Straight answers about locks

It depends entirely on where the key is. If it was inside the house the whole time, your locks are exactly as secure as they were yesterday and nothing needs changing. If the key was lost or stolen, rekeying is the sensible follow-up, because it retires that key for good while keeping your existing hardware. Lock manufacturers give a lost or stolen key as one of the main reasons to rekey, and doing it during the same visit saves a second call.

It can be. A cylinder that is worn, a strike plate that has shifted, or a latch that no longer seats squarely will all produce repeat lockouts even though the key looks fine. The locksmith checks the alignment of the door and frame, tests how smoothly the latch throws, and looks at wear inside the cylinder before simply letting you back in. If the hardware is the cause, fixing that during the same visit is usually quicker than calling again next month.

It helps if there is one. A crisp spare is the ideal pattern for the replacement, better than the broken halves and far better than a worn copy. It also lets the locksmith test the cylinder the moment the fragment is out, which shows whether the pins and springs are sound. If the spare is itself bent or worn, mention that too; it is a candidate for retirement rather than a pattern.

Whether the police have been called and any occurrence number; whether everyone is safe and the property is empty of intruders; which opening was forced and whether it closes at all; whether the damage is to the lock, the frame, the door or the glass; whether keys, remotes or codes were taken; whether you own, rent or manage the property; and whether there is glass beside the door. Photos on your phone help the locksmith bring the right hardware.

Occasionally, but wear and weather are far more common. Signs that point to tampering are fresh scratches around the keyway, a plug that sits crooked, or debris such as glue or a broken tool tip inside, none of which appear from ordinary use. The locksmith looks for these during the inspection and says plainly what was found. If the cylinder has been damaged that way, it is replaced and, if you wish, the other doors are rekeyed.

A restricted keyway uses a controlled key profile whose blanks are supplied only through an authorised channel; the credential required, a letter, a registered account, a dealer agreement or a key card, depends on the system. Rekeying such a cylinder is routine work with the right pin kit. For a household that has just lost a key and wants the next one to be truly countable, it is a sensible upgrade for the main doors, and it can be fitted during the same visit.

There is no calendar for it. What matters is who holds a key, not how many years have passed. Think about it when occupancy changes hands, when someone who had a key no longer needs one, or when a ring goes missing along with something that shows where you live. Between those moments a well-kept cylinder may need no scheduled care, and when it does, use whatever that cylinder's maker specifies. With the doors already on one recorded system, any repeat is a short piece of work.

In most cases, yes. The locksmith examines the jamb for splits and stripped screw holes, glues and pins any cracked section, and fits a full-length jamb reinforcer under the strike so the new long screws bite into sound wood and the stud behind. A new pocket is bored to the correct depth. Where the jamb is beyond repair, replacing that section of frame is discussed before any lock goes on.

Yes. Manufacturers make deadbolts, handlesets, knobs and levers in matching finishes and styles, so a replacement deadbolt can sit above your existing handle without looking like an afterthought. Bring or photograph the hardware you want to match, including the interior side, and note whether it is a warm brass, a satin nickel, an oil-rubbed bronze or a matte black. Where an exact match is not made, the locksmith suggests the closest family.

Then a replacement case goes into the existing pocket. Reproduction mortise cases are made in the common vintage sizes and backsets, and a modern mortise case with a cylinder fits many old pockets with minor trimming. The locksmith measures the case height, depth, backset and trim spacing before ordering, aiming for the new case to drop in with the original knobs and plates going back on, though a small pocket trim or fixing change is sometimes needed. Cutting the door for a different kind of lock is the last choice.

The door's material and rough thickness, what lock is on it now and whether it is a separate deadbolt above a knob or lever, and whether there is a storm door. Say what you want the lock to do: codes only, phone control, alerts, auto-lock. Mention how the Wi-Fi is at the front door if you know, whether you rent or own, and how many people need their own way in. A photo of the inside and outside of the existing lock is a real help.

A padlock through a hasp is simple to fit to almost any gate and easy to rekey or swap later, which suits a gate that gets occasional use or belongs to more than one type of user, such as a shared laneway. A built-in gate lock with its own latch and cylinder tends to suit a gate used daily, since it operates with one motion instead of fitting and removing a separate padlock each time. Either can be paired with a closer if the gate should shut on its own.

For a single resident's compartment, proof tying that person to the unit is usually enough. For a run of compartments changed together, the property manager or superintendent coordinates the visit and confirms which units are involved, and each compartment is still checked against a resident or the building's own records before its lock is touched.

