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Re-keying Locks

mcvickj

mcvickj

Diamond Member
My fiancée and I just purchased our first house. Debating if it worth re-keying the existing locks. It would be 3 doorknobs and 2 deadbolts. All of the locks are Schlage locks. I found kits online where I can do all 5 locks for under $20. Has anyone re-keyed locks before? Is it worth it if the hardware is in good shape?
 
Should be closing on our first house in a week. Will be making decisions like that also, though I know some of the locks need replacing (deadbolts that are keyed from inside/outside).

Congrats, btw.

PS better marry her now
 
Should be straightforward if you're handy and all of the locks are the same make. I did three doorknobs and a deadbolt in a few hours, which included taking everything off and re-installing.
 
We decided not to do ours, and that was twelve years ago. Never had any problems.
 
mrrman said:
looks pretty straight forward
Click to expand...

It is. The big thing is to make sure you're on a nice clean surface and are careful. You have little pins and springs that like to roll away. You can rekey Andersen storm doors to match them as well.
 
oldsmoboat said:
Re-keying is pretty simple and cheap "insurance".
Click to expand...

This. As an attorney who does closings I always TELL (not advise) my clients to rekey. You never know who may have a key to the house-a neighbor you end up not getting along with, the seller's (or the seller's before) bum kid, etc. It's just plain stupid not to rekey or otherwise change all the locks. It's a trivial expense for what's involved-the security of your residence and the value involved.
 
I just purchased a new home and re-keying was the first thing I did, however I hired a locksmith because I didn't trust myself to do it.

Cost me about $200 total but I had a lot of locks and deadbolts (like 10-12 total) so I considered it an investment in peace of mind.
 
I ws in the exact same spot 2 1/2 years ago, same locks. The actual re-keying wasn't that hard but the first lock took forever to figure out. The advantage of re-keying is you can make all locks use the same key and the obvious security.
 
While working on the locks, you might also want to check the screws holding the striker plate; odds are the installer used the short screws that often comes with the locks resulting in a fairly easy "door-busting".

Get some 3" or 4" screws that will sink deep into the door framing. Strongest deadbolt in the world won't do any good if there's only an inch or so of material holding it in place.
 
fatjohnny said:
I don't understand your logic? Why would you need to re-key/replace the lockset just because it is keyed from both the inside/outside??
Click to expand...

sorry, didn't see this until now:

when your house is burning down
all hell breaking loose
terrist in yer bedroom and yer runnin

where are your keys? 😱

key from outside, flippy doodad for deadbolt on inside
key from outside, twisty thingy or pushbutton for knob on inside
just want something that will let you the hell out
 
Hmm, this got me thinking.

I'd LOVE to have a single (or perhaps two) keys to open all of the common door locks in my house: front door, back door, basement door, bedroom door, various closet doors, etc.

Any reason NOT to do that? Right now, I have four keys to get into the common areas of the house, not to mention the (non-attached) garage and other doors.
 
When you have deadbolts that require a key on both sides you leave a key in it whenever anyone is home and take it with you when you go out.
 
who? said:
When you have deadbolts that require a key on both sides you leave a key in it whenever anyone is home and take it with you when you go out.
Click to expand...

trying to picture this with either me or my wife's sets of keys dangling from the lock all day 😵
 
wabbitslayer said:
While working on the locks, you might also want to check the screws holding the striker plate; odds are the installer used the short screws that often comes with the locks resulting in a fairly easy "door-busting".

Get some 3" or 4" screws that will sink deep into the door framing. Strongest deadbolt in the world won't do any good if there's only an inch or so of material holding it in place.
Click to expand...

if you really want to re-enforce your doors, I would recommend this...

http://www.amazon.com/Armor-Concepts.../dp/B008N3QW4O

It will definitely make it more difficult for someone to kick in your front door....this kit will help protect the hinges and the strike plate....I was able to install this on my front door in about 20 minutes or so...
 
notposting said:
sorry, didn't see this until now:

when your house is burning down
all hell breaking loose
terrist in yer bedroom and yer runnin

where are your keys? 😱

key from outside, flippy doodad for deadbolt on inside
key from outside, twisty thingy or pushbutton for knob on inside
just want something that will let you the hell out
Click to expand...

When you're home, you leave the deadbolt unlocked and just lock the doorknob itself.

If you have a door with glass in it, you ALWAYS want a deadbolt that is keyed on both sides, or else the burglar breaks the window, reaches in, unlocks the deadbolt with the knob, and lets himself in. He cant do that if the deadbolt is keyed on the inside! Sure, he could always climb in a window, but now he is limited with the stuff he can take, because his only ingress/egress in through that same window. He cant unlock any of the doors!
 
I would replace them all, you don't know who has access. Maybe some drug addict. Or the burglar cousin of the previous tenant.

I'd also want to be able to open the doors from the inside without a key.

CurseTheSky said:
Hmm, this got me thinking.

I'd LOVE to have a single (or perhaps two) keys to open all of the common door locks in my house: front door, back door, basement door, bedroom door, various closet doors, etc.

Any reason NOT to do that? Right now, I have four keys to get into the common areas of the house, not to mention the (non-attached) garage and other doors.
Click to expand...
apart for the front and back door I don't see why you'd want to keep the other keys on you, e.g. leave the bathroom key in lock inside the bathroom, since it's meant to close yourself in the bathrooms, not prevent thieves from entering the bathroom when you're out of the house.
Regardless of that, in a house with like multiple apartments you can have keys that can open everything, just the main door, the main door and one apartment, or the main door and multiple selected apartments, whatever you want.
So you can do whatever you want.
If you keep all your keys on the same ring, there's really no reason to have different ones, if it's stolen, they'll get in all areas regardless.
 
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