North YORK KEY GUARD LOCKSMITHS
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Home Lock Rekeying

Moving into a new home in Toronto — whether it's a semi-detached in North York, a condo near Yonge and Sheppard, or a townhouse in Willowdale — means inheriting every key that was ever cut for those locks. Previous owners, tenants, real estate agents, contractors, and neighbours may all have copies you'll never account for. Home lock rekeying is the fastest, most cost-effective way to take full control of who can open your door, without replacing the hardware itself.

Call 437-292-3933Get a fast quote

Open 24 hours, 7 days a week · Licensed, bonded & insured

At North York Key Guard Locksmiths, our trained and insured technicians come directly to your address — no towing, no trip to a shop — and rekey your existing deadbolts, mortise locks, and door knob locks so that only your new keys operate them. We handle everything from a single front-door deadbolt to a full home rekey that brings every entry point onto one master key. And because moving chaos doesn't follow a schedule, we're available 24/7, including weekends and holidays.

What we do

1

Available 24/7

Day, night, weekends and holidays — a real local locksmith answers and rolls a fully-stocked van.

2

Fast local response

Based in Toronto, we reach the Toronto area in well under an hour.

3

Insured & background-checked

Vetted technicians, up-front pricing, and no surprise add-ons when we arrive.

4

Damage-free entry

We pick and bypass locks the right way, so most lockouts are solved without drilling anything.

01

Why Home Lock Rekeying Belongs at the Top of Your Moving Checklist

When you buy or rent a property, you receive a set of keys — but you have no way of knowing how many copies exist or whose hands they've passed through. Locksmiths call this an 'unknown key history,' and it's one of the most overlooked security gaps homeowners face. Home lock rekeying resolves it by replacing the internal pins of your existing cylinder so that old keys no longer turn the lock. The hardware on your door stays exactly as it is; only the internal configuration changes. It costs significantly less than a full home lock change and takes a fraction of the time, making it the smartest first step after any move.

Rekeying is also the right call after other life events: the end of a tenancy, a relationship change, a lost or stolen key, or even a recent home renovation where contractors had access. North York sees a high volume of property turnovers along corridors like Yonge Street, Bathurst Street, and the busy rental strips near Finch Avenue West — areas where key copies can circulate through several occupants over the years. Don't wait for a security incident to find out who still has a copy of your key.

Why Home Lock Rekeying Belongs at the Top of Your Moving Checklist — North York Key Guard Locksmiths
02

How Our Mobile Home Lock Rekeying Service Works

Our process is straightforward and designed to cause zero disruption to your door or frame. When you call 437-292-3933, we gather details about your locks — whether you have a standard Kwikset or Schlage deadbolt, a heavier mortise lock set into the door edge, or a basic door knob lock on a side or back entrance — and we confirm an exact up-front price before any technician leaves for your address. The quote accounts for the number of locks, their type and brand, the time of day, and travel distance, so there are no surprises when the work is done.

Once on site, our skilled technician disassembles the cylinder, replaces the driver and key pins to match a fresh key cut, reassembles everything, and tests the lock multiple times before handing you your new keys. For homes with multiple entry points, we can key all cylinders alike so one key opens the front door, back door, garage entry, and any secondary deadbolt. If your property has an older mortise lock — common in Toronto's pre-war homes and character properties near Lawrence Park or Bedford Park — we carry the specialist tools and pin kits to rekey those too, without damaging the ornate hardware that gives those homes their character.

Mortise Locks, Door Knob Locks, and Every Entry Point Covered — North York Key Guard Locksmiths
03

Mortise Locks, Door Knob Locks, and Every Entry Point Covered

Not all residential locks are created equal, and a thorough home rekeying service has to account for every type installed on your property. Mortise locks are the large, rectangular lock bodies recessed into the door edge — they were the standard in Toronto homes built before the 1960s and are still found throughout established neighbourhoods like Leaside, Forest Hill, and parts of North York. They require a different rekeying approach than a surface-mounted deadbolt, and our technicians are specifically trained to handle them correctly. Forcing or incorrectly disassembling a mortise lock can crack the cast housing; our damage-free approach avoids that entirely.

Beyond mortise locks, we rekey cylindrical deadbolts, door knob lock sets (including privacy and keyed-entry knobs on side and back doors), padlocks on gates and sheds, and sliding door pin cylinders. If your home also has a keypad or smart lock with a backup cylinder, we can rekey that cylinder to match your new key as well. Our goal is to leave you with a single key that works every lock on the property — a clean, unified system that's far easier to manage and far harder for an unauthorized person to exploit.

