changing your locks. Even if you get back the keys from previous occupants, owners, contractors or employees, they do have had the opportunity to duplicate all your keys. So you don’t have a way to know how many duplicate keys have been made, or who all have them. In almost any situation where you feel lock needs to be replaced, a local locksmith can easily rekey your locks at a fraction of cost and time it would take to choose new locks and replace them. There’s no need to replace the entire lock for protecting your cash, files and property. We had a little help from the Arvada Locksmith Pros in the editing of this article as well.

lock and key doing rekeyUnless your existing locks are flimsy or have been irreparably damaged, both rekeying or replacing locks offer the same degree of security. Rekeyng offers many advantages. First, there no need to install new hardware as it uses the existing one, so the process is cheap. Secondly, rekeying is much faster than installing new locks. A trained locksmith can easily rekey the locks of entire house or building within few hours. What’s more, many businesses and homeowners end up buying locksets that aren’t simply made for their type/style of doors. In such cases, both your jamb and door will need to be retrofitted in order for new lock system to be properly fitted. And if you have to purchase a lock that matches other hardware in color, finish and style, it can be very difficult to find an ideal match. Where match is necessary, some homeowners find themselves buying the complete set of hardware which increases the cost manifold.

What Is The ReKeying Process?

In rekeying process, the locksmith changes the tumblers of the lock cylinder with new tumblers of varying sizes. Once you rekey lock, you can throw away old key as it will no longer be ale to open the lock. The lock will require new key that perfectly coincides with the new lock tumblers. Local locksmiths can easily rekey locks at significantly lower cost than full replacement of locking mechanism. If the lock has ANSI (Grade-1 designation) then there’s no need to replace the entire lock.

rekey processIn addition to rekeying locks to ensure safety, some homeowners also rekey their locks for convenience. An easy way to reduce weight of many keys and confusion is to have all your exterior or interior locks rekeyed to use just one key. A locksmith can easily rekey unlimited number of locks in your house to work seamlessly with the same key. For rental property owners, such as condominium associations and apartment buildings, it’s often necessary to have one master key to open multiple locks. These locks will also have one key that will only open the tenant’s locks. Locksmiths can easily perform master rekeying to almost any configuration to meter the requirements of businesses, property owners and home owners.

The decision to replace or rekey your locks may come down to the expense. In fact, in some states you’re required to rekey your old locks between tenants if you an owner a rental property.




SmartKey Re-key Technology – Locks You Can Rekey Yourself!




A new technology that has emerged in locks and security for the past few years have been the advancement of SmartKey Re-key technologies to help people rekey their locks. This can be especially helpful for homeowners that rent out rooms or guesthouses like on sites like AirBnb or Craigslist.

We found out about how popular these locks where getting from www.247brooklynlocksmith.net, a popular locksmith service in Brooklyn NYC.

We think these rekey-able locks are great for some applications, but if you need a more high security lock they probably won’t work. For most homes they could be an excellent addition though! Check out the videos below for a more visual demonstration about how they work!

Reviews of the Smartkey by Schlage:

When I decided to replace my entry lock to a combination capable deadbolt as well as conventional key, I had at least two brands to pick from. I primarily chose Kwikset because of the built in motor that activates closure of the deadbolt after I’m inside (after about 20-30 seconds), in case I might forget to manually lock the door. During the decision process, I noticed that the product I was considering, also incorporated a concept called SMART KEY, but dismissed the feature as an extra that I probably would never use. About a year later, I misplaced my keys OR LOST THEM, and was concerned about someone finding them and having access to my home.

I reinvestigated the SMART KEY feature key, and then contacted Kwikset tech support to confirm my understanding that I could re-key my lock using their SMART KEY kit….i.e., the kit, which could be ordered from AMAZON, would contain a replacement key. When I received the kit, it did include a new key plus several duplicates of the new key, together with easily understood instructions on re-keying the lock myself. IMPORTANT!!!! Although I had lost my keys, I did have a duplicate of the old key AND THAT DUPLICATE OF THE ORIGINAL KEY WAS NEEDED during the re-keying process. A slick concept, and if ever needed, a money saver for the home owner.

4 keys is perfect, If the tenant wants more keys, they can go make them, I only ever give the tenants two keys anyway. I’ve always made 4 keys, two for me, two for the tenant.

Before I’ve just told the locksmith to grab some old quickset from his dead pile and duplicate it, but this is just about the same cost as having the locksmith cut 4 keys anyway, plus the bonus of two more.

Here is a model made by Baldwin, another top security brand.




What Does It Mean To Re-key A Lock?




Key in LockChances are that you may have heard people talk about changing all the locks in a building many times. In most cases they may not have been aware of the option of re-keying the locks or may have been under the impression that re-keying will not fully protect them from those who may still be able to gain access using the old keys.

Actually re-keying is enough and one does not need to incur the much higher expense of changing the entire hardware and installing new locks. It is an unnecessary expense when re-keying is possible.

Resource: www.chandlerlocksmithpros.net

So what exactly is re-keying? What does it mean to re-key a lock?

