It is the question we get asked most often, usually by somebody who has just moved house or just let a tenant go. The locks feel like a problem, so the instinct is to rip them out and start again. Nine times out of ten, that is not what the situation needs.
What rekeying actually does
Inside every pin tumbler lock there is a stack of small pins cut to match one specific key. Rekeying means taking the cylinder apart and swapping those pins for a different set. The lock stays on the door. The finish stays the same. The old key stops working, permanently, and a new key takes its place.
It is quick work on a standard residential lock, and because you are only paying for labour and a handful of pins, it costs a fraction of new hardware.
If the lock is in good working order and the only thing wrong with it is who has a key, rekeying solves the whole problem.
When rekeying is the right call
- You have just moved into a house and have no idea how many keys are out there.
- A tenant, contractor, cleaner or ex-employee has moved on and still has a key.
- A key has been lost and you would rather not wonder about it.
- You have four different keys for one property and want them all on one.
That last one surprises people. Several locks can usually be rekeyed to a single key, provided they are the same brand and keyway. It removes the keyring shuffle at the front door without changing a single piece of hardware.
When you genuinely need new locks
Rekeying assumes the lock is sound. If it is not, you are paying to repair something that has already told you it is finished. Replace the hardware when:
- The lock is sticking, grinding or needs jiggling. That is wear inside the cylinder, and pinning it again will not fix it.
- There is visible damage around the cylinder or the strike plate, particularly after an attempted break-in.
- The grade is wrong for the door. A light residential deadbolt on a commercial back door is not doing the job it is being asked to do.
- You want features the old lock cannot offer — a keypad, a smart lock, or a higher-security cylinder with controlled key duplication.
The one that catches people out
If your house was newly built or recently sold, the locks may still be on the builder's or the previous agent's key. That is not a defect — it is how construction keying works — but it does mean the number of people who could open your front door is larger than you would like. It is worth sorting in the first week rather than the first year.
A word on hardware store locks
The cheapest deadbolt on the shelf will lock your door. It will also give way to a determined kick, because the weak point is rarely the lock itself — it is the strike plate and the two short screws holding it into the door frame. If you only change one thing, change those screws for three-inch ones that reach the stud behind the frame. It costs almost nothing and it does more for your door than most upgrades.
Serving the Mid-South
