Residential & Commercial Security - Locks, Keys & Dead Bolts - rekeying all the locks
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pjaffe
09-13-02, 07:55 AM
My folks bought a home and I wanted to have the exterior handsets and deadbolts rekeyed or replaced. 2 questions come to mind.
1. The deadbolts do not appear to extend out very far - certainly not as far as the newer ones on my own home. Is this a cause to replace them or just have them rekeyed. My thought was that just having them on the door was the deterent so go the cheaper route.
2. Is it a good practice to use the same key for handset and deadbolt or use seperate keys? Along the same line, is it a good practice to have the same key for all exterior doors?
Lastly, there is a entry foyer that is still somewhat outside the home proper. It has two old commercial glass and metal doors taken from an old bank. There is a handle and lock on it but I don't see how to remove the cylinder to have it rekeyed. It looks like the mechanism has screws on the door edge. If I remove that will the mechanism come out and then allow me to remove the keyways for rekeying?
1. The deadbolts do not appear to extend out very far - certainly not as far as the newer ones on my own home. Is this a cause to replace them or just have them rekeyed. My thought was that just having them on the door was the deterent so go the cheaper route.
2. Is it a good practice to use the same key for handset and deadbolt or use seperate keys? Along the same line, is it a good practice to have the same key for all exterior doors?
Lastly, there is a entry foyer that is still somewhat outside the home proper. It has two old commercial glass and metal doors taken from an old bank. There is a handle and lock on it but I don't see how to remove the cylinder to have it rekeyed. It looks like the mechanism has screws on the door edge. If I remove that will the mechanism come out and then allow me to remove the keyways for rekeying?
schiejr
09-16-02, 08:23 AM
A bigger, longer bolt will give you more protection against physical attacks on the door such as prying. Whether or not it is worth it depends if any one ever tries to break in. If you think there is a chance or often leave the house unoccupied for long periods-I think it would be a good idea to upgrade.
The keys are a question of convenience. Most will elect to have all locks keyed the same. You assume a burglar is not going to have a key so it will not matter if they are all the same. Some will have seperate keys-they may give one key to other they want to have access to the house and by using the other lock-can exclude those people when they want.
If you lose one key you have to rekey all the locks but usually you will lose the whole ring so you have to do them all anyway.
Personally, I would make them all the same unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Most of the commercial locks will have a set screw accessible when you remove the plate on the edge of the door. Once the set screw is loose, the cylinder can be turned out for removal. Occasionally the set screw will not be under the face plate on some locks.
The keys are a question of convenience. Most will elect to have all locks keyed the same. You assume a burglar is not going to have a key so it will not matter if they are all the same. Some will have seperate keys-they may give one key to other they want to have access to the house and by using the other lock-can exclude those people when they want.
If you lose one key you have to rekey all the locks but usually you will lose the whole ring so you have to do them all anyway.
Personally, I would make them all the same unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Most of the commercial locks will have a set screw accessible when you remove the plate on the edge of the door. Once the set screw is loose, the cylinder can be turned out for removal. Occasionally the set screw will not be under the face plate on some locks.