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Two people exchanging a key at an open front door, with a disassembled lock cylinder and small parts arranged on a cloth nearby. — Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey, Markham

Lockouts · Markham

Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey

The keys fell out of a gym bag somewhere between the arena and the parking lot. The ring has a tag from the building with the unit number on it.

In plain words

If you rent, losing a key is handled in three steps rather than one. Tell your landlord first, since a lock change on a rented unit goes smoother when both sides know about it and both end up with a working key. Then the locksmith rekeys the suite door, and any other cylinder that key fitted, with both parties knowing. Finally new keys are cut for you and for the landlord's set, so the arrangement that existed before the loss is restored on a fresh combination. Landlords generally welcome the call; their hardware stays in place and their own key set is refreshed too.

Sound familiar?Markham

The call
You were shovelling the driveway after dark and the ring must have slid out of your coat pocket somewhere under a metre of snow. You have raked the whole bank with a flashlight. It will turn up in April, and you would rather not wait.

NextHow the visit goes

Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey · Markham

How the visit goes

Technician in a cap holding a car key fob beside an open vehicle, with a tablet and key parts on a bench.
  1. Scene 1

    Which cylinders the key actually opened

    The locksmith walks the property with you and tries to think like the key. Front door deadbolt and handle, the back door, a side door, the door between the garage and the house, the shed, a gate padlock, a basement walkout, the door to a storage room or workshop. Each cylinder the missing key fitted goes on a list. Anything it fitted that is not yours to change goes on a second list: a shared lobby door, a parking gate, a community mailbox compartment, a workplace. The first list becomes the scope of the visit; the second becomes a set of calls you can make with the locksmith's help while the work goes on.

  2. Scene 2

    Testing every key in every lock before leaving

    The last part of the work is deliberate repetition. Each new key is tried in each cylinder it should open, with the door open and again with it closed and bolted, so a pin that feels fine on the bench is proven on the door. The old key is tried too and shown turning nothing. Cylinders that were dry or gritty get the lubricant their maker specifies, a puff of graphite, PTFE or a specified liquid product, and a few cycles to spread it. Screws are checked snug, covers seated, and the pile of old keys and any swapped cylinders is handed to you or taken away as you prefer. Only then is the key count confirmed and written down.

  3. Scene 3

    A known number of keys, with names on them

    You leave with a set of keys whose count you agreed and can name: one each for the adults, one for the neighbour, one in the lockbox. That is the count of authorised keys, not proof against every copy unless the key system also controls its blanks. A small habit keeps it honest: when a key goes to a contractor, a cleaner or a house sitter, note it and get it back, or rekey when the arrangement ends. From today the answer is a figure you wrote down, not a guess about who might still hold something from years ago.

In the van

  • Code key machine
  • Key gauge and decoder
  • Key blanks in common keyways
  • Pin tweezers and shims
  • Rekeying pin kit

What shapes the quoteBox Grove Locksmith Pros

Electronic credentials on the same ring
Clearing a garage opener's memory and re-pairing remotes, changing keypad codes or helping report a building fob are small tasks the quote names separately.
Outbuildings, gates and padlocks
Sheds, gates and detached garages often carry padlocks or light cylinders. Bringing them onto the house key may mean a new padlock of a matching keyway, quoted as a part.
Paperwork for a landlord or building
Where a landlord, condominium or lease requires a written record of the lock change and key count, preparing that note and any key register update is a small named item.

FeesSame any hour

Have it ready

Before you call · 0 / 3

(289) 301-8897

Frequently asked questions

Does rekeying weaken the lock?

No. On a conventional pin-tumbler cylinder, the housing, springs and top pins are untouched and only the bottom pins are exchanged for the same grade of part the lock left the factory with; a homeowner-rekeyable design is reset through its own procedure instead, and a high-security cylinder may also need its sidebar or finger-pin elements reset. If the locksmith notices worn parts, replacing them is offered as a separate step, leaving the lock stronger, not weaker.

Does stamping keys 'do not duplicate' stop copies?

It asks; it does not compel. The stamp is a request that a key-cutting counter may or may not honour, and manufacturers say as much. Real control comes from a restricted keyway, whose blanks are issued only through authorised channels against a key card, or simply from knowing how many keys exist and who holds them. A rekey resets that count to a number you chose.

Can all my doors work on one key afterwards?

Usually, yes. Cylinders that share a keyway family accept the same blank, so they can be pinned to one combination during the rekey. The front door, back door, garage entry and a gate padlock of the same family become a single key. Where a door uses a different family, the locksmith can swap its cylinder for a compatible one in the same visit, or you can choose to keep two keys for that door.

Markhaminformation

YorkOntario

Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey · Mount Joy, Box Grove, Cedar Grove, Locust Hill

Town
Markham, York
In business
35 years
Hours
Open 24/7
Nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
Visits
On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.

2021 census: what it means at the door

Every square is one home in a hundred.

  • 19 in 100 homes · newer homes
  • About 19% of homes in Markham were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.In newer developments the hardware is often the same finish and style from house to house. A locksmith can offer upgrades that match what is already there, so a stronger cylinder or a new lever set fits in without looking like an afterthought.
  • Single-detached houses make up about 56% of homes in Markham (2021 Census).Mixed housing brings mixed hardware ages as well as types. A locksmith may rebuild a mortise lock on a semi-detached house and then set up a keypad on a townhouse door across the road, and treats each with the care its owner expects.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census Profile

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On-site assessment

Request a visit.

The keys fell out of a gym bag somewhere between the arena and the parking lot.

(289) 301-8897, open 24/7.