House Rekeying
Moving into a new home in Burlington — whether it's a century-old detached along New Street, a townhouse near Aldershot GO, or a condo overlooking Lake Ontario — is exciting. But the moment you take possession, one question deserves an immediate answer: who else has a key to your front door? Previous owners, former tenants, real estate agents, contractors, and cleaning crews may all have copies you'll never account for. Rekeying your locks is the fastest, most cost-effective way to close that security gap on day one, without replacing every lock on the property.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week · Licensed, bonded & insured
Burlington Locksmiths is a 24/7 mobile locksmith service based right here in Burlington, ON. Our trained and insured technicians drive directly to your address — no need to remove hardware and haul it to a shop. Whether you have a single deadbolt or a full set of door knob locks, mortise locks, and secondary entry points, we can rekey everything to a single new key during one visit. We confirm an exact up-front price before any work begins, so there are no billing surprises when the job is done.
What we do
Available 24/7
Day, night, weekends and holidays — a real local locksmith answers and rolls a fully-stocked van.
Fast local response
Based in Burlington, we reach the Burlington area in well under an hour.
Insured & background-checked
Vetted technicians, up-front pricing, and no surprise add-ons when we arrive.
Damage-free entry
We pick and bypass locks the right way, so most lockouts are solved without drilling anything.
Why House Rekeying Is the Smart First Step After Moving In
Rekeying a lock means a locksmith removes the lock cylinder — the plug inside your deadbolt or door knob lock — and replaces the internal pins so that the old key no longer works and a new key operates the lock instead. The hardware stays on your door, the finish stays intact, and the security level of the lock itself is unchanged. For most Burlington homeowners, this is far more practical than full lock replacement, because you keep the existing hardware while completely invalidating every key cut before your possession date.
The process becomes especially valuable when you want one key to open everything. Many homes accumulate a mismatched collection of cylinders over the years — a Kwikset front deadbolt, a Schlage door knob on the side entry, maybe a mortise lock on an older interior or back door. Our technicians can rekey all of those cylinders to a single key during one appointment, a service often called 'keying alike.' You end up with one key per household member rather than a chaotic ring of look-alike keys that are impossible to sort in the dark.
Mortise Lock and Multi-Point Hardware: What Burlington Homes Actually Have
Older Burlington homes — particularly those in the Shoreacres or Roseland neighbourhoods, or heritage properties near downtown's Brant Street corridor — frequently feature mortise locks rather than the cylindrical deadbolts common in newer builds. A mortise lock is a rectangular unit that sits recessed inside the door edge, combining a latch, a deadbolt, and sometimes a privacy lever all in one chassis. Rekeying a mortise lock requires removing the cylinder from that chassis without disturbing the door frame or the decorative trim, which is exactly the kind of damage-free precision work our technicians are trained to perform.
Multi-point locking systems, popular on European-style doors and some newer Burlington infill builds, operate differently again — one handle throw engages bolts at the top, middle, and bottom of the door simultaneously. Our team carries the tooling and cylinder inventory to service these systems as well, so you are not turned away because your door hardware is more complex than average. Whether it's a straightforward door knob lock cylinder or a full mortise lock chassis with a profile cylinder, we approach each job with the same methodical, damage-free process.
Factors That Determine Your House Rekeying Quote
Every job is priced individually because several variables genuinely affect the labour and materials involved. The type and brand of lock matters: rekeying a standard Kwikset deadbolt takes different pins and tooling than servicing a Schlage mortise lock cylinder or a high-security restricted-keyway system. The number of cylinders on the property is the most significant factor — a single front deadbolt is a very different scope from rekeying four exterior doors, a garage side entry, and a basement walkout all to one key. Time of day also plays a role; calls outside regular business hours draw a different rate than daytime appointments, though our 24/7 availability means we never turn you away when the situation is urgent.
Travel distance within the Burlington area is considered for after-hours calls, and any specialty parts — such as a restricted key blank or a replacement cylinder for an uncommon mortise lock — are factored in before we give you a number. What will not change is our commitment to transparency: our technician walks you through the full scope and confirms the exact price before picking up a single tool. No hidden fees are added once the job is underway. If you want a ballpark before we arrive, call (289) 670-9821 and describe your door hardware — our dispatch team can give you a realistic range based on what you tell us.
Emergency Locksmith Support and Ongoing Security for Burlington Residents
Rekeying after a move is a planned service, but security needs do not always follow a schedule. If you've just discovered a break-in attempt, lost a key, or had a relationship change that makes an old key a concern, you need an emergency locksmith response — not an appointment days away. Because Burlington Locksmiths operates around the clock, our trained technicians can respond to urgent rekeying calls at 2 a.m. on a holiday weekend just as readily as a Tuesday afternoon. We carry a wide inventory of pins, cylinders, and key blanks in our service vehicles so that most jobs are completed in a single visit without waiting for parts.