Many electronic locks support more than one user code, so a manager and one or more backup employees can each be set up separately during the same visit rather than sharing a single combination. A mechanical dial only holds one combination at a time, so multiple access there means agreeing who holds it and how that changes when staff do.

A mechanical dial has no battery and is set by hand to a private combination, turning through a sequence to release the bolt; it never runs out of power but takes a little practice to open. An electronic keypad accepts a numeric code and can support several separate codes for different people, but it depends on a battery that eventually needs replacing. Many owners choose based on how many people need access rather than one being simply superior to the other.

Yes. Like any pin tumbler it can be repinned to a new combination by a locksmith who holds the system, so a departed employee's key can be retired without replacing hardware. Some lines use interchangeable cores that swap in moments with a control key, which suits businesses with frequent turnover. Rekeying stays within your registered keyway, so the key control you paid for continues after the change.

Mechanical rekeying leaves electronics alone: alarm panels, card readers and keypads keep their codes and credentials. What changes is the list of people holding keys, and it is worth updating the alarm company's keyholder list and retiring the codes of anyone who has left at the same time, since keys and codes usually walk out together. Where a door has both a card reader and a keyed override, the override cylinder is rekeyed with the rest.

Yes. Where a property mixes keypad or card doors with mechanical cylinders, the access levels are designed to line up across both, so a department sitting at one sub-master level mechanically holds a matching level electronically. Mechanical override cylinders behind an electronic lock are pinned into the same chart as every other door, so one record still describes the whole property.

Yes, and this is one of the more useful parts of the system. A front office can unlock for regular business hours, a stockroom can allow only two credentials at any hour, and a loading dock can release only during a set delivery window. Schedules are set per door and per access level in the controller, and can be changed at any time without touching the hardware itself.

Exit-device makers publish a mounting range for their own models, and in practice a crossbar or touchpad sits no higher than about 1200 mm above the finished floor. The locksmith sets the hardware inside the maker's range and below that ceiling, allowing for anyone in the space who needs a lower reach, a wheelchair user or a shorter staff member among them.

Yes. An electric strike has to suit the latch or deadlatch type it will receive, the door's handing and swing, and whether the application needs fail-safe or fail-secure operation, meaning whether the door should unlock or stay locked if power is lost. Choosing a strike without checking these against the mechanical lock is a common reason a door releases electronically but still binds mechanically.

Only for getting the van to the car. Tell the locksmith how the lot is entered, whether a code, a buzzer or an attendant is involved, and which level the car is on, so nobody loses time at the gate. In a tight garage the locksmith checks there is room to open the door fully and enough light to see the interior switches, and brings a torch if not. The opening itself is unchanged.

Often, yes, for vehicles with a supported conventional key system: the car is opened, a blade is produced by decoding the door lock or retrieving the factory key code, and the immobilizer is reset so the missing keys are erased before new ones are stored. A key-card or phone-key vehicle, or one needing a dealer procedure, follows its own route instead, which is why the VIN is asked for on the first call.

A low battery in the original does not stop a spare from being made, since the chip and code stored inside still respond during programming even as the battery fades. It is worth mentioning the low battery when you call, though, since the new fob is a natural moment to have a fresh battery on hand for both keys and to note which type each one takes.

Yes, and it is asked for the same reason a locksmith checks identity before opening a house: a fob is a way to drive off in someone's vehicle. Registration, a bill of sale, an insurance document, or simply being present with the vehicle and an existing key generally settles it. This step protects the actual owner as much as anyone, including a future owner who buys the car from you.

That pattern, the starter turning the engine over without it catching, often points to the key or immobilizer rather than a fuel or ignition-timing fault. A flashing security light on the dashboard while this happens adds to that picture. A diagnosis, checking whether the vehicle actually recognizes the key's chip, is what confirms which one it is before any programming begins.

Yes, older mechanical ignitions are generally straightforward to service, since there is no transponder chip or immobilizer layer to work around. Worn wafers, a tired spring, or a housing that has loosened over the years are addressed directly, and a fresh key is cut from the current pinning or the vehicle's key code once the barrel itself has been sorted out.

That depends on what you ask for. Most owners keep the original plus one spare, cut or paired at the same visit and tested in every lock on the vehicle so the household has a working backup from the start.

Usually, yes. The cleaning method the lock's own maker directs, along with gentle, repeated working of the mechanism, frees many steering locks that have simply seized from disuse or corrosion, without needing to force the key or replace the lock. Only a lock that is cracked, badly rusted internally, or damaged by an earlier forced attempt tends to need full replacement rather than freeing and lubricating.