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Your shop has had four employees leave in two years and each one had a key. Rekeying every time is getting old, and the hardware store will cut a copy for anyone who walks in with the original.
Locksmith in Norfolk County, OntarioMailboxes, gates,sheds and side doors.
Call now · open 24/7(226) 641-0178What's happening right now?
Locked out
Safely, right now
- Wait somewhere safe and warm: a neighbour's, your car, a coffee shop.
- Don't force a window or the door; it only adds a repair.
- Keep ID that shows your address handy if it is with you.
Key broke in the lock
Safely, right now
- Don't push the broken piece back in or try the lock again.
- Keep the piece you still have. It helps cut a new key.
Lock won't turn
Safely, right now
- Don't force the key. A bent or broken key makes it harder.
- Don't spray oil or glue into it, and don't pour hot water on it in the cold.
Lost keys
Safely, right now
- Keys lost together with your address? Assume someone could use them.
- Don't hide a spare key anywhere outside in the meantime, not even under the mat.
Security is not only the front door. We replace mailbox locks for homeowners and condo boards, fit weather-resistant hardware on gates and outbuildings, and make sure the side door everyone actually uses is at least as sound as the one facing the street.
Request a visit
Same fees day or night · 22 years in business
The fix, explained · Norfolk County
What is the door doing?
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceSomeone pushed the privacy button on the bathroom door and pulled it shut behind them, leaving the room locked and empty.
The fix
Being locked out is uncomfortable, but it is also the moment most households finally sort out their keys. Once the door is open, the same visit can rekey the locks so a lost key stops mattering, cut properly coded spares to replace worn copies, key the front and back doors alike so one key runs the house, or set up a small…
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceAfter last night's power flicker the card reader beside the clinic door shows nothing.
The fix
A business lockout service reopens commercial premises when the door is locked and nobody on site can open it. The locksmith begins by confirming that the person asking for entry has authority to act for the business, through identification and a document or a phone call that ties them to the premises.
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionThe key went in like any other morning, you turned it, and something gave with a small metallic click.
The fix
Keys break for a reason, and finding that reason is half the visit. A brass key wears thinnest at its deepest cut, and after years of turning it fatigues there until a cold morning or a stiff bolt finishes it.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairPolice have come and gone, the occurrence number is on a sticky note, and you are standing in a cold hallway looking at a splintered frame, wondering…
The fix
There are really two jobs inside one call. The first is tonight: make the door close and lock so the household can sleep.
Call (226) 641-0178Request a visit Break-In Damage Lock Repair
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe shop's lever handle goes down as usual, but the latch inside the mortise case never pulls back.
The fix
Most seized locks can be saved, and keeping your existing hardware is the aim. A cylinder that has stopped turning is usually recoverable with cleaning and fresh internal parts.
Call (226) 641-0178Request a visit Seized & Jammed Lock Opening
EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyYour purse was taken from the back of a chair at a restaurant.
The fix
How much a lost key matters depends on what was lost with it. A ring that dropped into a lake on a canoe trip tells nobody where it fits, so the rekey is a tidy precaution.
Call (226) 641-0178Request a visit Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey
- 22years in business
- 24/7open, every day
- Same feesday, night or weekend
- On siteassessment preferred
Doors, keys and the people behind them
Moving house is a long list, and the locks are easy to forget until the first night. We suggest making them one of the first calls. A rekey of every exterior door, including the one from the garage into the kitchen, means the previous owner's spare under the mat and the copy their painter kept are just brass. You settle in knowing exactly how many keys exist.
Hillcrest, Port Dover, Waterford, Port Ryerse, Teeterville, Vaughan Survey, Vittoria, Windham Centre and Woodhouse Acres
Explained first, always. Nothing gets removed, drilled or replaced until you know what and why. That rule holds for a small job as much as a full afternoon.
Hardware chosen with you. We show what we recommend and what else would do the job, and describe the differences in plain terms. You make the call.
