Moving in means someone else's keys are still out there somewhere: a previous owner, a tenant, a contractor. Rekeying every exterior lock to one fresh key is a simple first job in a new place, and we can do it the week you move.
From the shop
The right answer for a shop with six staff is different from the right answer for a family of four, and we try not to carry one into the other. Homes generally want fewer keys and simpler routines; businesses want control and a record. We ask about the building, the people and the habits before naming a product, and we are comfortable saying that what you have already is enough.
— Cherry Heights Lock Services
Hours
Locksmith services
Our work covers doors and the things that secure them: locks, keys, cylinders, safes, keypads and the electronic hardware that has quietly replaced keys in many buildings. The groups below help you find the right page, and the phone number helps when reading is not the mood.
Lockouts
Not every jammed lock is broken. Sometimes a pin has shifted, a spring has weakened or the bolt is binding on a frame that moved with the seasons.
Change or rekey
The right lock for a home is the one you will actually use every time. A bolt that is awkward gets left open.
High security
Getting past an ordinary lock is a skill many people have. Getting past a high security lock is loud, slow and uncertain, which is exactly the point.
Commercial
Commercial doors are used by staff, customers, cleaners and deliveries, all with different needs and none of them careful. The hardware has to be built for that, and the keying plan has to make sense to whoever manages the building next year.
Hamilton
Deadbolt Installation
The old deadbolt has grown lazy. You turn the thumb-turn and the bolt creeps out halfway, then needs a second push with the door pulled tight. Some mornings the key has to be jiggled before it will come back out.
Deadbolt InstallationUsuallyA new key cut from the original code.
WhyCopies of copies drift; a code-cut key feels the way the lock did when new.
UsuallyDuplicate keys cut properly from a good original.
WhyGood spares turn like the original, and we can mark them by door.
UsuallyRekey them all to a single key.
WhyWhere the cylinders are the same keyway this is straightforward; where not, matching cylinders are fitted first.
UsuallyVintage Mortise Lock Service
WhyWhere the door has moved, the lock gets blamed.
UsuallySmart Lock Installation
WhySmart lock installation puts an electronic deadbolt or lever on your door that opens with a code, a phone, a fob or a fingerprint, and, on some models, a conventional key too.
UsuallyGate & Building Entry Locks
WhyA building outlives its tenants, and every move-out that skips a rekey leaves one more key in circulation that nobody living there today can account for.
Open 24/7
Lock replacement and upgrade is the service that takes tired or under-built door hardware off and puts hardware suited to the door in its place. It ranges from a like-for-like deadbolt on a back door to a complete refit of every entrance with heavier-grade locks, reinforced strikes and one key for…
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The priority is a door that closes and locks tonight. We assess the frame, the strike and the lock, and secure whatever was forced so you can stop worrying about the opening.
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Some damage needs a proper repair later; some can be fixed on the spot. We separate the two clearly and explain what a lasting fix involves without pushing you into it.
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If keys were taken or the lock was compromised, we rekey or replace before leaving. You end the visit with a door that locks and keys that only you hold.
Hamilton, Ontario
2021 census · what it means at the door
61%Older homes
About 61% of homes in Hamilton were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
In neighbourhoods of established homes, keys have often been copied many times over many owners. Rekeying every exterior door to one fresh key is the common first job, and it works on old cylinders just as well as on new ones.
56%
Single-detached houses make up about 56% of homes in Hamilton (2021 Census).
Neighbourhoods of houses beside townhouses and low-rise buildings have a range of door constructions: solid wood, steel, fibreglass and metal-clad. A locksmith who works in such an area is used to fitting hardware to all of them without new holes.
It is yours. Some people keep a sound old cylinder as a spare or move a decent deadbolt to a shed or garage door, and the locksmith can rekey it to the house key for that purpose. Worn or damaged hardware is taken away for recycling if you prefer. Either way, the old keys should be gathered up and discarded so nobody confuses them with the new set.
Usually, yes. Most residential doors are prepared to standard sizes, a 54 millimetre cross bore and a backset of 60 or 70 millimetres, and most modern hardware adjusts between those backsets. The locksmith measures before choosing, so the new lock is matched to the door rather than the other way around. Where an older mortise lock or an unusual bore is found, filler plates, extension kits or a carefully jigged new bore bring the door to standard.
Yes, and it is a common change for anyone who finds a knob hard to grip. Levers use the same bore and backset as knobs, so the swap is usually a direct fit. Levers are handed, so the locksmith checks which way the door swings and chooses or adjusts the lever accordingly. A keyed entry lever pairs well with a deadbolt above it, and interior passage and privacy levers complete the set.
Usually. High security cylinders are made in the common formats: key-in-knob and lever, rim, mortise and interchangeable core, and many are designed to drop into popular residential and commercial locks. The locksmith identifies your format and confirms fit before ordering. Where a lock is an odd size or in poor shape, a matching lock body is fitted instead, and the door preparation is reused wherever it is standard.
On-site assessment preferred
Get in touch when you're ready. Drop us a line.
Open 24/7 · same fees any hour
On-site assessment preferred · (289) 203-0966 · open 24/7
