Locksmith in LondonYour shop's front door
is your first impression

It is a good moment for it. Nobody knows how many copies of a previous owner's key exist, so pinning the new bolt, and the rest of the exterior doors, to one fresh key retires all of them at once. Lock manufacturers list a move as one of the main reasons to rekey. You come away with a known number of keys, each tested in every door it is meant to open.

The lock hardware is the same; the door construction changes the method. Steel and fibreglass doors have a wooden or composite block inside the lock stile, and existing bores are used wherever possible. Where a new deadbolt must be added, the locksmith drills with a jig and bits suited to the skin so the hole is clean and square, and fits an edge plate designed for that door. Insulated doors also move less with humidity, so alignment tends to hold well.

It depends on who uses the door. Codes suit everyone and need nothing in hand. Fobs or cards are a favourite for children and for anyone who finds small buttons difficult, since a tap does it. Fingerprint readers are convenient for a household of adults but can be fussy with cold, wet or gloved hands in winter, so pair them with a code. Phone control is for whoever wants alerts and remote checks. Most families end up using two of these.

It depends on what you have. If the deadbolt is a good heavy unit that throws a full inch into a proper strike, a high security cylinder can replace the ordinary one and the rest stays. If the deadbolt is light, worn or throws a short bolt, a new graded deadbolt with a hardened bolt is the sensible base and the high security cylinder goes into that. The assessment tells you which, door by door.