House Rekeying Service

When a locksmith rekeys a lock, the internal pins inside the lock cylinder are replaced or rearranged so that only a brand-new cut key will operate it. Every copy of the previous key — whether it was given to a neighbor, a contractor, a former tenant, or a real-estate showing agent — becomes permanently useless. This is meaningfully different from changing the entire lockset, which costs more and takes longer. Rekeying preserves the hardware you already have, including quality mortise locks that are expensive and built to last decades, while giving you complete control over who can enter your home from day one.

For homeowners in ZIP codes like 14607 (the Park Avenue corridor), 14609 (upper northeast Rochester), 14526 (Penfield), 14450 (Fairport), and 14612 (Greece along Lake Ontario), the practical benefit is clear: one visit from our mobile team can cover every exterior door on the property and, if you choose, every interior lock as well. We can also key all the locks alike — meaning one single key opens the front door, back door, garage entry, and basement — which eliminates the bulky key ring problem that frustrates so many new homeowners. Monroe County spans dozens of neighborhoods and communities, and our technicians know the local roads well enough to reach you quickly whether you're near the Erie Canal Trail in Pittsford or off Latta Road in Greece.

Older Rochester homes — particularly those built before 1970 in neighborhoods like Corn Hill, Maplewood, and the 19th Ward — commonly have mortise locks rather than the cylindrical locksets found in newer construction. A mortise lock is a heavy-duty mechanism set into a rectangular pocket (the mortise) cut into the edge of the door. It typically combines a deadbolt and a latch in a single, elegant case and is generally considered more robust than a standard door knob lock or cylindrical deadbolt. Our technicians are experienced with the full range of mortise lock configurations: single-cylinder, double-cylinder, and the older skeleton-key designs that sometimes survive in historic homes. Rekeying a mortise lock requires specific follower tools and cylinder knowledge — it is not a DIY-friendly task — and our team handles it routinely.

Beyond mortise locks, we rekey Schlage, Kwikset, and other major-brand cylindrical deadbolts and door knob locks, padlocks, sliding door locks, and window locks. If your new Monroe County home has a smart lock or a keypad entry, we can rekey or reprogram it as well. The goal is a complete security reset — not a partial one that leaves a side-door lock overlooked. We carry a full inventory of replacement pins, springs, and cylinders in our service vehicles so we are not guessing at what your home needs when we arrive. If a lock is worn beyond rekeying and needs replacement, we will show you the issue and explain your options before doing anything.

When you call (704) 850-6756, a dispatcher will ask for your address, the number and type of locks you want rekeyed, and a convenient time window. Because we are a 24/7 mobile operation, that window can be tonight, early tomorrow morning, or right now if you have an urgent situation. We do not work out of a fixed shop that you drive to — our technicians come to your Monroe County property fully equipped. Before any work starts, we walk through the property with you, identify every lock on the scope, and give you a firm, all-inclusive price. Nothing changes after you agree to it.

The actual rekeying process is quiet and damage-free under normal conditions. For most standard door knob locks and deadbolts, each cylinder takes only a few minutes once the door is accessible. Mortise lock cylinders take a bit longer due to the removal process, but the result is the same: a freshly pinned cylinder that responds only to your new key. We test every lock multiple times before we consider the job complete — lock from outside, lock from inside, confirm smooth key turn in both directions. At the end of the visit you receive all the new keys we cut on-site. If you need extra copies made, we can cut them before we leave.

Monroe County covers roughly 1,367 square miles and includes the City of Rochester plus towns and villages like Brighton, Chili, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Mendon, Ogden, Riga, Rush, Sweden, Wheatland, Webster, and more. ZIP codes served by our team include 14420, 14428, 14445, 14450, 14464, 14467, 14468, 14469, 14472, 14502, 14514, 14526, 14534, 14543, 14546, 14559, 14564, 14580, 14586, 14604, 14605, 14606, 14607, 14608, 14609, 14610, 14611, 14612, 14613, 14614, 14615, 14616, 14617, 14618, 14619, 14620, 14621, 14622, 14623, 14624, 14625, 14626, and 14627. If you are unsure whether your address falls within our coverage area, call us and we will confirm it immediately.

What genuine local knowledge means for you as a customer: our technicians are not relying on a GPS pin alone. They know that a call from the Browncroft neighborhood near Culver Road might sit on a one-way grid that adds a few minutes, or that a home on the east side near Winton Road may have a mix of older mortise locks and newer deadbolts from a partial renovation. That familiarity helps us arrive prepared rather than improvising on-site. We also understand Monroe County's seasonal reality — Rochester winters are real, and a lock that swells or sticks in January cold can affect how a cylinder is seated and rekeyed. Our team accounts for those conditions as part of the job, not as an excuse for extra charges.

Customers who call us after a move consistently mention two things: they did not expect us to arrive as quickly as we did, and they were relieved that the price they were quoted on the phone matched the invoice exactly. First-time homebuyers in particular often tell us they had no idea a single rekeying visit could cover the whole house — they thought they would need to replace all their locks at significant hardware cost. Hearing that every exterior door is now on one key, and that the total came in under what they budgeted for new locksets, is a recurring theme in the feedback we receive from Monroe County homeowners.

Our approach to every residential call — whether it's a standard rekeying after a move, an emergency locksmith response after a break-in attempt, or a late-night lockout on a snowy February night — is the same: arrive prepared, communicate clearly, and finish the job right the first time. We are insured, and our technicians are trained to handle residential lock work across the full spectrum of home styles and hardware types found in Rochester's remarkably diverse housing stock. Ready to get started? Call (704) 850-6756 — we answer 24/7 and can typically have a technician on the way within the hour.