Emergency Lockouts · Hamilton
Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey
A roommate moved out on bad terms and says the key was left on the counter. It was not.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 203-2070In plain words
The visit runs in a steady order. On the phone you describe what was lost, which doors it opened and whether you have a way in. At the door the locksmith confirms your connection to the property, then walks it with you listing every cylinder. Each one comes off in turn, is repinned to the new key and refitted. The first key is cut to the new combination and checked in every lock, and the remaining copies are cut from it. Then every key is tried in every door with you watching, the count is agreed, and the new key code is written down for future copies.
How the visit goesThe lawyer's envelope held two keys for the new house. The previous owners mention a cleaner, a dog walker and a brother who checked on the place, and the builder's paperwork shows six were cut originally. Four are unaccounted for.
Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey · Hamilton
How the visit goes
- 1
Rekey or replace, cylinder by cylinder
Rekeying suits hardware in sound condition, and most cylinders on a house qualify. The locksmith flags the exceptions while the list is being made: a plug worn oval by decades of use, a cylinder packed with salt and grit from a side door that faces the driveway, a knob lock so light it offers little resistance, or a keyway that no longer has blanks available. For those, a replacement cylinder or a complete new deadbolt keyed to match the rest is proposed as its own item, so you decide door by door. The aim is that every cylinder leaving the visit on a new key is one that will keep turning well for years.
- 2
Cutting the new keys on site
Common keys are cut on the van rather than ordered in, though some restricted systems need the blank from an authorised distributor first. The first key is cut on a code machine, a crisp, original-depth key rather than a copy of a copy, and tried in the first repinned cylinder before another is touched, so any adjustment happens once. The rest are cut to the same code, deburred, and tested in turn. Keys cut this way run smoothly from the start and stay accurate through years of copying, because every later duplicate can be made from the code rather than from a worn blade.
- 3
Cylinders that turn more sweetly than before
A cylinder that has been apart, cleaned and repinned usually feels better than it did before the key went missing. Old grease, road salt and the grit that collects in a keyway over a decade came out with the plug, and a dry lubricant went in. Keys cut to code seat fully and lift each pin cleanly. If a door had a key that needed a wiggle or a shove, that is often gone. Follow your lock's own maintenance guidance to keep it that way: many cylinders take a puff of graphite or PTFE into the keyway now and then, some a specified liquid lubricant instead; general household oils and sprays collect dust and gum the pins.
In the van
- Top pins and cylinder springs
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
- Rekeyable-cylinder reset tool
- Rekeying pin kit
- Key blanks in common keyways
What affects the quote
- 1
Entry as well as rekeying
If the lost key was your only key and you are locked out too, the door is opened first and that opening is quoted as its own step ahead of the rekey.
- 2
Travel to the property
Every call-out includes the drive. A house across town and a rural property at the end of a concession road involve different time on the road, and the quote reflects the trip.
- 3
Number of keys cut
New keys are cut on site and counted individually. Two for a couple or six for a household with teenagers and a sitter: name the number and the quote reflects it.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey: questions
Can I just have another key cut instead?
You can, and it solves being without a key. It leaves the lost one working, though, which is the half of the problem that keeps people awake. Rekeying takes about as much effort as a trip to a hardware store counter and ends with a new key in your hand and the old one retired. If the key was mislaid somewhere it will never be found and named nothing, a plain copy is a fair choice.
How many new keys should I ask for?
Count the people who genuinely need one and add one for a known spare location: each adult, a teenager, a caregiver or regular sitter, the neighbour who checks the house, the landlord if you rent. Keys are cut on site, so the number is easy to settle during the visit. Fewer keys with names attached is the point; another can always be cut later from the code.
My key fell in the snow in my own yard. Do I still need to rekey?
It is your call, and it is a reasonable one either way. A key lost on your own property is unlikely to be picked up by a stranger, but it will surface in the spring thaw, and until then you are trusting a guess about where it lies. Many households rekey anyway for the certainty, and because the visit also lets them put every door on one key while the locksmith is there.
Lockout Services
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceThe keypad on the smart lock blinks once and goes dark.
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceIt is ten to nine, three staff are on the sidewalk with their coffees, and the key that has opened the glass front door for six…
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionIn the parking lot your car key snapped in the driver's door.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairThe shop's aluminum door has a bent meeting stile and the hookbolt is jammed half out.
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe key turns a full circle without any resistance and the deadbolt stays exactly where it is.
Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey near you
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton information
- Town
- Hamilton, Ontario
- In business
- 22 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 203-2070
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
61%
Older homes. About 61% of homes in Hamilton were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Old brass keys wear thin, and a key that has bent for years finally lets go in a cold cylinder. In older housing stock this is a regular call, so the locksmith is ready to extract the piece, check the cylinder and cut a new key from the code.
56%
A mix of homes. Single-detached houses make up about 56% of homes in Hamilton (2021 Census).
Where houses and attached homes share an area, lockouts are as varied as the doors. A porch, a hallway or a shared vestibule each calls for a slightly different approach, and a locksmith used to all three arrives ready for whichever it is.
Nearby
Open 24/7
Request a visit
A roommate moved out on bad terms and says the key was left on the counter.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 203-2070- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 22 years in business