Change or rekey · Cannington
Lock Rekeying in Cannington
Three months of renovation are finally done.
In plain words
Rekeying is a change made inside the lock rather than to the lock itself. Many keyed cylinders hold a row of small pins that have to sit at exactly the right heights before the plug will turn, set by the cuts on your key, though some residential cylinders use a side-locking bar instead of pins. A locksmith slides the plug out, removes the pins, and loads a new set matched to a freshly cut key. Reassembled, the lock looks and feels exactly as it did, except that the new key turns it and every key cut before today does not. Your hardware, finish and door stay as they were.
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.
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.
Reassembly and the shear-line test
On a pin-tumbler cylinder, the plug goes back into the housing with the new key in it, pushing the follower out ahead of it, and the cam or tailpiece is refitted with its retainer. Before the cylinder goes anywhere near the door, the locksmith turns the new key and checks that the plug rotates freely with no catch, then removes the key and confirms the plug is locked solid. A pin a fraction too long or too short shows up here as a rough turn and is corrected on the bench. Only a cylinder that passes goes back into its lock, where it is tested again with the door open and then closed.
Knowing when to rekey again
Rekeying is not a once-in-a-lifetime event; it is a habit tied to changes in who holds keys. The moments to think about it are the same ones that brought you here: a move, a tenant or roommate change, a key lost with anything identifying the address, a contractor who has finished, or a relationship that has ended. Between those events there is nothing to schedule. Because the house is now on a known system with a record, a later rekey is a shorter visit, and any new lock you add along the way can be pinned to the existing key so the household never drifts back to a ring full of mismatched keys.
Lock Rekeying
In the van
Key tags and keying record
Pinning tweezers and tray
Cylinder shim
Graded bottom pin kit
Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
Lock Rekeying
What affects the quote
Upgrades chosen during the visit
Some people take the opportunity to replace a double-cylinder deadbolt with a thumb-turn model, add a reinforced strike or move to a heavier deadbolt. None of it is needed to rekey; each is a separate line.
How many cylinders are included
Each cylinder is removed, pinned and tested on its own, so a single deadbolt and a house with six exterior locks plus a shed and a gate are very different visits, and the quote follows the count.
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.
What to have ready
- Do you know the age of the locks or whether any is a restricted type?
- Are any of the locks keypad or smart locks with a backup key?
- Which doors do you want rekeyed, and have you counted the door from the garage?
Lock Rekeying: questions
QuestionsI am a landlord. Should I rekey between tenants?
Many landlords do, and it removes the question of whether every copy came back. The locksmith rekeys the unit's cylinders so the incoming tenant holds the only working keys, cuts the copies you want, and notes the count for your move-in record. Because provincial tenancy rules expect the tenant to be handed replacement keys whenever a landlord changes a lock, the visit ends with keys for both of you and a clear list of which doors were done.
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.
Can I keep one door on a different key from the rest?
Yes, and it is common. A basement suite or in-law apartment often gets its own key so the tenant's key opens their door and nothing else, while your key opens the main house. A home office, a storage room or a shed can be kept separate for the same reason. The locksmith sets up the groups you want, pins each accordingly and tags the keys so the separate one is not mixed into the household set.
Related services
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeThe lever on the side door droops toward the floor and rattles in your hand.
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceThe old skeleton key still fits the keyhole, but it now needs a jiggle, a lean on the door and a little luck before the bolt moves.
- Smart Lock InstallationThe kids get home before you do and the spare key has been lost twice this school year.