Some doors have been opening for a century, and the hardware on them deserves better than a hacksaw. We take the time to free seized mechanisms, re-pin original cylinders and fabricate keys for locks whose blanks went out of production long ago.
Same fees day or night · Cambridge
Pick the closest, or call (226) 807-5217
Lockout ServicesLocked out of a home or business, a key snapped in the lock or a lock that has seized: entry with the least damage…
Change or Rekey LocksNew keys for the locks you have, or new locks where the hardware has worn out: rekeying, replacement, deadbolts, smart…
High Security LocksCylinders and deadbolts built to resist picking, bumping and drilling, keys that cannot be copied without…
Commercial LocksLocks for shops, offices and buildings: rekeying at turnover, commercial-grade hardware, exit devices, master key…Commercial doors work harder than residential ones: hundreds of cycles a day, a closer slamming the latch, deliveries propping the back door open in the cold. We specify hardware for that duty, keep closers adjusted so the door actually latches behind people, and make sure exit doors release with a single push and no key. Then we set a schedule so small wear never becomes a lockout.
Nearby Hespeler, Preston and Blair
Honest advice about your locks.
26 years in business · Describe the problem; we'll take it from there: (226) 807-5217
Home lockout service
We open, rekey, repair, replace and install. Under those five verbs sit dozens of specific jobs, from a stuck mailbox lock to a keypad on a warehouse door. The list below covers the ones people ask about most; if yours is missing, ask anyway.
There is no good time to find the shop door forced or the house key gone.
Rekeying, deadbolt installation, lock replacement, smart locks, mailbox locks, mortise lock servicing and…
The key you reach for. The door you come home to. Good locksmith work begins with understanding how you use them.
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ServiceLock Rekeying
Job sheet2 of 3
ServiceLock Replacement & Upgrade
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ServiceBusiness Lockout Service
If a key has been lost, lent or copied more times than you can count, a restricted key system ends the uncertainty. Every key is numbered, every copy is authorised by you, and the old keys simply stop opening anything.
Layer 1The key
You run a home office with client files and equipment, and your insurer has asked what kind of lock is on the door. The honest answer is the builder's knob lock and a light deadbolt from when the house was new.
Layer 2The cylinder
Three teenagers, a dog walker, a cleaner and one house key that keeps going missing. You are tired of cutting copies and would rather give each person a code you can switch off, with a proper deadbolt behind it.
Layer 3The bolt and strike
The bolt on the front door is keyed on both sides. Getting out at night means finding the key in the dark, and with a toddler in the house you have decided the inside should turn by hand.
Layer 4The door and frame
The shop's aluminum door has a bent meeting stile and the hookbolt is jammed half out. The alarm did its job and the display is untouched, but the entrance will not close properly and opening time is hours away.
High Security Locks. You run a home office with client files and equipment, and your insurer has asked what kind of lock is on the door.
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A commercial door works harder than a house door. It opens hundreds of times a day, in all weather, for people who do not own it. The hardware and the key control have to reflect that, and this section explains how we approach both.
Commercial LocksWhen
Safes
Changing a combination is not only for a safe that has stopped opening. Businesses routinely have a working safe recombined the moment someone who knew the old code leaves, retires or changes roles, because a combination known outside the…
Tap a situation. The answer opens here.
If The key goes in but will not turn on cold mornings.
Then Clean and lubricate the cylinder.
Moisture and old grease thicken below freezing; a cold-rated lubricant keeps the pins moving.
If The door latches fine in summer and refuses to in winter.
Then Adjust the strike and hinges for seasonal movement.
Frames shift with freeze-thaw; a strike set for the cold months keeps the door locking year round.
If The lock on the side door is frozen solid.
Then Thaw it properly, then seal against water getting in.
Forcing a frozen cylinder snaps keys; gentle heat frees it, and a weather cover keeps the water out afterwards.
Five scenes · open 24/7
Commercial doors work harder than residential ones: hundreds of cycles a day, a closer slamming the latch, deliveries propping the back door open in the cold. We specify hardware for that duty, keep closers adjusted so the door actually latches behind people…
Step 1 of 5
Describe the property, the hardware and what has changed, and the visit starts from what you have seen.
Step 2 of 5
Mailbox, cabinet and desk locks are small but varied. We identify the type and whether a key can be made, a cylinder replaced or the whole unit swapped.
Step 3 of 5
We talk about pins, cylinders and strikes only when it helps you understand. Otherwise it is 'this is why the door sticks and here is what fixes it'.
Step 4 of 5
We treat an old wooden door or a new steel one as yours, not as a project. Non-destructive methods come first, and we ask before drilling anything.
Step 5 of 5
Before we leave, you will know exactly what changed, how many keys exist and what to keep an eye on. Nothing is left as a mystery.
WaterlooOntario
Every square is one home in a hundred.
Often, but check with your property management first. Condominium corporations have a right to enter a unit on reasonable notice, and without notice in an emergency, and many buildings ask that suite doors stay on a system the corporation can open or that a key be lodged with management. Lobby, garage and locker-room doors belong to the corporation and are theirs to manage. A locksmith will ask about your building's rule and work within it.
Yes, and they usually should be, because a side door into the garage is the opening most often forgotten and left on an old key. Any pin-tumbler cylinder on the property can be pinned to the house key if its keyway allows: the man-door into the garage, a shed, a keyed gate latch, and many padlocks. A mailbox lock is usually a small cam lock that is replaced rather than repinned. Mention every opening when you book so the right blanks and cylinders are in the van.
It is the single most common reason to rekey, and a sensible one. A resale home has typically passed through owners, agents, inspectors, cleaners and trades, any of whom may have had a key cut. A newly built home has been opened by construction crews using a builder's key. Rekeying on move-in means the only working keys are yours, and the same visit can bring every exterior door onto a single key, retiring the assorted keys you inherited.
Only light care. Use the dry lubricant the locksmith recommends once or twice a year, never oil, which gathers grit around the finger pins and sidebar. Keep the keyway free of debris and insert the key fully before turning. In winter, warm a resisting key in your hand or use a de-icer rather than forcing it. Check hinge and strike screws each season so the door stays aligned. Treated this way the cylinder lasts for decades.
On-site assessment preferred · (226) 807-5217, open 24/7