Simply put this is the process of altering or making adjustments to a lock so that it stops using the old key and starts using a new designated key. It is a very simple procedure that will take an experienced locksmith only a few minutes to complete but it is as good as changing the lock because old keys will no longer work.

 

rekeyThe way it is done is that the interior chamber of a lock usually has a series of upper and lower pins. All the key does is to push this pins into alignment and the door opens. Now what the locksmith does when re-keying is to replace the lower pins in the chamber so that the ridges fit into the new key when it is inserted into the key hole. Thus only the new key will open and the old key will now be useless.

This process also means that countless number of locks can be adjusted (re-keyed) in exactly the same way so that they all use the same key. In this case one master key will open all the locks.

Re-keying is the best option and beats changing locks because the former costs only a fraction of what it would take to remove and replace entire locks.

Another Great Article On Rekeying:How To Rekey A Door Lock




Why Re-key Your Home?




A lot of people do not realize how important it is to re-key your new home. Also, re-keying your house from time to time is also a great idea for security reasons. You can easily re-key your entire home with the help of a locksmith like the Denver Locksmith Pros who helped us with the info for this article. If you are not convinced that re-keying your home is that important, then below are a few reasons why you should do it:

hand-putting-key-in-lock-blk-white

Security
Miniature House With Lock and ChainAsk any locksmith after a burglary, and he/she will tell you that you will be surprised how many homes are being burglarized with no signs of forced entry. In cases like these, it highly possible that the burglar used old keys that still work on your old locks and doors. Re-keying your home so that old keys would not work on your locks and doors is one of the primary reasons why you should hire a locksmith to re-keys the locks for you.

Insurance Requirements
insurance-papers filesAside from giving your new house a fresh set of keys, nowadays, most insurance companies already requiring that if you have a new house then you must re-key the locks before you can avail full insurance coverage on your property and the contents within it.

Convenience
It is possible to re-key multiple locks and doors to a single key and by doing so it will be more convenient for you and avoid confusing situations. Having a single key is also advantageous for property owners, such as corporate organizations, joint property owners and rental property owners, to better manage and secure their properties. With one master key, you should be open multiple lock and doors within the same property. With the help of a locksmith, you can also customize to which doors and locks will a master key opens.

Re-keying is crucial for new renters or property owners as it will offer many advantages such as increasing security, insurance requirements and convenience. If you are a new renter or bought a new property, then it is best that you consult the services of a local locksmith.


Kwikset Smartkey Vulnerable to Lock Picking?




Kwikset is an American based company that makes a slew of security products. They are one of the top lock companies in the world and make a lot of great products. As with every company, they do have some products that are lackluster in their quality. I have seen many complaints from users of the Smartkey Kwikset locks (mainly locksmiths) that have problems with the security level of the key.

The locks where designed to make the process of re-keying your own locks a cinche, and the lock is designed to be able to be rekeyed by any user quickly and effectively. Here is the page on their website: http://www.kwikset.com/SmartSecurity/Re-Key-Technology/Re-Key-Technology-Smart-Challenge.aspx

Something to think about if you are thinking about installing these locks on your home exterior locks!

Here is another article on Wired.com that goes into more detail about the problems with the locks: http://www.wired.com/2013/08/kwikset-smarkey-lock-vulns/

Watch as Mr Locksmith unlocks this lock in under 10 seconds.

Here is an instructional video about rekeying the Smartkey lock

Thanks for reading: If you need help from a professional locksmith to re-key your home door locks in Bellevue WA, we recommend this site: www.bellevuelocksmiths.net


3 Reasons to Re-key Your Door Locks




Key Inside LockHomeowners have to take into account many things, and one of them is home security. Here is a list of times when it will be very important to re-key your locks for the safety of your family and home.

Reasons to have your locks re-keyed by a professional locksmith.

Get More Info On Re-Keying Locks From ahwatukeelocksmith.net today!

#1 When You Lose Your Keys

lost house keysLosing your keys is a hassle, and it always sucks to have to think about the sinister side of lost keys, but it is necessary for good home security. You can’t assume that your keys fell into good hands, so its a great idea to either hire a locksmith to perform the service.

#2 After A Burglary

home burglarWhen your security is breached and someone enters your home in an unwanted fashion, it’s a good time to have your security looked over in the first place. To make sure you know your keys and locks are secure, have them re-keyed!

#3 When You Move In To A New Home

movng into a new homeMoving is the time where it is very paramount to make sure your door locks get re-keyed. In almost every situation with rental or new homes, there will be keys available that you don’t own. This is the very reason that a re-key procedure exists in the first place. Sleep sound knowing that you have the only keys that can access your new home!

 

 

 




How to Rekey a Kwikset Door Lock




Here is a great video from Kwikset about how to re-key their brand of door locks, it is very detailed and should provide a good start for you if you want to re-key your home door locks.
Things you will need to follow along:

  • Kwikset Door Locks
  • Kwikset rekeying kit

How did it go for you? Let us know in the comments!