Care for the finish. We match hardware finishes where we can, protect the door surface while working and leave no scuffs, filings or fingerprints behind.
Talk to us about access for your staff: (226) 641-0178
Locksmith services
Our services at a glance
The right service depends on what you want to happen next. Keep the same lock but stop an old key working? That is rekeying. Upgrade to something sturdier? That is replacement. Lost every copy of a car key? That is a different job again. Read on to match your need.
LockoutsLockout ServicesLocks fail at the worst moment because that is when they are used hardest.Services
Locks fail at the worst moment because that is when they are used hardest. The emergency pages are written for that moment: short, plain and focused on getting the door working again, with the longer conversation about upgrades saved for another day.
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceSomeone pushed the privacy button on the bathroom door and pulled it shut behind them, leaving the room locked and empty.
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceAfter last night's power flicker the card reader beside the clinic door shows nothing.
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionThe key went in like any other morning, you turned it, and something gave with a small metallic click.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairPolice have come and gone, the occurrence number is on a sticky note, and you are standing in a cold hallway looking at a…
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe shop's lever handle goes down as usual, but the latch inside the mortise case never pulls back.
EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyYour purse was taken from the back of a chair at a restaurant.
Change or rekeyChange or Rekey LocksA house with a new baby, a house with an elderly parent moving in, a house where a grown child has moved out with a key still on the ring.Services
A house with a new baby, a house with an elderly parent moving in, a house where a grown child has moved out with a key still on the ring. Each is a small change that touches the locks, and the residential services here are how we help with them.
High securityHigh Security LocksWe describe cylinders by what they resist: picking, bumping, drilling, wrenching and pulling.Services
We describe cylinders by what they resist: picking, bumping, drilling, wrenching and pulling. We describe key systems by who can order a copy. Together those two descriptions tell you what a high security upgrade actually changes for your door.
CommercialCommercial LocksA shop key that walked out with a former employee is the classic commercial call.Services
A shop key that walked out with a former employee is the classic commercial call. Rekeying the cylinders puts an end to it, and it is often the moment a business sets up a master key plan so the next departure is a matter of one key, not all of them.
Car keysCar KeysAnyone who drives can end up on these pages: commuters, tradespeople with a van full of tools, parents doing the school run, riders with a bike that…Services
Anyone who drives can end up on these pages: commuters, tradespeople with a van full of tools, parents doing the school run, riders with a bike that will not unlock. Whatever the vehicle, the visit starts with proof of ownership and ends with a working key or a working lock.
Bigger photo, sooner job: Emergency Book soon Plan ahead
Sound familiar?
Small things. Big difference.
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You bought a keypad deadbolt online and pulled the old one off, only to find the hole in the door is a different size and the bolt latch sits at a backset the new kit does not list. The door is now open and the box is on the counter.
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The drawer behind the counter holds a tangle of keys with tape labels: front old, side, Dave. Some open things, some open nothing, and the hardware-store copies mean the true count drifted long ago past anything written down.
Which fix fits?
IfYour front door has only the lock in the knob, nothing else.
ThenAdd a proper deadbolt above it.
A bolt into a reinforced strike is what actually holds a door; the knob just keeps it closed.
IfThe deadbolt wobbles and the screws spin in the door.
ThenRe-fit the hardware and repair the bore.
Stripped holes can be plugged and redrilled, so the same lock sits tight again.
IfYou are tired of carrying keys and want a code instead.
ThenA keypad deadbolt with a key override.
Each family member gets a code, guests get a temporary one, and a mechanical key remains for the day the batteries die.
IfThe key went in like any other morning, you turned it, and something gave with a small metallic click.
Keys break for a reason, and finding that reason is half the visit.
IfPolice have come and gone, the occurrence number is on a sticky note, and you are standing in a cold hallway looking at a splintered frame, wondering how the…
ThenBreak-In Damage Lock Repair.
