Are Lock Changes Necessary from Your Locksmith?

Should Locksmiths always do lock changes, or are there alternatives?

Sorry to be non-committal, but…it depends. The good news is, the more costly lock changes can often be avoided in lieu of their more economical cousins—the re-key.

Pictured above is deadbolt.

So many people, justifiable so, automatically think of the term “lock change” or “change the locks” when they’re concerned about a duplicate set of their keys floating around—the term is more a part of the lexicon than re-keying is.

This is not to say that we always recommend a re-key instead of a lock change. There are certainly plenty of times when changing the lock is necessary.

The lock as a whole may be worn, the keyway can be too wide, the latch could be broken and/or the faceplate could be worn as well.

Re-keying a lock like this would be like putting new tires on a car with an engine that’s about to fail.

The most common reason we receive a call for either a lock change or a re-key is when people purchase a new home—one that has been lived in before instead of new construction, of course.

When we receive a call for a lock change, we are happy to give a quote over the phone “site unseen”, but the moral to the story is that if we are able to visit the customer and inspect the locks, we may be able to save them money and do a re-key instead.

And just because re-keying is less expensive does not mean it is any less safe. The old set of keys will be rendered ineffective whether you re-key or you change the locks.

So when you contact a locksmith, be sure to ask for both options to be explored instead of automatically asking for a lock change.

Thanks for spending some time with us today.