You should know what is on your door and why it matters. We grade the hardware you have, point out the weak link, whether that is a short strike screw or a cylinder that picks easily, and suggest only what makes a real difference.
From the shop
When a key snaps off in the lock, the temptation is to dig at it with whatever is in the kitchen drawer. We would gently suggest not. The right extractor slides alongside the broken blade and draws it out without scoring the pins, which means the cylinder survives and only the key needs replacing.
— Auburn Mills Locksmith Co.
Hours
Locksmith services
The list below is long because doors are varied, not because we want to sell you more than you need. Most calls end with one service. Read the one that fits, note what the page asks you to have ready, and get in touch when it suits you.
Lockouts
The word emergency covers a range, from mildly inconvenient to genuinely frightening. A parent locked out with a baby inside, a shop owner facing a smashed back door at closing time.
Change or rekey
Home work is mostly about who holds a key. Moving in, a lodger leaving, a lost spare, a lock that sticks every winter.
High security
Most people think of the lock. Burglars think of the frame.
Commercial
Office managers, franchise owners, property managers and shopkeepers all come through the commercial pages. The work is the same trade as residential locksmithing, but the hardware is heavier, the keying is planned and the paperwork matters more.
Peterborough
Lock Rekeying
Every copy of your house key seems to work a little differently. One needs a jiggle, another sticks halfway, and the original wore down years ago. The lock itself is fine; the keys have drifted so far from each other that none fits cleanly.
Lock RekeyingUsuallyA patented cylinder in each exterior door, on one key.
WhyOld keys stop working and new ones cannot be copied without you.
UsuallyA reinforced strike with long screws into the framing.
WhyThe bolt then ties into the studs, which is where kicked doors fail.
UsuallyA rated cylinder and a controlled key for that door.
WhyOne numbered key, issued against a signature, in a cylinder that resists picks and drills.
UsuallyVintage Mortise Lock Service
WhyOccasionally a case really is finished, with a cracked body, a bolt worn to a sliver or a hub broken in two, and the answer is a replacement that respects the door.
UsuallySmart Lock Installation
WhyFor a landlord, a host or anyone who shares a door with people who come and go, the appeal is control without key cutting.
UsuallyGate & Building Entry Locks
WhyA property that grew its gates one at a time, a shed lock here, a side gate there, tends to end up with a drawer full of keys that only sort of match.
Open 24/7
Rekeying is a change made inside the lock rather than to the lock itself. Many keyed cylinders hold a row of small pins that have to sit at exactly the right heights before the plug will turn, set by the cuts on your key, though some residential cylinders use a side-locking bar instead of pins.
1 of 3
We walk the house with you, note every exterior lock and ask which doors you want on one key. That decides the pin work and the number of keys to cut.
2 of 3
Each cylinder comes out, gets new pins to match a fresh key, and goes back in. Old keys stop working the moment the cylinder is back in place.
3 of 3
We try each new key in each lock, from outside and inside, hand you the set and explain how many copies exist so you know exactly who can get in.
Peterborough, Ontario
2021 census · what it means at the door
64%Older homes
About 64% of homes in Peterborough were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Older doors are usually thicker and made of solid wood, which is good news. They take a deadbolt well, hold longer strike screws, and reward reinforcement. The locksmith measures the thickness and backset so new hardware fits without fresh holes.
57%
Single-detached houses make up about 57% of homes in Peterborough (2021 Census).
A mix of detached and attached housing means a mix of key habits: spare keys under pots at houses, fob-and-key combinations in buildings. A locksmith can improve both, with a proper key safe or keypad here and a tidy suite cylinder there.
You can, given a key that currently operates the lock, the maker's reset tool, the new key and the steps followed in order. Trouble tends to arrive when the old key is missing, when the new key belongs to a different keyway, or when a reset stalls halfway and the cylinder then accepts neither key. A locksmith carries the tool and the procedure, can check that the new key suits the rest of your doors, and can fit a standard cylinder if a forced reset has broken the mechanism.
Rekeying is exactly the right response, because it makes the lost key useless at every door that was pinned. The locksmith will walk the property with you to be sure nothing is missed, including the garage side door, a shed and any padlock the same key opened, and will suggest changing any garage keypad code that was written on the same ring. After that, whoever finds the keys is holding brass that opens nothing on your property.
Many landlords do, and it removes the question of whether every copy came back. The locksmith rekeys the unit's cylinders so the incoming tenant holds the only working keys, cuts the copies you want, and notes the count for your move-in record. Because provincial tenancy rules expect the tenant to be handed replacement keys whenever a landlord changes a lock, the visit ends with keys for both of you and a clear list of which doors were done.
Bumping uses a specially cut key that is struck while under light turning pressure, bouncing the pins to the shear line for an instant so an ordinary cylinder opens. It works on many standard pin tumblers. A high security cylinder needs its sidebar released by separately positioned finger or rotating pins at the same moment, and a bump key cannot set those, so the plug stays locked. It is one of the clearest advantages of the upgrade.
On-site assessment preferred
Ask about a spare key before you need one. Talk to us about access for your staff.
Open 24/7 · same fees any hour
On-site assessment preferred · (249) 494-5980 · open 24/7
