When a lock is being replaced anyway, it's worth choosing hardware that's easy for everyone in the house to use, now and later. For spare keys once the locks are sorted out, see key duplication.
Ask about these on the call and the technician brings options to look at.
Easier than round knobs for stiff or sore hands.
Nothing to find or fumble with at the door.
Simpler to lock and unlock from inside.
When you're away for months, other people look after the house. A neighbor keeps an eye on it, a house-watch service walks the rooms, cleaners come before you arrive, and a contractor may have fixed something while you were gone. Each of them needed a key. At the end of a season, rekeying retires every one of those keys at once, and you hand new ones only to the people who still need them.
The previous owners, their family, their rental manager and their cleaners may all still have keys. Rekeying the doors before your furniture arrives settles it. If the unit was a rental, have any lockbox left on the property removed and every keypad code that came with the place reset at the same visit, since the listing company may have shared those codes with a long line of guests.
Rekeying resets the inside of each lock cylinder to a new key. The handles, the deadbolts and their finish stay as they are, and every old key stops working the moment the job is done. It suits locks that still work well, and it's usually the quicker of the two jobs. It does nothing for a lock that's worn, corroded or hard to use, which is where replacement comes in.
Replace the lock when it's worn, loose or corroded, when the deadbolt is flimsy, or when you want different hardware. For many homeowners here, that last reason is the main one: lever handles, keypads and larger thumb turns are easier to use than small round knobs and tiny keys, especially for anyone with arthritis or a weak grip. Replacement is also the answer after a forced entry.
A keypad deadbolt lets each person who needs access have their own code: a grown child, a caregiver, a house watcher, the cleaner. When someone no longer needs to get in, you delete their code instead of chasing a key. The keypad still has a key cylinder for backup, and it can be rekeyed along with the rest of the house.
Many villas and condos here belong to an association, and some associations keep a key or require access for maintenance. Ask before you rekey so their copy isn't cut off without notice. Rekeying doesn't change how the door looks from outside, so it rarely conflicts with rules about exterior hardware; replacement sometimes does, so check the finish guidelines first.
After the rekey, write down who holds a key or a code: family, house watcher, association, cleaners. It takes a minute and turns the next change into an easy decision. The free estimate is a good place to start that list, since it covers every door on the property, from the front entry to the storage closet.
It's a good habit. It retires every key given out while you were away.
Yes. They're a common choice when locks are replaced anyway.
Rekey first, unless the locks are worn or you'd like different hardware.
Their old key stops working. Tell them first and give them a new one if they need it.
Yes. A keypad deadbolt gives each person a code you can delete later.
The owner or someone the owner approves in writing needs to let the technician in.
Yes. Any door that takes the old key should take the new one, or the rekey leaves a gap.
Every door you want done, marked rekey or replace, written before the work begins.
Call us and we get a tech out to you.
