Rekeying locks in Vancouver
Keep the hardware. Retire every old key.
Rekeying changes the pins inside the cylinder. The key you choose turns it, every other key stops working, and the lock stays on the door. It settles who else still has a key to this house.
New place, missing key, or a set of keys you can't account for.
Rekey after moving into a Vancouver home
The previous owners handed over three keys. Nobody knows who else has one: trades, cleaners, a property manager, the realtor's lockbox, the neighbour who watered the plants. Rekeying on possession day makes the question moot.
Rekeying after a lost or unreturned key
A key on its own is a key. A key on a ring with a fob, a parking pass or anything showing your address is an invitation. If that describes what went missing, rekey rather than hope.
Rekey between tenants in a rental suite
Standard practice between tenancies, and much less costly than replacing hardware every turnover. It also protects you as a landlord: once the cylinder is rekeyed, the previous tenant's key demonstrably does not open the door.
Rekeying when a contractor or roommate still has a copy
Renovation keys have a way of multiplying. So do roommate copies, which get cut at a hardware counter and handed on without anyone meaning any harm. A rekey ends the whole chain in one visit.
One key for the front, the back and the garage.
Most homes accumulate a key per door for no reason other than the locks arrived at different times. They can usually be brought onto one key while we are there.
Matching front, back and garage deadbolts to a single key
If the cylinders share a keyway, they can be pinned to the same key. One key, three doors, and no more standing in the rain trying the wrong one.
Which lock brands can be keyed alike together
Locks can be keyed alike when they share a compatible keyway. Weiser and Kwikset commonly pair, and Schlage usually sits on its own. Mixed hardware may need a cylinder swapped, which we price first.
Keeping a basement suite on its own separate key
Deliberately not keyed alike. A suite tenant should not hold a key to the main house, and the owner's key generally should not open the suite without notice. We keep those two systems apart on purpose.
A rekey is priced cylinder by cylinder.
In short, it is these four.
Rekeys start from $35. A mobile visit adds the service call, from $75. What moves the price is on the price guide.
See starting pricesHow many cylinders get rekeyed in one visit
The per-cylinder cost drops sharply once the locksmith is already on site. Front, back, garage and suite together is a very different job from the same four doors across four visits.
Rekeying with or without the original key
With a working key the cylinder can often be decoded directly. Without one, the cylinder has to be picked or removed first, which adds time before the rekey even starts.
High-security and restricted keyways
Restricted systems use controlled blanks that cannot be cut at a hardware counter. They cost more per key and are worth it precisely because of that.
Spare keys cut once the rekey is done
Every rekey comes with keys. Extra copies are priced per key and cost far less cut during the visit than ordered later.
New owners and landlords tend to ask the same things before a rekey.
Can you rekey a Weiser deadbolt when I never got the old key?
Usually. Without a key, a pin-tumbler cylinder is normally picked or removed, then repinned. Some Weiser locks use SmartKey, which rekeys differently. You are told which method applies before any work begins.
Does rekeying change the lock itself or only the key?
Only which key works. The lock body, bolt, strike and finish all stay. If the hardware is worn or the wrong grade for the door, rekeying will not fix it, and we say so.
Can locks be rekeyed to match a key I already have?
Usually, as long as the keyways are compatible. Bring the key you want to keep and the other cylinders get pinned to it. This is the most common request after somebody replaces a single door.
Can a smart lock with a key cylinder be rekeyed?
Usually. Most smart deadbolts carry a mechanical key cylinder that can be rekeyed separately from the codes and app users. Some makes use their own rekeying system. Do it when you clear old access codes.
Rekeying the licensed way. Pins changed, nothing drilled.
A rekey changes which key operates the lock, not the lock itself, and nothing about it should leave a mark.
On a pin-tumbler cylinder, the old pins come out and new pins matched to the new key go in. Some brands use their own rekeying mechanism, and we work to that where it applies.
We check the home is yours before any of it starts, and the locksmith shows identification at the door. That matters more on this job than most: rekeying is, by definition, deciding who can get into a building.
How a rekey appointment goes, start to spare keys.
1. Confirm the home is yours before any pins move
Photo ID matching the address, or the ownership or tenancy paperwork. For a rental between tenants, authorization from the owner or the property manager.
2. Pull and repin each cylinder to the new key
Door by door, with the doors keyed alike or kept separate exactly as you decided at the start rather than as an afterthought.
3. Test every rekeyed door and cut the spares
Every cylinder gets tested with the new key, locked and unlocked, from both sides where it matters. Then the spares are cut on the van and handed over, and the old keys are yours to throw away.
Tell us what is going on, and we'll price it first.
Call, book online or ask for a callback. You will have the method and the number before any work begins.