Locksmith for Builders Adelaide.
Construction keying, hardware schedules, supply and fit, and a clean handover to the end occupier. Working with builders and developers on the part of the job that is usually left until the week before practical completion.
Construction keying, and why handover matters.
During a build, a great many people need to get in: trades, supervisors, suppliers, inspectors. Keys get handed around, cut informally and rarely come back. By practical completion nobody can say how many exist.
Handing that situation to an owner as "the keys" is handing them a problem they cannot see. Everyone who worked on the site may still have access to the finished building.
Construction keying
The proper answer is a keying arrangement that separates the build phase from occupation. Site keys operate the locks during construction. At handover, the owner's key is used once in each lock, which permanently retires the construction key. Access resets to zero without changing a single cylinder.
Where that system is not available for the hardware chosen, the alternative is a planned rekey at completion, which works perfectly well, but has to be in the programme and the budget rather than discovered at the end.
Getting hardware right at schedule stage
The other recurring issue is hardware chosen from a catalogue on price, then found not to suit the doors, the fire requirements or the egress paths. Reviewing the schedule early is far cheaper than swapping hardware after the doors are hung and the site is chasing completion.
Work across the residential and commercial build sectors.
From a single custom home through to multi-unit developments and commercial fit-outs.
New homes
Entry hardware, keyed-alike sets and window locks, handed over ready to use.
Multi-unit
Lot and common-area keying designed together, ready for the strata scheme that follows.
Commercial fit-out
Master systems, access control and hardware rated for the traffic the space will take.
Renovation
Matching new hardware to retained doors, and bringing everything onto one key.
Site security
Securing a site during construction, including temporary arrangements.
Handover
The clean reset that means the owner's keys are genuinely theirs alone.
Secure Locksmiths & Security holds membership of Master Builders SA, which is the relevant industry association for builder, developer and construction-project work in South Australia. Membership is an industry association, not a licence, an accreditation of workmanship, or a warranty, and we would rather describe it accurately than let it imply more than it is.
Often the last trade on the door.
Hardware goes on near the end of the programme, and handover is where construction keys are retired so the keys the owner receives are genuinely theirs alone.
Programme and supply questions.
Send the door schedule or the plans and we can price and advise from the drawings.
Send a scheduleWhen should we involve a locksmith?
At hardware schedule stage, before anything is ordered. That is when keying can be planned properly and when a hardware choice that will not suit a door or an egress requirement can be caught for the cost of a phone call rather than a variation.
Can you supply hardware as well as install it?
Yes, supply and fit or fit-only where hardware is supplied by others. If it is being supplied by others, send the schedule through first so anything unsuitable for its door is flagged before it arrives on site.
How do we stop trades keeping keys?
Assume they will, and plan for it. Construction keying retires the site key automatically at handover, so it does not matter how many exist. Where that is not available for the hardware chosen, allow for a rekey at completion in the programme and the budget.
Can all the doors be on one key for the owner?
Yes, and for a house it is usually what the owner wants: front, back, garage and any external door on a single key. It is far simpler arranged at supply than retrofitted later, so it belongs in the keying plan rather than the defects list.
What about fire and exit doors?
Hardware on fire and egress doors is governed by those requirements and is not an area for substitution or improvisation. Where a schedule specifies hardware that will not suit a door's fire or egress role, we will raise it rather than fit it: an issue found at certification is considerably more expensive.
Do you work to a construction programme?
Yes. Tell us the fit-off and handover dates and we will confirm lead times for anything with a wait on it: restricted and master key systems in particular are made to order and cannot be pulled forward at the last minute.
What construction projects draw on.
From the hardware schedule through to what the owner receives at handover.
Door hardware
Specification, supply and correct installation across the schedule.
02Master key systems
Designed at schedule stage, with headroom for how the building will be used.
03ETSA locks
Meter box locks fitted as part of new build completion.
04Strata & body corporate
For multi-unit developments, keyed for the scheme that will run it.
Tell us what you need secured.
Call for urgent locksmith assistance or send the details of a residential, commercial, automotive or electronic security enquiry.