Residential & commercial
Lock Replacement King City
When rekeying is not the answer — worn hardware, storm damage, a forced door, or a lock that was never right for the opening in the first place.
First question
Are You Sure You Need A New Lock?
Half the replacement calls we take should be something cheaper.
We would rather sell you the right job than the expensive one. Before replacing a lock, it is worth being certain the lock is what has failed — because on a great many King Township doors it is not.
If the only problem is who has a key, you want a rekey, not a replacement. Same outcome, a fraction of the cost, and you keep the finish you already have.
If the door has to be lifted or leaned on before the key will turn, the frame or the hinges have moved and no new lock will change that. That is a door and frame job.
If the key is stiff and the lock is otherwise sound, it is often the key that is worn rather than the cylinder — a fresh key cut to code frequently solves it for a fraction of the price of hardware.
When replacement is right
The Cases That Genuinely Need New Hardware
The mechanism is worn out
The key turns loosely, the plug wobbles, or the latch no longer retracts fully every time. Fresh pins in a failing body buys months, not years.
Forced entry damage
A cylinder that has been drilled, snapped or twisted. The lock is finished, and the frame beside it usually needs attention at the same time.
A knobset doing a deadbolt’s job
Very common on older side and garage entries. A knobset is a latch. It is not a security lock, and rekeying it preserves the weakness.
Corrosion and weather
Exposed rural doors, barns and gates. Once the finish has gone and the internals have pitted, a lock will keep sticking no matter what you do to it.
A security upgrade
Moving up a grade, or to a high-security cylinder with anti-drill pins and a restricted keyway that cannot be copied at a hardware store.
Going keyless
A smart lock or keypad replaces the deadbolt entirely. See smart lock installation.
Mismatched hardware
A house where four doors carry four brands and none of them can be keyed alike. Standardising is the only route to one key.
Multipoint gearbox failure
On UPVC and patio doors, when the handle goes slack or you have to lift hard to lock. The gearbox is failing and it is a mechanism replacement, not a cylinder swap.
Insurance or code requirements
A policy that specifies a grade, or a commercial door that has to carry rated hardware.
Specifying
What To Buy, And What Actually Matters
Locks sold in Canada are graded to an ANSI/BHMA standard: Grade 3 is basic residential, Grade 2 is a genuine step up and is where most homeowners should be on an exterior door, Grade 1 is commercial-duty. The grade is measured performance, not marketing.
On a deadbolt, look for a full one-inch bolt throw and a hardened insert against sawing. Look for a box strike in the package rather than a flat plate, and for three-inch screws rather than the three-quarter-inch ones that usually come in the box.
What the grade does not tell you is anything about the frame it is fitted to. A Grade 1 deadbolt in a jamb held by two short screws is a very expensive way to protect a strip of trim. Grade matters, but it matters second.
And if key control matters to you — a rental, a business, a property with a lot of trades coming through — specify a restricted keyway at the same time. Retrofitting key control later means changing every cylinder again.
What to look for when you buy
✓ Grade 2 or better on any exterior door.
✓ A full one-inch bolt throw on a deadbolt.
✓ A hardened insert in the bolt against sawing.
✓ A box strike in the package, not a flat plate.
✓ Three-inch screws for the strike and hinges.
✓ A restricted keyway if copies matter.
If the box does not state a grade at all, treat it as Grade 3.
Fit
Not Every Lock Fits Every Door
This is where most self-purchased hardware goes wrong. Door thickness, backset, bore diameter and the existing prep all determine what can physically go in.
A door cut for a mortise lock — common on the older housing around the village core and on century farmhouses — can take a mortise lock. Converting it to a modern cylindrical deadbolt leaves a large void in the door edge that has to be filled, and the result is both weaker and uglier than what was there. A mortise pocket is a large hole; you cannot un-cut it.
A UPVC or aluminium door has its own hardware entirely and will not take residential deadbolts at all. And on a rated fire door in a commercial building, the hardware has to match the rating or the whole assembly is voided.
We survey what is there and tell you what will physically fit before anything is ordered. If you have already bought something, bring it out and we will tell you honestly whether it suits the door.
Replace The Lock, Fix The Frame
If you are replacing a lock because a door was forced, putting the same strike back with the same two screws recreates the exact weakness that failed.
While the hardware is off, that is the moment for a box strike anchored with three-inch screws into the structural stud, long screws in the top hinge, and solid backing where the framing is hollow. It costs very little on top of a job you are already paying for.
This is the single most common thing we are asked to come back and do six months later, after somebody replaced a lock and discovered the door still gave way at the same point.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I rekey or replace?
Rekey when the hardware works and the only problem is who has a key. Replace when the mechanism is worn, damaged, or too weak for the door.
Can you fit hardware I bought myself?
Yes, and we will tell you before we start whether what you bought suits the door and the opening. If it does not, you will hear that rather than find out later.
My old house has mortise locks. Do I have to replace them?
Usually not. Mortise cases were built to be serviced and are frequently repairable, and the cylinder can often be swapped or rekeyed independently.
How long does a lock replacement take?
A straight like-for-like swap is minutes. A change of format, a repair to the door edge, or frame reinforcement takes longer and we tell you which you are looking at.
Do you replace barn and gate hardware?
Yes. Weather-exposed hardware on King Township properties needs the right specification, not office hardware moved outdoors.
Can all the new locks use one key?
Usually yes, if we are supplying them. Standardising the hardware is the only reliable route to one key across a whole property.
Service area
We Come To You
We are a mobile service — there is no shop counter to drive to. King City is our base, and we cover King Township and northern York Region.
Not on the list? If you are anywhere in York Region, call and ask.
Locked Out? We Answer The Phone.
24/7 mobile locksmith service across King City, Nobleton, Schomberg and York Region. Real prices on the phone, a marked vehicle at your door, and a written invoice when we are done.