Commercial
Commercial lock rekeying after staff or key changes
We rekey your business locks after a key goes missing or someone who held one leaves.
Where
South-eastern Pennsylvania
What we cover
Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Lancaster County and Philadelphia
How we work
We are a mobile locksmith. We come to you.
What this covers
Commercial lock rekeying changes which keys open your business locks without replacing the hardware. It is the step to take when a key has gone missing, when an employee or a tenant leaves, or when you take over premises and inherit every key the last occupant handed out. The locks stay on the doors; what changes is inside the cylinders, so keys that worked yesterday no longer do.
How we approach it
We start by listing the doors and the people who need keys, then rekey the cylinders to match. Doors can be set to share a key, kept on separate keys, or set up as part of a master key system. Every cylinder is tested with its new keys. Keep a record of which key opens which door, so the next change is straightforward.
Where it stops
Rekeying works when the locks themselves are in good condition. A worn, damaged or broken lock should be repaired or replaced instead, and exit devices with a key cylinder are rekeyed at the cylinder. Rekeying is mechanical work on locks and keys; electronic systems are outside it.
What commercial lock rekeying covers
Rekey business locks so the old keys stop working, rekey a master key system after a key is lost.
Worth knowing
Decide how far to go. When someone leaves on good terms and returns their key, rekeying only the doors that key opened may be enough. When a key is missing or someone left after a dispute, rekeying every exterior door and the rooms with cash, stock or records is the safer choice. Start with the doors that matter most.
A returned key does not prove it was never copied. Keys can be copied at a hardware counter, even keys stamped with a do-not-copy warning. That is why rekeying, not just collecting keys, is the step that actually shuts out a former key holder.
Rekeying is a good moment to tidy up key control. Issue as few keys as possible, keep a signed record of who holds each one, and collect keys on the last day of work. If the building has grown into many separate keys, ask whether a master key system would make the next change simpler.
Commercial Lock Rekeying: questions before you call
What should I tell you on the phone if an employee left with the key to our side office door?
Tell us which door it is, how many locks you want changed, and whether that key also opens anything else in the building. One useful detail is the lock style, such as a round knob lock or a cylinder in a lever handle. That tells us whether the rekeying is limited to one opening or tied to a larger key setup.
How do I know if our front entry lock needs rekeying or full replacement when the key sticks halfway?
Rekeying changes which key operates the lock. Replacement is a hardware decision when the lock body, cylinder, or trim has damage, missing parts, or movement that does not belong there. Tell us exactly what the key does, and whether the bolt or latch drags at the same time. A key that stops halfway points us to one kind of issue. A loose cylinder face points to another.
If I lost one master key for our warehouse, does that change the rekeying compared with a single office key?
A lost master key changes the scope because that one key may operate several doors under the same system. Tell us which doors the master key opened, and whether any change keys still need to keep their present access. A simple example is a stockroom key that should still work its own door but stop working at the rear exit.
What should I have ready before you rekey the three locks on our back entrance?
Have every current key for those locks together, and know which people or departments should still have access after the change. Also check that all three locks are actually part of the same entrance, not one on a separate interior door nearby. A labeled ring with door names like back hall, loading door, and office saves mix-ups during the work.
Does it matter that our rear metal door closes hard and the deadbolt scrapes before it turns?
It matters because rekeying changes the key setup, while a bolt that scrapes points to a door or hardware condition you should mention before the work starts. Tell us whether the scraping happens with the door open, closed, or both. If the deadbolt leaves a bright rub mark on the strike, that is a concrete sign the lock and the opening are not lining up cleanly.
