Commercial · Kawartha Lakes
Commercial Rekeying
Two people left over the summer and the keys they handed back came up one short. Nobody is sure whether the missing key was for the front door, the stockroom or both, and the sign-out sheet stopped being filled in a year ago.
Call now · open 24/7(249) 488-0915In plain words
Changing the locks answers today's question; key control keeps it answered. During a commercial rekey the new keys are stamped with a serial code rather than the business name or address, so a dropped key tells its finder nothing. Each key is logged against the person who receives it, and the old keys are collected and cut up on the spot. For premises that want copies kept out of hardware stores, the cylinders can be set up on a restricted keyway, with blanks released only against a signed authorization. What you end up with is a set of locks whose keys you can account for years later.
How the visit goesA break-in overnight took the cash float and a staff member's bag with her work keys inside it. The glass is being replaced this morning, but the key that opened the door yesterday will still open it tonight unless the cylinders are changed.
Commercial Rekeying · Kawartha Lakes
How the visit goes
- 1
Who needs to open what
The keying plan is a picture of how the business runs, so the assessment asks who goes through which door on a normal day. Front-line staff need the customer entrance and perhaps the stockroom; supervisors add the office; the owner and the bookkeeper hold the cash room; the IT contractor reaches the server closet and nothing else. Out of that conversation come the key groups: doors keyed alike so one key covers a role, doors keyed differently where separation matters, and whether a master for the owner earns its place. The plan also names anything left out on purpose, so the chart shows both what changes and what stays.
- 2
Cutting and marking the new keys
Keys are cut to the new combinations on a code machine rather than traced from another key, so every copy is exact and the tenth key fits as cleanly as the first. Each key is stamped with a short code that means something only on the keying chart; the business name, the address and the word for the door it opens stay off the metal, so a lost key gives nothing away. Keys are counted out by group, tagged, and listed against the names of the people who will carry them. Where the plan uses a restricted keyway, the blanks are drawn against the authorization letter, and that letter is filed with the chart for future orders.
- 3
Storefront hardware ready for the salt
Cylinders on a street-facing door live a hard life: slush, salt spray from the sidewalk plough and a dozen freeze-thaw swings a winter. Each cylinder handled during the rekey is cleaned and dressed with the lubricant approved for that model, a dry graphite, PTFE or specified liquid lubricant applied sparingly, since too much graphite can gum a cylinder just as oil traps grit. Keep it that way with a puff of the same lubricant each autumn and a wipe of the key before it goes in on a slushy morning. A set screw snugged, a cam aligned and a bolt that throws fully are part of the handover, so the rekeyed door also locks more cleanly than it did before.
In the van
- Key stamp set and tags
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
- Standard and restricted key blanks
- Interchangeable cores and control key
- Mortise cylinder set screws and cams
What affects the quote
- 1
Upgrades chosen on the day
Some businesses use the visit to move to interchangeable cores, add a lockbox for the alarm company or fit a heavier cylinder on the cash room. Each is a separate line you can accept or leave.
- 2
Distance to the premises
Travel to the site is part of the call-out, and a unit in a downtown plaza and one at the end of a rural industrial road are different trips.
- 3
Number of cylinders
The count of openings drives the quote more than anything else: each cylinder is removed, repinned, refitted and tested individually, so a three-door shop and a twelve-office suite are very different jobs.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Commercial Rekeying: questions
Can padlocks, cabinets and the mailbox go on the plan too?
Yes. Gate, cage and shutter padlocks that accept repinning can share the back-door key, and the locks on filing cabinets, drawers and display cases can be grouped so the people who work at them carry a single key while the manager holds a separate one. Mailbox cylinders are small and are usually swapped for new rather than repinned. Everything is entered on the chart, so one document covers the whole premises.
Can all our doors be put on a single key?
Yes, if the cylinders share a keyway or can be fitted with ones that do. Keying everything alike is popular with small shops because staff carry one key and spares are simple. The trade-off is that one key then opens the cash room as readily as the front door. Many businesses choose a middle path: the doors everyone uses on one key, the sensitive rooms on another, and an owner's master that opens both.
What information should I have ready before the locksmith arrives?
A list of the doors and other locks you want included, a copy of the lease or the property manager's contact, every existing key you can find, and a rough idea of who needs to open what. Note which doors, if any, are interchangeable cores and where the control key is. Knowing your quiet hours and who opens up in the morning helps the locksmith plan the order of work and the key handover.
Commercial Rekeying near you
Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
Kawartha Lakes information
- Town
- Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
- In business
- 32 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (249) 488-0915
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
56%
Older homes. About 56% of homes in Kawartha Lakes were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Where housing is mostly older, many entries still have only a knob lock and no deadbolt at all. Adding one is a straightforward job on a solid wood door, and it is the single upgrade that changes most for a house of this kind.
84%
Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 84% of homes in Kawartha Lakes (2021 Census).
Homeowners in houses often want a spare key that lives outside safely. A locksmith can fit a proper key safe or set up a keypad so a hidden key under a pot is no longer part of the plan.
Nearby
Open 24/7
Request a visit
Two people left over the summer and the keys they handed back came up one short.
Call now · open 24/7(249) 488-0915- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 32 years in business