Change or rekey · The Delta
Lock Rekeying in The Delta
Your roommate moved out last weekend.
In plain words
Moving into a home is the moment most people first hear about rekeying, and it is the most sensible time to do it. A resale house has usually passed through owners, real estate agents, home inspectors, cleaners and trades, each of whom may have held a key at some point. Rekeying every exterior cylinder on move-in day means the only keys that work are the ones cut for you, and the same visit is a chance to put every door on one key so the coffee tin of mystery keys can go in the recycling.
How the visit goesYour roommate moved out last weekend. Rent is settled, the room is empty, and the key is still on their ring. You trust them, but the lock on your front door should answer to the people who actually live here.
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
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.
When a cylinder is swapped instead of repinned
Sometimes the right move for a particular door is a new cylinder rather than new pins, and the locksmith says so before doing it. A cylinder with a keyway that cannot join the household key is replaced with one that can. A plug that has worn oval, springs that have collapsed, or a cylinder someone has already drilled is replaced because fresh pins would not fix its feel. In each case the replacement is pinned to the same new key as the rest of the house, so the swap is invisible in daily use. The old cylinder is handed to you or taken away as you prefer.
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.
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
Records, tags and labelled key sets
A homeowner needs a short note. A property manager may want a keying chart, tagged sets for each suite and a key-issuance log, which is more office work and is quoted as such.
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.
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.
What to have ready
- Do you know the age of the locks or whether any is a restricted type?
- Has a key gone missing, or is one still held by someone who has moved on?
- 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.