Commercial · Markham
Commercial Rekeying
You have just signed the lease on a unit the previous tenant ran for a decade. The landlord handed over three keys, the back door wears a padlock nobody can open, and nobody can say how many front-door keys are still out there.
Commercial Rekeying
In plain words
For most business doors, rekeying is the sensible middle path between doing nothing and buying new hardware. Commercial cylinders are built to be repinned many times, and a lever set, mortise lock or storefront cylinder in decent condition has years left in it. Rekeying keeps the finish, the door preparation and the handles you already have and changes only the small brass pins inside. Where a cylinder is worn, corroded by winter salt or too light for the room behind it, the locksmith says so and offers a replacement for that door alone; the rest are rekeyed to the new plan.
How the visit goesA key turned up in the parking lot with the shop's name on its fob. It came back to you, which is lucky, but it means keys are leaving the building on rings you have never seen, and the shop's locks have not changed since opening day.
Markham
How the visit goes
Who is entitled to order the change
Every commercial rekey starts by confirming that the person asking for it has the standing to do so. For a small business that is usually the owner or a director; for a larger one, a facilities manager or property manager acting under written authority. The lease matters here too, because it decides which doors are the tenant's to alter and which remain the landlord's, and many leases ask that the landlord be given a key or told when locks change. Getting this straight before any cylinder comes out protects the business, its neighbours in the building and the locksmith, and it means the finished keying chart lands in the right hands.
Storefront and mortise cylinders
Aluminum storefront doors carry a threaded mortise cylinder held by a small set screw in the door edge. The locksmith loosens the screw, spins the cylinder out, repins it, and threads it back to the same depth so the cam engages the deadbolt or hook bolt behind it and nothing else. Mortise locks in older office doors work on the same principle with a heavier lock body. On both, the depth and cam type matter as much as the pinning: a cylinder a turn too far in or a cam of the wrong shape will feel right in the hand but fail to throw the bolt, so each is cycled open and closed.
Telling the landlord and the alarm company
A rekey touches a few people outside the business, and the handover covers them. If the lease asks for it, the landlord or property manager receives a key to the suite entrance and a note that the locks were changed, which keeps you onside for emergencies and inspections. The alarm monitoring company is given the updated keyholder list, and it is a good moment to change the alarm codes of anyone who no longer works there, since a key and a code usually leave together. Cleaners, the courier with after-hours access and the neighbour who watches the place on holidays each collect their new key against the register like everyone else.
Commercial Rekeying
In the van
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
- Cylinder removal and spanner tools
- Commercial pin kit
- Mortise cylinder set screws and cams
- Key stamp set and tags
What affects the quote
Same fees day, night or weekend
1Padlocks, cabinets and mailboxes
Small locks add up. Each padlock repinned to the door key, each cabinet keyed alike and each mailbox cylinder replaced is listed on its own so you can decide what to include.
2Cylinders that need replacing
Where a worn, corroded or low-grade cylinder is better replaced than repinned, the new part is added for that door alone, and the locksmith points it out before the work begins.
3Interchangeable cores versus repinning
Cores swapped with a control key are the shortest work on site, while cylinders that must come apart on a bench take longer. Supplying spare cores for the manager to hold is priced as its own line.
Commercial Rekeying: questions
Do I need my landlord's consent before rekeying my unit?
Read the lease, because that is where the answer lives. Commercial tenancies are governed mostly by the lease itself, and many leases require the tenant to tell the landlord when locks change, to provide a key for emergencies, or to use the landlord's approved locksmith. Doors on the building's master system, such as corridor or service doors, are normally the landlord's to change. Bring the lease to the assessment and the locksmith will sort the doors accordingly.
What do you do with the old keys?
They are gathered, tested at each rekeyed door to confirm they no longer work, and then cut through so they can never be used or copied. You can keep the pieces or the locksmith takes them away. Any old key that still operates a door you chose to leave unchanged is handed back and noted on the chart, so it is clear which keys remain live and which are scrap.
Should we rekey every time an employee leaves?
Rekey when a key has not come back or when the departure was unfriendly; when a key is returned and the register confirms it, the cylinders it opened are as secure as before. Businesses that want a response to every departure without a visit each time fit interchangeable cores and swap them in-house. Whatever the trigger, dealing with only the cylinders that key opened keeps the response proportionate.
Commercial Locks
- Access Control InstallationThe team has grown past the point where one shared key still makes sense.
- Panic & Exit HardwareTwo doors used to swing as a pair at the community hall entrance, but one leaf has started closing…
- Commercial-Grade Lock ReplacementAn inspection report flagged the rear exit as needing hardware that opens with one motion and no…
Commercial Rekeying near you
Below, each lock and key service we offer in Markham gets its own page, with a description that assumes no prior knowledge. Start anywhere. Many customers arrive for a lockout and leave knowing exactly why the strike plate on the back door has bothered them for years.