Can a Locksmith Rekey Your Exterior Door Locks to Use the Same Key?

Locking up your home is an important step to making sure that no one is able to get into your property when you are not there. It is frustrating when you have to work with a lot of different keys to get this done though. If you have more than one door that leads to the outside of the home and you need to use a different key for each one, you may wonder whether a locksmith is able to rekey the exterior doors so that they will use the same key.

According to Action Lock Doc (a locksmith in Richardson TX), it is possible for a locksmith to rekey your exterior door locks to use the same key. They will need to test to see whether the exterior doors will use the same keyway. To do this, just take the key you would like to use ad see whether it slides into the keyhole of all the doors, it does not need to unlock them, just fit inside. If it does, this means that you can rekey it to use the same key all the time. If they don’t have a similar keyway, you will either have to put new locks on the doors to make this work, or stick with different keys.

Working with a locksmith to get this done is generally the best way to ensure that you will not end up with a mess and that you can get it done in no time. Finding someone who knows how to do this can save a lot of hassle and can help you get rid of some of your keys.

How Can I Rekey My Exterior Doors to Use the Same Key?

Whether you installed all the doors in your home or not, you may notice that each one has its own key to open it from the outside. This is pretty common since each door can be a little different from the others. But it is also a hassle because you will need to carry around several different keys to make it into the home. If this is bothersome to you, then it is time to take a look at rekeying your exterior doors. But how do you get this process done.

It is possible for a locksmith to come help you rekey the locks to match existing keys when the locks have a keyway that is the same. This doesn’t mean that they already open with the same key, but it does mean that you will be able to slide the key in pretty well, even when it is not able to unlock that door.

To test this one, just take the key you would like to use, and see whether it is able to easily slide into the keyhole of your new lock. If it does this easily, then you can rekey the new door lock so that it will work with the key of your choice. However, if you find that the key is not sliding in well, then the keyways are different and you will not be able to redo it so that the keys will fit in.

Steps to Rekey an Exterior Door Lock

There are a few steps that the locksmith will be able to take to help rekey the door lock as simply as possible. some of these include:

• Remove the lock cylinder. In a deadbolt, you will find that the cylinder is held in place and it is easy to see how to remove it. For a lever or a knob, you will have to look a bit more to find it.
• Remove the nut or c-clip: The c-clip will need a special tool to get it done but the nut will just twist it off.
• Insert the follower tool: This is going to help make sure that the springs and pins of the lock are kept in the right place. Insert this into the keyway and rotate 45 degrees.
• Remove the existing pins before inserting the new key you would like to use. Insert new pins where they need to go.
• Place the cylinder back in the housing and secure cylinder to the housing as well.
• Reinstall the cylinder back to the lock and then test it all out before installing the lock again.

Rekeying Your Exterior Doors

It can be a hassle to have a few different keys to get into your home. But often this is done as a safety concern and because each door is designed differently. If you do decide that you would like to have the same key used for each door, then you will need to work with a locksmith to see whether it is possible to rekey your door or not. Working with a qualified locksmith can take some of the guesswork out of this and helps simplify your life.