Examples of great reasons to get your exterior door locks rekeyed or changed
Here are some very good examples of some times when it’s highly beneficial and recommended to get the locks on the exterior doors found in your home rekeyed or changed out:
- When you have just taken possession of a new home
You have to remember when you move into a new home you don’t have any idea how many people were in possession of the keys to those door locks. Most likely babysitters, relatives, repairmen and more were in possession of a door key to the premises at one time or another.
Do this even when you move into a brand new house too. Every contractor that worked on the interior of that house was probably in possession of one of the entrance door keys. So don’t take for granted even if your home is newly built that its door locks are not compromised.
- After a few years’ time when wear and tear are evident
If you go to turn your key in the exterior door lock of your home and it turns half an inch before engaging, that’s a sign of a door lock that is just about worn out. That is not surprising because few features on your home get used as much as your door locks. If you have a gold or chrome coated door lock and you can see a ¼” area around the keyhole is now bare metal that’s another sign that it’s time to replace that entire door lock.
- When a key gets very hard to turn or an electronic keypad is constantly malfunctioning
Another big sign of a malfunctioning door lock is when your key gets very hard to turn. Make sure you don’t break it off in the lock or you are in trouble. Also, if you have electronic keypad entry on your front door and you have to enter the code 5 times before your door unlocks you might need that keypad or door lock mechanism changed.
- If you lose favor with a person who was once in possession of your house key
The last person you want in possession of an active door key to your house is someone that currently has a grudge against you. If you have an ex-roommate or significant other that you no longer get along with make sure you change every lock on your home that they once had access to. If you have ever watched an episode of “The People’s Court” you will know why this makes sense.
Of course, there are also mortise locks. What is a mortise lock? This type of lock would be used appropriately on an exterior door. There are heavy duty options available as well as light options. Their internal system can mean the ability to house levers or knobs, too. The body is usually cylindrical. In the mortise is a box lock. This kind of lock could be used for different door types due to the different length and height options available.
Now we will discuss padlocks. A padlock is different from other locks in the sense that it is a free-standing or movable lock. You might have seen a padlock or even used one in school, on a locker. Or perhaps a small padlock was used to lock your bike in recent history. Different categories for padlocks include combination and keyed. Like the other kinds of locks discussed here, there are different categories within this particular category. A padlock will come with a shackle shape, and a shouldered shackle.
To summarize, various kinds of locks include:
