Residential Locksmith Adelaide.
Lock changes, rekeying, repairs, spare keys, digital locks and security upgrades for Adelaide homes. Mobile service, so the work happens at your door rather than yours being taken off its hinges and driven somewhere.
What a home locksmith actually does.
Most household security problems fall into one of these. Each links through to the detail if you want to understand the work before booking it.
Rekeying
Change which key opens the door while keeping the locks you already have.
Repairs & replacement
Sticking deadlocks, dropped doors, worn cylinders and failed hardware.
Key cutting
Spares for the household, plus keyed-alike sets so one key opens several doors.
Digital locks
Code, fob or app entry for the door the family uses most.
Door hardware
Deadlocks, latches, handles, security screen locks and window locks.
Safes
Supply, installation, combination changes and opening a safe you cannot.
You do not know how many keys exist.
This is the single most common blind spot in home security, and it has nothing to do with the quality of your locks.
When a property changes hands, the keys handed over at settlement are the keys someone knew about. Over the life of a house, keys get cut for cleaners, gardeners, tradespeople, agents, tenants, house sitters, relatives and former partners. Almost none of them come back, and no register was ever kept.
Your locks may be in perfect condition. The question is not whether they work: it is how many people can still work them.
What to do about it
- Rekey rather than replace. If the hardware is sound, rekeying invalidates every existing key at a fraction of the cost of new locks.
- Do the whole property at once. Front, back, garage, shed and any internal door that locks. A single missed door undoes the exercise.
- Consider keying alike. Having one key open every external door is more convenient and makes people far less likely to prop doors or hide spares.
- Then cut spares deliberately. Decide who gets a key, and keep a note of it. That record is what makes the next change simple.
Front & back doors
The entries that carry the most traffic and the most copied keys.
Garage & shed
Often the weakest lock on the property, and frequently connected to the house.
Windows
Window locks and security screens, which are how a surprising number of entries happen.
Gates & side access
Controlling the path to the back of the house, where doors are least visible.
Who can change the locks on a rental.
This comes up constantly, and getting it wrong causes disputes. The short version is below; the detail depends on your agreement and circumstances.
If you are a tenant
Being locked out of a property you currently rent and occupy is an access problem, and a locksmith can help you get back in once entitlement is established.
Altering the locks is a separate matter. In South Australia, changing locks on a tenanted property generally involves the landlord or managing agent, and residential tenancy rules govern when it can be done and who holds keys afterwards. Special provisions can apply in situations involving personal safety.
The practical advice: contact your agent first. If you believe your safety is at risk, say that explicitly, because it changes the process.
If you are a landlord or agent
Rekeying between tenancies is the standard way to make sure a departing tenant's keys stop working, along with any copies they made, without buying new hardware for every changeover.
For portfolios, a documented key-control process is worth more than better locks. Knowing which keys exist for which property, and who signed for them, is what makes a tenancy change quick.
Tenancy rules change and individual agreements differ. For anything contested, check the current South Australian residential tenancy requirements or seek advice. We will tell you plainly if a job needs the owner's authorisation before we can do it.
Work carried out on site.
Nothing needs to leave the property. Locks are serviced, rekeyed or replaced where they are, and every new key is cut and tried in the door before we go.
Before you book.
If your situation is not covered, call and describe the door. Most questions are answered in a minute on the phone.
Call 0413 613 190Should I rekey or replace my locks?
If the hardware is sound and you simply want the old keys to stop working, rekeying does the job for less. Replace when the lock is worn, damaged, insecure by design, or when you are changing to something different such as a digital lock or a keyed-alike set.
Can one key open all my external doors?
Usually yes. This is called keying alike, and it works where the locks are of compatible types. If your doors currently carry a mix of brands and ages, some hardware may need swapping to bring them onto one key. It is worth asking about during any rekey.
My deadlock has become stiff. Does it need replacing?
Often not. Stiffness is frequently the door or frame moving rather than the lock failing, so the bolt no longer lines up with the strike. Adjusting the alignment fixes it. Where the cylinder itself is worn, servicing or replacing just that part is usually enough.
Are digital locks secure enough for a front door?
Quality varies enormously, so the honest answer is that it depends on the model. A well-made digital lock from a reputable manufacturer, correctly installed on a suitable door, is a sound front-door choice and removes the copied-key problem entirely. A cheap unit is a weak point. We will tell you which category something falls into.
Do I need a locksmith or a handyman?
For anything involving the security of the property, a locksmith. The common failure with general handyman lock work is hardware fitted to the door without the mortice, packing or alignment being right, which leaves a lock that turns but does not actually resist much. If the door is only sticking on the hinges, that is genuinely carpentry.
Can you work on security screen doors?
Yes. Screen door locks are a frequent job, both repairs and rekeying so the screen matches the main door key. Bring the make of the screen if you know it, as some use proprietary hardware that has to be ordered rather than carried on the van.
What does a residential job cost?
It depends on how many locks, what type they are, their condition and whether any hardware needs supplying. Rather than publish a figure that will not match your job, tell us the number and type of doors and you will get a quote for the actual work.
Tell us what you need secured.
Call for urgent locksmith assistance or send the details of a residential, commercial, automotive or electronic security enquiry.