Change or rekey · Pickering
Lock Replacement & Upgrade
The brass handleset has gone blotchy and green where the winter salt reaches it, and the coating on the deadbolt is lifting in flakes. It still locks, but it looks tired beside the fresh paint on the door.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 275-9650In plain words
Moving into a home is the classic moment for this service, because you inherit whatever hardware and whatever key copies the previous owners left behind. The locksmith walks every exterior door with you and sorts the locks into three piles: sound hardware worth keeping and rekeying, worn hardware worth replacing, and doors with no deadbolt at all. Everything that stays is pinned to one new key, new locks are keyed to match, and old copies floating around town stop mattering. You leave the visit knowing exactly which key opens which door and how many of them exist.
How the visit goesEvery morning the front door key needs the same little dance: push in, lift, wiggle, turn. It has been getting worse for a year, and this week it took three tries in the cold before the deadbolt finally gave.
Lock Replacement & Upgrade · Pickering
How the visit goes
- 1
Who is asking for the change
The first check is about the person, not the door. An owner can change any lock on their home. A tenant who wants new hardware on the unit door needs the landlord's agreement, and a landlord who changes a lock while a tenant lives there hands over new keys. The locksmith asks which situation applies and, where paperwork helps, looks at identification, a deed, a lease or a property-management note. It takes a minute and it means the new lock goes on with everyone who has a stake in the door knowing about it, which is exactly how a lock should start its working life.
- 2
Setting and reinforcing the strike
The strike side is where a replacement earns most of its value. With the door closed, the bolt is thrown and its mark checked against the pocket so the strike can be positioned to accept the full throw without rubbing. A shallow pocket is deepened until the bolt seats to its stop. Then a reinforced strike or a strike box is fitted using 75 millimetre screws that pass through the jamb and bite into the framing behind it, which is what stops a jamb splitting under a kick. Where an old forced entry has cracked the wood, it is glued and dowelled or a repair plate is fitted first.
- 3
A clear plan for the remaining doors
Most households do not replace every lock in one visit, and you leave with a short list of what is left, in order of importance. Typically the front door and the garage-to-house door come first, then the back and side doors, then the patio slider and interior sets. Because the key plan has been settled, any lock added later can be pinned to the same key, so the house stays on one key as the work continues. Finishes and styles are recorded so future hardware matches. The first visit sets the standard; the rest of the house can follow when it suits you.
In the van
- Cylinders, plug follower and pinning kit
- Knob or lever entry set
- Reinforced strike plate and strike box
- Key blanks and key cutter
- Boring jig and hole saws
What affects the quote
- 1
Changes to the door preparation
Adjusting a strike mortise is minor; boring a new hole for a deadbolt, fitting a filler plate over an old mortise pocket or adapting a thick door with extension kits is quoted as its own item.
- 2
Door material and thickness
Wood, steel and fibreglass doors are drilled and fitted differently, and a door thicker than the standard 45 millimetres needs extension parts, so the door itself shapes part of the quote.
- 3
Finish and style
Standard satin nickel or brass is one line; specialty finishes, matched suites across several doors and designer handlesets are others. The finish you choose for exposure and looks is priced as the maker prices it.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Lock Replacement & Upgrade: questions
Will a new lock fit the holes already in my door?
Usually, yes. Most residential doors are prepared to standard sizes, a 54 millimetre cross bore and a backset of 60 or 70 millimetres, and most modern hardware adjusts between those backsets. The locksmith measures before choosing, so the new lock is matched to the door rather than the other way around. Where an older mortise lock or an unusual bore is found, filler plates, extension kits or a carefully jigged new bore bring the door to standard.
My old house has a mortise lock. Can it take modern hardware?
Often the original case can be kept and given a new cylinder and strike, which keeps the period look and the old door intact. Where the case is beyond service, a filler or conversion plate covers the mortise pocket and lets a cylindrical deadbolt or knob set be fitted without cutting into the door's stile. The locksmith looks at the door before recommending either path, since old doors vary a great deal.
Should I rekey my locks or replace them?
Rekey when the hardware is sound and the problem is the key: a lost copy, a move, or too many keys for one house. Replace when the mechanism itself is worn, the housing or bolt is damaged, the grade was never suitable for the entrance, or you want a different function, finish or a keypad. Many visits do both, keeping good locks and rekeying them while replacing the tired ones, all to one key.
Lock Replacement & Upgrade near you
Durham, Ontario
Pickering information
- Town
- Pickering, Durham, Ontario
- In business
- 11 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 275-9650
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
31%
Newer homes. About 31% of homes in Pickering were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
In areas of recent construction, doors mostly carry builder-grade locks that were chosen for the whole development at once. They work, but a household that wants more can upgrade the cylinder or the whole set without any surprises about fit.
60%
A mix of homes. Single-detached houses make up about 60% of homes in Pickering (2021 Census).
In an area with both houses and attached homes, the work varies by the door. A detached house wants all its exterior doors on one key; a suite door wants a cylinder that suits a metal frame and respects building rules. A locksmith carries parts for both.
Open 24/7
Request a visit
The brass handleset has gone blotchy and green where the winter salt reaches it, and the coating on the deadbolt is lifting in flakes.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 275-9650- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 11 years in business