Change or rekey · Toronto
Gate & Building Entry Locks
The driveway gate drags a groove into the gravel every time it swings, and the latch stopped catching weeks ago. Now it sits propped shut with a brick, waiting for anyone to walk through and forget to prop it back.
Gate & Building Entry Locks
In plain words
A gate or door that will not latch is rarely just a lock problem; more often the hardware is being asked to catch a moving target. This visit reads the gate or door's actual swing, sag and alignment first, then brings the closer, hinges, strike and cylinder into agreement with each other rather than replacing parts one at a time. Once the physical fit is right, the same lock that seemed unreliable for months often turns out to have been sound all along.
How the visit goesThe padlock on the side gate has gone stiff every winter for three years running, and this year the key simply will not turn past the first few pins. Salt spray off the road and a season of meltwater have left the cylinder pitted and reluctant.
Toronto
How the visit goes
Checking the closer and hinges together
A closer cannot be judged on its own, because a gate that slams or drifts open is often fighting hinges or a post that have moved. The locksmith checks the closer's current adjustment, the condition of its arm and fittings, and then the hinges or pivots the gate hangs from, along with whether the post itself still stands square. Separating a closer problem from a hinge or post problem here avoids replacing a perfectly sound closer that was only ever fighting a leaning post, or the reverse case.
Coordinating keys across a shared entry
On a property with several gates or a shared building entry, the cylinders that should open on one key are brought onto a common pinning during the same visit, rather than one at a time as complaints come in. Current residents or unit holders each receive a key that matches every door they are meant to use, and a short list is kept of which key opens what. Any gate meant to stay on its own separate key, such as a utility gate the property manager alone uses, is deliberately left off the shared system.
An electronic entry tested as one system
Where the entry includes a buzzer, keypad or electric strike, you see it worked before the locksmith leaves: the intercom releasing the door on a buzz, the keypad accepting a code, and, where the installed lock includes one, the mechanical override key turning cleanly as a backup. Batteries or settings that were touched during the visit are confirmed, and, if a backup key exists, you are shown where it lives so it is not lost track of. An entry with both a working backup key and working electronics now has two independent ways to open it, worth keeping in mind the day the power or the app misbehaves.
Gate & Building Entry Locks
In the van
- Voltage tester for electric strikes
- Hinges, pivots and shims
- Strike plates and keepers
- Cylinder decoder and pick set
- Plug follower and repinning kit
What affects the quote
Same fees day, night or weekend
1Weather-rated versus standard hardware
Hardware built and sealed for outdoor exposure differs from standard indoor-grade hardware, and choosing the weather-rated option for anything mounted outside is reflected in the parts portion of the quote.
2Condition of the closer, hinges and post
Simple adjustment of an existing closer is a smaller job than replacing a worn closer, correcting sagging hinges, or resetting a post that has shifted with the ground; the quote follows whichever combination the assessment finds.
3Any damage from a prior forced entry
Where pry marks, a bent strike or a cut hasp are found, repairing or replacing that damaged hardware is additional to a routine lock adjustment, and the locksmith points out what was already there before quoting it.
Gate & Building Entry Locks: questions
What makes a cylinder weather-rated, and does it matter?
A weather-rated cylinder is built with materials and seals meant to resist water, salt and temperature swings better than a standard indoor cylinder, which matters a great deal for anything mounted on an exterior gate or a street-facing door. Without that rating, a cylinder exposed to rain, road spray and freeze-thaw cycles tends to pit, stiffen or seize well before an equivalent indoor lock would show any wear. Choosing the rated version at the outset is usually simpler than replacing a corroded one a season or two later.
Should every gate on my property share one key, or is it better to keep them separate?
Either can make sense, and the choice usually comes down to who uses which gate and how often. A household that walks through the front and side gates daily generally prefers one key for both, while a gate that only a landscaper or utility worker uses is sometimes kept on its own key deliberately, so lending it out does not hand over access to everything else. The locksmith can lay out both options once every gate on the property has been looked at.
Can several padlocks around a property be keyed alike?
Yes, provided the padlocks themselves are a type built to be rekeyed or matched, which is a feature of the specific model rather than something price or quality decides. The locksmith either rekeys the existing padlocks to a shared combination or replaces any that cannot be rekeyed with new ones cut to match. The result is one key working the front gate, the side gate and the shed, instead of a separate key for each, though a utility gate can be left on its own key.
Change or Rekey Locks
- Deadbolt InstallationThe back door has a deadbolt in name only: a short bolt, a thin brass strike held by two little…
- Lock Replacement & UpgradeEvery morning the front door key needs the same little dance: push in, lift, wiggle, turn.
- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceSomeone painted the door years ago without removing the hardware.
Gate & Building Entry Locks near you
Choose a service to see how it works in Toronto. Each page explains the situation it suits, what the locksmith looks at first, how the job is done, and how to look after the hardware afterwards. If your problem sits between two services, either page will get you to the right conversation.