Why Home Lock Rekeying Belongs at the Top of Your Moving Checklist — North York Key Guard Locksmiths
04

What to Do If You're Locked Out During or After the Move

Moving day is one of the most common triggers for a home lockout. Keys get shuffled into boxes, handed to helpers, or accidentally locked inside the very home you're trying to secure. If you find yourself in that situation, the first sensible steps are to check all other entry points calmly — a garage side door, a back patio door, or a window you may have left unlocked — and to check whether a trusted person already has a spare key. If none of those options apply, the safest and most reliable solution is to call a professional locksmith rather than attempt anything that could damage the lock or door.

Our home lockout service covers North York and the broader Toronto area around the clock. Whether it's a Sunday-morning lockout on Sheppard Avenue or a late-night situation on a residential street in Newtonbrook, our mobile team arrives quickly, verifies ownership of the property, and gets your door open using non-destructive methods wherever the lock type allows. We do not coach or describe bypass or picking techniques here — what matters is that when you call 437-292-3933, a trained and insured technician is dispatched immediately and handles the situation professionally. Once you're back inside, we can proceed with rekeying on the spot so the situation doesn't repeat itself. We answer 24/7, including every statutory holiday on the Ontario calendar.

Mortise Locks, Door Knob Locks, and Every Entry Point Covered — North York Key Guard Locksmiths

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between rekeying a lock and replacing it entirely?

Rekeying changes only the internal pin configuration of your existing cylinder, so the same lock body and hardware stay on your door but old keys no longer work. A full lock change means removing the entire lock assembly and installing new hardware. Rekeying is the right choice when your existing locks are in good working condition and you simply need to invalidate old keys — which is exactly the situation after a move. Lock replacement makes more sense when the hardware is worn, damaged, or you want to upgrade to a higher-security product like a Schlage B-grade deadbolt or a quality mortise lock.

How much does home lock rekeying cost in Toronto?

We don't publish flat rates because the final price depends on several factors: the number of locks being rekeyed, the type of lock (a standard deadbolt, a door knob lock set, and a mortise lock each require different labour and pin kits), the time of day the work is performed, and your location relative to our nearest available technician. What we always do is confirm an exact up-front price with you before any work begins, so you know the full cost before our technician picks up a single tool. Call 437-292-3933 and we'll give you a clear quote over the phone.

Can you rekey all my home's locks to work on one key?

Yes, and this is one of the most popular requests we handle after a move. The process is called 'keying alike' — we rekey every cylinder on your property so that a single key operates the front deadbolt, back door, side entry, garage entry door, and any other keyed-entry door knob lock or padlock on the property. It simplifies daily life considerably and eliminates the confusion of carrying a separate key for every entrance. We assess all your lock brands and models on arrival to confirm compatibility before we start.

Do you rekey mortise locks in older Toronto homes?

Absolutely. Mortise locks are very common in Toronto's older housing stock — homes built before the 1960s in neighbourhoods like Lawrence Park, Forest Hill, Leaside, and parts of North York frequently have them. They're a more involved job than rekeying a modern cylindrical deadbolt because the cylinder must be extracted from the mortise body without cracking the housing, and the pin kit used must match the original keyway. Our technicians carry the appropriate tools and pin sets for the most common mortise lock configurations found in Toronto-area homes, and we work carefully to preserve the original hardware.

What happens if I'm locked out of my home after a rekey?

If you experience a home lockout after we've completed a rekey — for example, you've lost your new key — simply call us at 437-292-3933. Our home lockout service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no exceptions for weekends or holidays. We'll dispatch a mobile technician to your address, verify that you are the occupant, and open the door using non-destructive methods wherever possible. We can then cut you an additional key copy on the spot so you have a spare going forward. Storing a spare key with a trusted neighbour or a secure key lockbox is something we always recommend after any rekey.

How long does it take to rekey a house with multiple locks?

For a typical Toronto home with two to four entry points — front deadbolt, back door deadbolt, and one or two door knob lock sets — the job usually takes under an hour from the moment our technician arrives. Homes with additional locks, security bars, padlocks on outbuildings, or more complex mortise lock hardware may take somewhat longer. We'll give you a realistic time estimate when you call 437-292-3933, and because we're a fully mobile service, our technician brings all necessary tools and pin kits to your door so there are no delays waiting for parts.

Locked out or need a lock fixed? We are on the way.

We answer 24/7 — talk to a real local locksmith now.

437-292-3933