What is Lock Rekey?
The decision to replace your lock might stem from your recent relocation into a new home, rent of a new apartment, leasing of new commercial space, sacking of an employee, or the changing of your cleaning company. Any of the aforementioned reasons is sufficient for you to make such consideration. This is because you don't know who among the previous occupiers of the property is still having duplicates of the keys to it. However, rather than replacing the lock, isn't it wiser to consider a faster, better, and cheaper alternative? Rekeying is certainly a better choice for you since it provides a cost-effective option to achieving the safety of your belongings.
Steps Involved In Rekeying a Lock:
- Ensure the door is not locked.
- Then, use the wire tool in the accompanying kit to remove the doorknob.
- Push and bring out the lock cylinder.
- From the lock cylinder, take out the thin retainer ring.
- Now, insert the old key in the lock and turn it left and right.
- Use the special tool in the kit to remove the cylinder plug from the cylinder. You need to be careful here, so you don't let the pins and springs to pop out of the cylinder.
With the aid of the instruction sheet in the kit, you can now remove the old pins and insert the new key. Now, use a pair of narrow pliers to match the new colored pins to the color code.
Once this is done, return the pins into the cylinder and reverse the entire process. That is all. Now, your apartment or office is safe from intruders.
Simply put the whole process of rekeying involved exchanging the tumblers of a lock cylinder with tumblers of different sizes. This renders the old key useless. A new key that corresponds with the new tumblers is needed to open the lock. Any lock that comes with the seal of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Grade 1 designation does not need replacement, rather it should be rekeyed. Rekeying can be done by any local locksmith in your neighborhood.
Aside for security purposes, rekeying can also be done for convenience sake. Carrying several keys around may be confusing and burdensome for you. Rekeying offers you the opportunity to use a single key for the entire locks in your home. Where applicable, especially in the case of the owners of apartment building or condominium, the rekeying method can come handy in terms of creating a single master key that can open multiple locks.
As mentioned earlier, people rekey for several reasons, most of which bothered on security of life and properties. There are States, however, that mandated the rekey of old locks between tenants, for owners of residential rental property.
The bottom line is that both replacement and rekeying of locks can help guarantee the safety of your properties. Rekeying your locks makes a better option in terms of affordability, convenience, and timeliness.