Getting Your Locks Rekeyed

This is part 1 in a series of articles on rekeying locks.  In this first article we will discuss the reasons for rekeying your locks and the rekeying options available to you.   In part 2 we will discuss Tools and Parts Commonly Found in Lock Rekeying Kits.  In part 3 we discuss Rekeying a Schlage Deadbolt Lock.

A common problem homeowners run into is having to carry multiple keys for different locks around the home.  The solution is to rekey your locks.  This post will identify what you need to know and what you can expect if you need to get your locks rekeyed or if you prefer to do it yourself.

Why You Should Rekey Your Locks

There are several reasons you may have for wanting to rekey your locks, some of the most common are that you feel you are carrying around too many keys; perhaps you have lost keys to your home and are worried that others may now have access to your home and belongings; perhaps you recently purchased your home and want to make sure the previous owners do not have access; or you may have had to replace some locks and now your home has mismatched locks.  All of these are valid reasons to look into getting your locks rekeyed.

Your Lock Rekeying Options

There are many different means you can use to rekey your locks.  The method you choose will depend on a variety of things such as the number of locks you have to be rekeyed, cost, time requirements, skill level and willingness to learn.

Using a Locksmith to Rekey Your Locks

The simplest solution is to have a locksmith come to your home and rekey your locks for you, this also may be the most costly since it involves a house call and a professional services; depending on the number of locks, types of locks and the amount of time you have available – this may be the best option.

Rekeying Your Locks at the Hardware Store 

If you only have a few locks that need to be rekeyed and are comfortable removing the locks from your doors, you can take the locks off and take them to a locksmith or a hardware store.  Locksmiths and many hardware stores will usually rekey them for you for a small fee – you will be saving yourself the expense of a house call by removing and reinstalling the locks yourself.

Rekeying a Lock Yourself  – Lock Rekeying Kits

If you like to learn new skills or want to try rekeying a lock yourself,  you can find several different kits for getting the job done.  Rekeying kits are brand specific, so when choosing a make sure it will work with your locks.  If you have different brands of locks on your home, you may not be able to make them work with the same key.

Single Use Rekey Kits With Keys

 One of the cheapest methods are some of the single key rekey kits such as Change-A-Lock that are available online or in home improvement stores.  These kits will generally contain several precut keys and pins and a few tools to enable you to rekey several locks.  However, by using one of these kits, you won’t be able to match one of your existing keys since these kits are designed to rekey all locks to the keys that come with the kit.

Professional Rekey Kits

A second do it yourself method for rekeying your own locks is to by a lock rekeying kit from the lock manufacturer.  These kits will contain all of the tools, pins and other parts you need to rekey your locks.  If you don’t have a key that you want to rekey the lock to you can have one made by a locksmith if you tell them the pins you are using in your lock.  Alternatively you could buy one lock in addition to your rekey kit and use this key as the new key for all of your locks.  Homeowners will probably not want to get a rekeying kit – this solution would be ideal for landlords who can justify the expense of getting a kit and will likely be having to rekey locks frequently.

Custom Rekey Kits

A third option which is cheaper than a lock rekeying kit but offers more flexibility than the single key rekey kits is to look for a custom kit on ebay.  These custom ebay kits will generally have the basic tools and a wide assortment of pins, though not as many of them as a full kit, that you will need to rekey several locks with a variety of different keys – these are similar to the full kits, just cheaper and smaller.   As with the manufacturer rekey kits, these kits do not come with precut keys so you should have a key that you would like to rekey to, or have a key made.

Articles in this series

Part 1:  Getting Your Locks Rekeyed

Part 2:  Tools and Parts Commonly Found in Lock Rekeying Kits

Part 3:  Rekeying a Schlage Deadbolt Lock