There are really two jobs inside one call.
IfIt is the coldest morning of the winter and the key goes halfway into the side door and stops.
ThenSeized & Jammed Lock Opening.
Most seized locks can be saved, and keeping your existing hardware is the aim.
Open 24/7 in Norfolk County
How a visit goes
Hillcrest Lock & Key Specialists
Job ticket · open 24/7
1 Call
Talk to us about access for your staff.
Describe the property, the hardware and what has changed, and the visit starts from what you have seen.
(226) 641-0178 · open 24/7
2 Questions
Deciding what to replace
We look at the existing lock, the door thickness and the holes already drilled. Sometimes a new cylinder is enough; sometimes the whole lockset has earned its retirement.
3 On the way
In the van
Norfolk County to Hillcrest, Port Dover, Waterford, Port Ryerse, Teeterville, Vaughan Survey, Vittoria, Windham Centre and Woodhouse Acres.
- Pick and tension tools
- Strike plate and long hinge screws
- Lock de-icer
- Key blanks and key cutter
- Nine-volt battery for smart locks
4 Fixed
Checking fit and finish
Fitting the new hardware. The new lock goes in with the strike adjusted so the bolt throws fully. If the old holes need filling or enlarging, that is done neatly.
Checking fit and finish. We test the lock with the door open and closed, from both sides, check the key turns without effort and clean up the doorstep before leaving.
Same fees day, night or weekend · on-site assessment preferred
Haldimand-Norfolk, Ontario
Norfolk County information
- Town
- Norfolk County, Haldimand-Norfolk, Ontario
- In business
- 22 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (226) 641-0178
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
62%
Older homes. About 62% of homes in Norfolk County were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Where most homes were built decades ago, doors often still carry their original mortise locks and brass knobs. That hardware can usually be cleaned, re-sprung and kept in service, with a modern deadbolt added above it for strength without losing the look.
83%
Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 83% of homes in Norfolk County (2021 Census).
In areas of single houses, the door nobody watches is the side or back entry. It often has the weakest lock on the property. Fitting a proper deadbolt and a reinforced strike there is a modest job that closes the obvious gap.
Nearby
Questions people ask us
Can the entry door of my condo suite be rekeyed?
Often, but check with your property management first. Condominium corporations have a right to enter a unit on reasonable notice, and without notice in an emergency, and many buildings ask that suite doors stay on a system the corporation can open or that a key be lodged with management. Lobby, garage and locker-room doors belong to the corporation and are theirs to manage. A locksmith will ask about your building's rule and work within it.
What happens to my old keys?
They become ordinary pieces of brass. Once the cylinders are pinned to the new combination, the old keys turn nothing on your property, so there is no security reason to keep or hide them. Hand them to the locksmith for disposal or drop them in the metal recycling. If a former roommate or contractor still has one, it no longer matters, which is the whole reason for the visit. Keep only the new set, counted and tagged.
How often should locks be rekeyed?
There is no calendar for it. What matters is who holds a key, not how many years have passed. Think about it when occupancy changes hands, when someone who had a key no longer needs one, or when a ring goes missing along with something that shows where you live. Between those moments a well-kept cylinder may need no scheduled care, and when it does, use whatever that cylinder's maker specifies. With the doors already on one recorded system, any repeat is a short piece of work.
Is a high security cylinder really pick proof?
Nothing is beyond a laboratory with unlimited time, so the honest measure is minutes, not absolutes. Rated cylinders are tested to resist skilled picking and impressioning for a set period, and drilling and forcing for another. In the real world that matters because someone at a door has seconds, not a workbench. The sidebar and false grooves in the pins give a picker nothing reliable to feel, and the hardened inserts stop a bit, which is why these attacks move on to easier doors.
Open 24/7
Request a visit
Ask about a spare key before you need one.
Call now · open 24/7(226) 641-0178- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 22 years in business