Who doesn't want to feel secure in their homes, offices, or elsewhere? Door locks remain the main feature of safety for any property. It is therefore important to keep your door locks in good and working condition. Constant replacement of the locks is not the answer as it will only increase your bill. There are other ways to do it as well. By rekeying your locks instead of replacing them you can save money and give new life to your existing door lock systems. Rekeying is popular with landlords as they do not want to change the lock every time, they have a new tenant.
How much does it cost to rekey a lock?
The cost to rekey a lockvaries on the type of lock. On average, the cost of rekeying locks will depend on which locks are needed to be rekeyed. The door on the inside of the house is the cheapest. If you need to rekey a garage door, window lock, or door handle then the average cost per lock will be more than that. The front and back doors or a patio door are even more costly. The prices will also depend on several other factors.
In the USA, locks in the house cost around $40 to $100 plus $15 to $40 per lock or about $75 per hour. You may also need to pay a trip fee to the locksmith if you call an agency. This is averagely around $50 to $100. This is just an example. The actual prices may vary according to the type of locksmith needed for the doors that are locked.
Elements contributing to the cost to rekey locks
- The factors that affect the cost of rekeying are the same main ones. First of all, the type of door and lock. As mentioned above, the inner door of a bathroom for instance will be cheaper to rekey than a main door's lock.
- If any prior prep work is needed before to facilitate the locksmith, then the cost of rekeying the lock increases.
- If your location is very far from the locksmith, he will charge you more than usual. As time is money, the more time you take, the more the charge he will make.
- If some emergency is imposed or you call a locksmith in his off-duty hours, he will charge a hefty fee for that. This is something that anyone could see coming.
When do people normally need to rekey?
It is not necessary that only when a lock is jammed a locksmith is needed. There are various occasions when a rekeying is needed.
- You shift in a new house and want to protect it without wanting to spend much on new locks.
- You might get a new tenant as a landlord and you want to make them feel secure by providing them with new keys.
- You might want to save money by not buying a new locking system and rekeying it instead.
- In case of lost keys, you fear that someone has your keys. Locksmiths charge extra if the old key is missing.
- You want a single key for all doors. It can be done by rekeying the locks.
Advantages of rekeying
People often confuse the two terms. It is important to understand the difference between them. Those who do, due to some reasons always prefer rekeying locks over replacing new ones. Some of their reasons follow.
- Of course, rekeying locks price less than replacing the lock system altogether
- It takes less time than replacement.
- Multiple locks can be adjusted to use the same key.
- Less hassle and no damage to the door is caused. It happens when a lock system is removed while replacing it.
Checklist for rekeying
Rekeying is a fairly straightforward process for a professional to perform. It is their daily job so it comes not as a surprise that how much they mater it. Once a lock has been rekeyed successfully, it will work with the new set of keys and you can throw away the old set, as they then become useless.
Before calling an expert locksmith, one must check all the potential locks that might need rekeying or replacement. In this way, an idea can be drawn that if it is a piece of bad or worse news? Count all the potential locks and then call the locksmith to get advice and accurate estimates. Once the estimates have been obtained, now check for even fairer and competitive options. It is always advised to hire a person with sufficient experience and with appropriate accreditations. If all these elements are satisfied and a less costly professional locksmith is available, then what could be a better option?