03 / 04 · Residential service
Changes which key opens your existing locks, without replacing the hardware.
- Category
- Residential
- Availability
- 24/7
- Coverage
- 10 GTA cities
- The visit
- 4 steps
On this page
Overview
Rekeying resets the pins inside a lock so old keys stop working and a new key takes over. It is the faster and cheaper option any time the hardware is sound and the real problem is who has a key. Several locks can be rekeyed to a single new key in one visit.
What rekeying changes — and what it leaves alone
Inside every pin-tumbler lock is a row of pins matched to your key's cuts. Rekeying swaps those pins to a new pattern: the hardware stays on the door, every old key dies instantly, and a fresh key — cut on the spot — takes over. It is the same security outcome as replacing the lock for the specific problem of unaccounted-for keys, at a fraction of the disruption. Several locks can be rekeyed to one new key in a single visit, which is how a house full of mismatched locks ends up running on one key.
The moments a rekey is exactly right
Just moved in — the previous owner's agent, cleaner, neighbour and in-laws all potentially hold copies. A renovation wrapped up — contractor keys are famously never returned. A roommate left, a relationship ended, a purse with keys and ID in it went missing. Landlords rekey between tenants for the same reason. In every one of those cases the locks are fine; the key population is the problem, and rekeying resets it to exactly the keys you hand out.
The visit
Step 1: Confirm the hardware is worth keeping
A quick check that each cylinder is sound. A worn-out lock gets flagged for replacement instead of a rekey that would inherit its problems.
Step 2: Repin on site
Cylinders come off the door, pins are swapped to a new pattern, and everything goes back on — typically all in one visit.
Step 3: Cut the new keys
As many copies as you actually want, cut at the door while you watch, plus a test of every lock with the new key.
Step 4: Prove the old keys are dead
If you still hold an old copy, we test it in front of you. Watching a dead key fail to turn is the whole point of the visit.
Included
Revokes every copy in circulation at once — previous owners, old tenants, contractors, the spare under the flowerpot
Keeps hardware you already paid for, rather than replacing working locks
Normally completed on site in one visit, with new keys cut on the spot
Questions
If the hardware is sound and the problem is who holds a key: rekey. If the lock is worn, damaged, or simply not good enough for the door: replace. We tell you which one your door needs before any work starts, and rekeying is deliberately the cheaper answer when it fits.
Where we go
Toronto2 cities
- Toronto
- Scarborough
Peel Region2 cities
- Mississauga
- Brampton
York Region3 cities
- Vaughan
- Markham
- Richmond Hill
Durham Region3 cities
- Pickering
- Ajax
- Oshawa
More of this work
From the journal
Every service category
- Emergency4 services
- Automotive7 services
- Motorcycle4 services
- ResidentialYou are here4 services
- Commercial4 services
Call us
The fastest way to reach us
- Nights and weekends included — any hour, any day
- A real locksmith answers and walks you through it if needed
- You hear the price before anyone drives out
Text us a photo
Send a photo of your lock and we can quote more accurately
What to include
- A close, in-focus photo of the lock or the key
- The whole door, or the make, model and year of the vehicle
- Your area, so we can confirm we reach you
We call you back to talk it through and give you a price.
Send a photoService area: 10 GTA cities across Toronto, Peel Region, York Region and Durham Region