Beyond residential work, our team also functions as a commercial locksmith resource for Burlington small businesses, rental property owners, and property managers. If you manage a multi-unit building near the Plains Road corridor or a retail unit in the Mapleview area, we can rekey entire suites to a master key system so that management holds one key while each tenant's key only opens their own unit. The same skill set that applies to a homeowner's door knob lock applies at a commercial scale — just with more cylinders, more coordination, and a greater need for precision. Call (289) 670-9821 any time — we answer 24/7 and can schedule or dispatch immediately depending on your situation.
What to Expect During a House Rekeying Appointment
When our mobile unit arrives at your Burlington address, the technician will ask to see proof of residency or ownership — a utility bill, lease agreement, or mortgage document works fine. This verification step protects you as much as it protects our standards; a legitimate locksmith always confirms authority before working on a property. Once that's confirmed, the technician does a walk-through of all the doors you want rekeyed, notes the lock brands and cylinder types, and provides the confirmed price for your approval before starting.
The work itself is methodical but typically quick for standard cylindrical deadbolts and door knob locks. Mortise lock cylinders take a little longer to extract and rekey properly without scratching the door face or stripping the set screw, but our technicians are trained specifically to work damage-free wherever the lock type allows. When everything is complete, you'll receive a set of new keys cut to the new combination, and the technician will test each key in each lock in front of you before leaving. You're not signing off on finished work until you've personally confirmed every lock opens smoothly.
Frequently asked questions
How is rekeying different from replacing my locks entirely?
When a lock is rekeyed, the existing hardware stays on your door. The locksmith removes the cylinder and swaps out the internal driver pins so that only a newly cut key will operate it. Lock replacement means the entire hardware unit — knob, deadbolt body, strike plate, or mortise lock chassis — is removed and a new one is installed. Rekeying is faster, leaves the door finish undisturbed, and costs less in most cases because you are only paying for labour and a small set of pins rather than new hardware. It makes sense to replace rather than rekey only when the hardware itself is damaged, worn, or you want to upgrade the security grade of the lock.
Can you rekey all my locks to work with one key?
Yes, and this is one of the most common requests we get from Burlington homeowners who have just moved in. The process is called keying alike. As long as the locks are the same brand or use a compatible keyway, we can rekey every cylinder — front deadbolt, side entry door knob lock, garage side door, mortise lock on the back — so that a single key operates all of them. In cases where the locks use incompatible keyways, we may recommend replacing one or two cylinders with matching units so the whole property can be brought onto one key. We will tell you exactly what is needed before any work begins.
What proof of ownership or residency do I need to provide?
We ask for one piece of documentation that connects you to the address — a signed lease, a utility bill with your name and the service address, a purchase agreement, or a mortgage statement are all acceptable. This is a standard practice for any reputable locksmith and is there to protect homeowners and tenants from unauthorized access. The verification takes about thirty seconds and does not add meaningful time to the appointment. If you are a property manager or landlord authorizing work on a unit, a management agreement or written authorization from the owner is sufficient.
Do you carry parts for older mortise locks and less common hardware?
Our service vehicles are stocked with pins, springs, and cylinders for a wide range of lock types, including older mortise lock systems common in Burlington's established neighbourhoods. For very rare or antique hardware, we will tell you honestly during the call if a part needs to be sourced and factor any lead time into your planning. In practice, the vast majority of residential and commercial rekeying jobs in the Burlington area are completed in a single visit with parts already on the vehicle. If your lock is unusual, describe it to our team when you call (289) 670-9821 and we can confirm availability before dispatching.
What factors affect the final price of a rekeying job?
Several variables go into the quote: the number of cylinders being rekeyed, the type of hardware involved (a standard door knob lock is different from a mortise lock or a high-security restricted cylinder), the time of day the work is being performed, travel distance for after-hours calls, and whether any specialty parts like restricted key blanks are required. There are no hidden charges added once work begins. Our technician will confirm the exact total with you before touching anything, and that number is what you pay — nothing more. We do not give vague estimates that balloon after the job is complete.
I am locked out of my new home and the locks haven't been rekeyed yet — can you help right now?
Absolutely. As an emergency locksmith service operating 24/7 across Burlington and the surrounding area, we respond to lockouts at any hour. When you call (289) 670-9821, a dispatcher will collect your location and a description of the lock hardware and send a technician to you as quickly as road conditions allow. Once we get you back inside, we can rekey the locks on the spot during the same visit if you'd like — it is a natural time to do it since the lock is already being worked on. Ownership or residency verification still applies, so have a document ready if you can.