Commercial · Kawartha Lakes
Commercial Rekeying
You have just signed the lease on a unit the previous tenant ran for a decade.
In plain words
Losing a master key exposes every door it opened, and a commercial rekey brings that exposure back to zero. The locksmith first works out which level the missing key sat at: a single change key affects one or two cylinders, while a master reaches every lock in its group. Only the affected cylinders are repinned, which keeps the rest of the system intact and the response proportionate. Where a keying chart exists the work is precise; where the chart has been lost, the visit begins by reading and recording the existing cylinders so the new plan starts from facts rather than memory.
How the visit goesA key turned up in the parking lot with the shop's name on its fob. It came back to you, which is lucky, but it means keys are leaving the building on rings you have never seen, and the shop's locks have not changed since opening day.
Commercial Rekeying
How the visit goes
Cores and restricted keys already on site
Some businesses already have more key control than they realize. Figure-eight shaped cores in the levers point to an interchangeable core system, which means a control key somewhere removes the core without unscrewing anything; finding out who holds that control key, or whether it left with a former manager, shapes the whole job. Keys with an unusual profile or a stamped number may belong to a restricted keyway whose blanks are only supplied against a signed letter of authorization, and the locksmith asks who the signatories are. Knowing what is already in place lets the new plan build on it rather than replace it, and flags any control that has quietly lapsed.
Padlocks, cabinets and the mailbox
A business is more than its doors, and the same visit brings the smaller locks into the plan. Rekeyable padlocks on the compound gate, the propane cage or the roll shutter can be pinned to the same key as the back door, so the opening crew carries one key instead of four. Filing cabinets, the till drawer, a medicine or chemical cupboard and the display cases can be keyed alike for the staff who use them or kept separate for the manager. The lobby mailbox, which often still answers to a key from two tenants ago, gets a fresh cylinder or is repinned where its design allows. Each small lock is added to the chart alongside the doors.
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
Standard and restricted key blanks
Rekeyable padlocks
Mortise cylinder set screws and cams
Interchangeable cores and control key
Commercial pin kit
Commercial Rekeying
What affects the quote
Upgrades chosen on the day
Some businesses use the visit to move to interchangeable cores, add a lockbox for the alarm company or fit a heavier cylinder on the cash room. Each is a separate line you can accept or leave.
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.
After-hours or split visits
Work done after closing, before opening or split across two visits to suit trading hours costs the same amount as a single daytime block. The exact figure is confirmed on site once the number of cylinders and the keying plan are known.
What to have ready
- Can you gather every existing key so they can be read on site?
- How many doors, padlocks and cabinets do you want included, and where are they?
- Does your lease say anything about changing locks or giving the landlord a key?
Commercial Rekeying: questions
QuestionsWe are a landlord with a tenant leaving. When should the unit be rekeyed?
Between tenants is the ideal moment: the departing tenant has handed back their keys, the new one has not yet received any, and the unit is empty for the work. The incoming tenant then starts on keys nobody else has held, and the landlord's own master or emergency key is set up at the same time. Where a lease has ended in dispute, the locksmith asks to see the paperwork before changing locks on a unit that still holds a tenant's goods.
What is a master key system and does a small business need one?
In a master key system each lock accepts its own change key and also a master key above it, so a manager carries one key while staff carry keys that open only their own doors. Small businesses with three or four doors often manage without one. A master earns its place once there are several rooms with different people in them, or several locations, and the owner would otherwise carry a ring of keys.
What is the difference between rekeying a business and replacing its locks?
Rekeying keeps every lock on the door and changes only the pins inside the cylinder, so a new key works and the old ones stop. Replacing swaps the hardware itself. Commercial cylinders are made to be repinned many times, so rekeying suits any lock in sound condition and leaves the levers, trim and door untouched. Replacement is chosen door by door for cylinders that are worn, corroded or too light for what they protect.
Related services
- Access Control InstallationAnother employee left and the keys never came back.
- Panic & Exit HardwareAfter the fit-out, the gym floor now holds more people than the old office space ever did, and the exit door at the back still has the same turn-lock it had when the room held desks.
- Commercial-Grade Lock ReplacementHead office wants every branch keyed alike under one system, and half the locations are still running whatever lockset the original contractor happened to install years ago.