Change or rekey · Ryckmans
Lock Rekeying in Ryckmans
Your roommate moved out last weekend.
In 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 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.
Sliding the plug and changing the pins
With the cylinder in hand, the locksmith removes the cam or tailpiece from the back, inserts the existing key and turns the plug slightly so the top pins clear, then pushes a plug follower in behind the plug as it slides out. The follower holds the top pins and springs in the housing so nothing springs loose. The plug now sits on the bench with its row of bottom pins exposed, and those pins are tipped out. This is the heart of rekeying a pin-tumbler cylinder: the pins that decided which key worked are gone, and the plug is ready to receive a set that matches a key nobody has ever carried.
Living with one key for the house
If the visit brought your doors onto a single key, daily life gets a little simpler: one key opens the front door, the back, the garage's side entry and the shed, and the ring in your pocket shrinks to the car key and one for the house. Anyone you give a key to gets the same freedom, which is convenient for family and worth thinking about for anyone who should only reach one door; that is what a separate group is for. Keypads and smart locks keep their codes, and their override cylinder now takes the same key. If you add a door later, its cylinder can be pinned to match.
Lock Rekeying
In the van
Graded bottom pin kit
Key gauge
Key blanks
Plug follower
Code cutter or key duplicator
Lock Rekeying
What affects the quote
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.
Restricted 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.
Type of lock on each door
A standard deadbolt, a knob or lever set, a mortise lock in an older door, a padlock and a smart lock's override cylinder each come apart differently and take different time on the bench.
What to have ready
- How many new keys will your household or your tenants need?
- Would you like every door on one key, or should some doors stay separate?
- Do you have a working key for every lock, or is there a door with no key at all?
Lock Rekeying: questions
QuestionsWill I need to prove I own or rent the home?
Yes, and it is a welcome part of the job. Rekeying decides who can enter, so the locksmith confirms the person asking has the standing to make that decision. For an owner that means photo identification alongside a document that links them to the property, for instance a property tax notice or the closing statement. A manager brings the owner's written authorization. A tenant mentions that the landlord has agreed and will be given a key, since tenancy rules here expect both to hold one.
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 happens to my old keys?
They become ordinary pieces of brass. Once the cylinders are pinned to the new combination, the old keys turn nothing on your property, so there is no security reason to keep or hide them. Hand them to the locksmith for disposal or drop them in the metal recycling. If a former roommate or contractor still has one, it no longer matters, which is the whole reason for the visit. Keep only the new set, counted and tagged.
Related services
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeThe house is fifteen years old and every exterior door still wears the light hardware the builder fitted: a short bolt, a thin strike held by two small screws, and a knob lock that never suited a street entrance.
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceSomeone painted the door years ago without removing the hardware.
- Smart Lock InstallationYou have just taken possession of the house and the previous owners handed over a keypad deadbolt with a code nobody wrote down and an app account you cannot get into.