What rekeying actually is
Inside a lock cylinder is a set of pins at heights that match one specific key. Rekeying changes those pins to match a different key. The lock stays on the door, the hardware you paid for stays in service, and every key ever cut for it stops working at the same moment.
That last part is the bit people actually want. The worry after losing a key is rarely about the lock — it is about who might have the key.
When rekeying is the right answer
- You have moved into a house or unit and do not know how many keys exist.
- A key has been lost or stolen and the hardware is in good condition.
- A tenancy has ended, or a housemate, cleaner or tradesperson has moved on.
- You want five or six doors to take one key instead of five or six.
- A relationship has ended and you want certainty rather than an assurance.
When we would tell you to replace instead
Rekeying is not always the cheaper answer, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. Replacement makes more sense when:
- The lock is worn out — the key is already hard to turn, or the cylinder has play in it.
- It is a cheap builder-grade lock that has failed once already. A repair visit on one of those is money spent twice.
- The hardware does not meet the standard you want, or your insurer's expectation.
- The doors carry a mismatched collection of locks that cannot mechanically share a key. Sometimes one replacement makes keying the whole house alike possible.
- You are moving to a restricted key system, which needs its own cylinders.
The question that decides it
Ask yourself whether the problem is the lock or the key. If the lock works properly and your only concern is who can open it, rekey. If the lock itself is the problem, replace it — and rekey everything else while the locksmith is there.
One key for the whole house
Keying alike is done during a rekey at little extra effort, and it is the change people are most pleased with afterwards. Front door, back door, laundry, garage side door and often the gate, all on one key.
The limit is mechanical rather than commercial: different brands and lock types cannot always share a key profile. It is worth a locksmith seeing the doors before anyone promises it across a whole property.