Do I Need To Buy New Locks?
If you have ever moved into a new place, lost your house keys, or if you’ve ever had to fire an employee then you probably have been in a situation of needing to change your locks. Did you change your locks, or did you just rekey them? Did you know that there was an option to rekey, or did you assume you needed to buy new?
REKEYING A LOCK
Rekeying a lock, by definition, means changing the inner workings of the lock to work with a different key. This saves you from having to replace the lock itself, meaning you can keep the same lock but will need a new key. Locksmiths do this by taking the lock apart and replacing the parts inside. The insides are called tumblers or pins.
Rekeying a lock does not hurt the security of the lock, nor does it make it more secure. If you want to make your lock more secure, rekeying isn’t going to be the right solution for you. When rekeying a lock, the locksmith will take out the old pins and replace them, but this doesn’t add any security because it will be the same number of pins inside. The only way to increase the security is to add to the inner workings of the lock, which cannot be done.
CHANGING A LOCK
Changing a lock means exactly what it sounds like, taking the current lock off and putting a new one on. This will result in new knobs or handles and a new look but can be more expensive. Sometimes this step is necessary, but sometimes it is an unnecessary expense. If you are looking to increase the security of your lock, this is the solution for you. Changing the lock allows you to start fresh.
In a commercial setting, this is a big undertaking. If just one employee leaves and doesn’t turn in their keys you don’t want to have to replace all of the locks.
WHEN TO REKEY THE LOCK VS WHEN TO REPLACE THE LOCK
If you like the looks of your locks and feel they are secure enough, then rekeying is the right choice for when you move into a new location, especially since you don’t know who has a key to the current lock. You will also want to rekey if you lose a copy of your key and worry that someone may have found it, or if you want to make sure that someone who has a key cannot access it. This is especially important when you terminate an employee and you want to ensure they cannot access your facility anymore. You may also consider rekeying if you have several locks that have different keys, but want to use one key for all of the locks.
When should you consider changing your lock hardware? If you want to change the look of your locks, or upgrade the security of your locks this is the right step. You may also want to change your locks if you are looking to mainstream your facility. Putting on new lock hardware that is keyed the same allows you the ease of movement throughout the facility without carrying too many keys. If you are in the market for new locks, we have a variety to chose from.
