Commercial · Aurora
Commercial Rekeying
The office has been reshuffled twice since the locks were last touched.
In plain words
Commercial rekeying changes the pins inside a business's existing lock cylinders so that a new key operates them and every earlier key stops working, while the hardware itself stays on the door. The locksmith works from a list of the openings the business controls and the people who need to pass through each one, sets the cylinders to fresh combinations, cuts keys to match and records which key opens which door. Because nothing is replaced unless it is worn, a whole premises can be brought back under control in one scheduled visit, with the doors locking and unlocking exactly as before but answering only to keys you have counted.
How the visit goesThe manager's key ring went missing somewhere between the bank and the car, and the master on it opened every door in the building. Until the cylinders are changed, whoever finds it is holding the run of the place.
Commercial Rekeying
How the visit goes
Reading the keys that already exist
Before deciding anything new, it helps to understand the old. Gather every key the business can find, including the ones with faded tape labels, and the locksmith reads them against the cylinders on the walk. Some will turn out to be duplicates of each other, some will belong to hardware that was replaced years ago, and some may operate doors nobody expected them to. Hardware-store copies stand out by their blanks and by the way they wear. This reading shows how far the key count has drifted and whether an old master still exists, and it lets the new plan retire everything found in the drawer rather than only the keys anyone remembered.
Cutting and marking the new keys
Keys are cut to the new combinations on a code machine rather than traced from another key, so every copy is exact and the tenth key fits as cleanly as the first. Each key is stamped with a short code that means something only on the keying chart; the business name, the address and the word for the door it opens stay off the metal, so a lost key gives nothing away. Keys are counted out by group, tagged, and listed against the names of the people who will carry them. Where the plan uses a restricted keyway, the blanks are drawn against the authorization letter, and that letter is filed with the chart for future orders.
Telling the landlord and the alarm company
A rekey touches a few people outside the business, and the handover covers them. If the lease asks for it, the landlord or property manager receives a key to the suite entrance and a note that the locks were changed, which keeps you onside for emergencies and inspections. The alarm monitoring company is given the updated keyholder list, and it is a good moment to change the alarm codes of anyone who no longer works there, since a key and a code usually leave together. Cleaners, the courier with after-hours access and the neighbour who watches the place on holidays each collect their new key against the register like everyone else.
Commercial Rekeying
In the van
Rekeyable padlocks
Interchangeable cores and control key
Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
Key gauge and decoder
Plug follower
Commercial Rekeying
What affects the quote
Distance to the premises
Travel to the site is part of the call-out, and a unit in a downtown plaza and one at the end of a rural industrial road are different trips.
Doors out of alignment
A door whose cam, strike or closer needs adjusting so the freshly rekeyed cylinder throws the bolt fully is corrected during the visit, and that adjustment is a separate item.
Padlocks, cabinets and mailboxes
Small locks add up. Each padlock repinned to the door key, each cabinet keyed alike and each mailbox cylinder replaced is listed on its own so you can decide what to include.
What to have ready
- Do you want one key for everything, or separate groups with a master?
- Which staff need to open which doors on a normal day?
- Which doors, if any, belong to the landlord or a shared corridor?
Commercial Rekeying: questions
QuestionsHow long should we set aside for a commercial rekey?
It depends on the count and the mix. A shop with a front door, a back door and a stockroom is a short visit; an office suite with a dozen lever sets, a master key plan and a mailbox takes a good part of a day. Interchangeable cores are the shortest of all, since they are swapped rather than repinned on site. The locksmith gives a time estimate at the assessment, once every cylinder has been counted.
Should we rekey every time an employee leaves?
Rekey when a key has not come back or when the departure was unfriendly; when a key is returned and the register confirms it, the cylinders it opened are as secure as before. Businesses that want a response to every departure without a visit each time fit interchangeable cores and swap them in-house. Whatever the trigger, dealing with only the cylinders that key opened keeps the response proportionate.
How often should a business change its keys as a matter of routine?
There is no fixed interval. Rekey on events rather than on a calendar: a key not returned, a lease change, a break-in, a renovation crew finished, or a key count that no longer matches the register. Businesses with a good register and a restricted keyway often go years between rekeys because nothing prompts one. A yearly check of the register against the keys on the hook is the habit that tells you when the time has come.
Related services
- Access Control InstallationSomething went missing from the storeroom over a weekend, and when you ask who was in the building, the honest answer is anyone with a key.
- Panic & Exit HardwareA padlock went on the stockroom's back door years ago for security and nobody has thought about it since, until the walkthrough this week pointed out that the same door is the room's only other way out.
- Commercial-Grade Lock ReplacementThe kitchen delivery door gets shouldered open more than a hundred times a shift, and lately the latch slips past the strike plate instead of catching it on the first push.