Rekey or Replace Your Locks? A Toronto Guide

Rekeying a lock means changing the internal pin configuration inside the existing lock cylinder so that your old keys no longer work and a new set of keys does. The hardware on your door stays exactly the same — the deadbolt, the face plate, the strike plate — only the internal pins are swapped out. A skilled locksmith can typically rekey a standard deadbolt or door knob lock in a matter of minutes per cylinder, and the result is a fully functional, newly secured lock tied to a brand-new key.

Rekeying makes the most sense when your existing lock hardware is in good physical condition, you simply don't trust who has copies of the current key, and you want a fast, straightforward solution. The most common scenarios where rekeying wins: you've just moved into a Toronto home and have no idea how many copies of the old key are floating around the city; you've ended a relationship and a former partner still has a key; a key was lost or stolen; or you want all the locks in your home to work on a single key (called key-alike or master-key service). If your lock is a quality unit from a brand like Schlage or Kwikset and it's functioning perfectly, rekeying is almost always the smarter first step.

Sometimes rekeying simply isn't enough — or isn't even possible. If your lock cylinder is worn, corroded, or damaged from a previous break-in attempt, rekeying it just puts fresh pins inside a compromised shell. The door knob lock on many older Toronto homes — particularly the Victorian and Edwardian houses common in areas like Rosedale, The Annex, and Riverdale — can be decades old, with mechanisms that have seen better days. In those cases, replacement isn't just a security upgrade, it's overdue maintenance.

The most significant reason to opt for full replacement is upgrading to a mortise lock. Unlike a standard cylindrical lock that sits in a bored hole, a mortise lock is set into a deep rectangular pocket cut into the door edge itself. This design makes it far more resistant to kick-in attacks, prying, and cylinder pulling — three of the most common residential break-in methods. Mortise locks also offer multi-point latching, meaning the bolt, latch, and sometimes additional hooks engage the door frame simultaneously. If you're replacing an aging door knob lock on a main entry or a side door that faces a laneway, upgrading to a mortise lock is a meaningful security improvement, not just a cosmetic one. Our team carries a range of cylinder and mortise lock hardware suitable for wood, steel, and fiberglass doors, and we'll help you choose the right grade for your specific door and frame.

One of the most common questions we hear is: 'Which option costs less?' The honest answer is that it depends on several variables, and anyone who quotes you a flat price before seeing your door, your existing hardware, and your lock type isn't giving you an accurate number. At ApexLink Garage Masters, we confirm an exact up-front price before any work begins — no surprises on the invoice. Here's what actually affects the final figure: the type of lock involved (a basic door knob lock costs less to service than a high-security mortise lock with a multi-point mechanism); the number of locks or cylinders being serviced; whether you need parts sourced and brought to your door; the time of day (emergency locksmith calls in the early morning hours involve different logistics than a scheduled afternoon appointment); and your location within the Greater Toronto Area, since travel distance from our base near Yonge and Eglinton affects our arrival time and operating cost.

What we never do is start work and then hand you a bill that bears no resemblance to what was discussed at the door. If the job turns out to be more complex than initially expected — say, the mortise lock pocket in your door needs shimming, or a door knob lock cylinder has seized and needs drilling rather than picking — we tell you before we proceed, not after. If you're somewhere in Midtown Toronto and need a same-day assessment, call 647-558-2673 and we'll give you a clear picture of what's involved before we commit to any work.

Not every lock decision gets made calmly over a cup of coffee. Sometimes it's 2 a.m. on a Tuesday and you're locked out of your house on Mount Pleasant Road, or you've come home to a damaged door frame and a kicked-in lock. These are the moments when understanding your options ahead of time really pays off — and when having a 24/7 emergency locksmith on speed dial matters.

After a break-in, rekeying is almost never the right call. The damage to the door frame, the strike plate, and often the lock body itself means you're working with compromised hardware. A professional assessment will almost always recommend full replacement, and frequently a hardware upgrade — a reinforced strike plate with longer screws, a Grade 1 or Grade 2 mortise lock, and sometimes door frame reinforcement. For a lockout situation, the process is different: a qualified locksmith verifies you are the resident (photo ID matched to the address), then uses non-destructive entry techniques to get you inside without damaging your existing lock. We do not bypass, drill, or damage a lock unless it has already failed and there is no other entry option — and we explain exactly what we're doing and why at every step. Whether it's a lockout, a post-break-in replacement, or an urgent rekey after a lost key, our emergency locksmith team is available around the clock across Toronto.

Not all locks are created equal, and the right choice depends heavily on the door, the entry point, and the level of security you need. For interior doors like bedrooms and bathrooms, a basic privacy door knob lock is usually appropriate. For main entry doors, side doors, and garage entry doors, you want at minimum a Grade 2 deadbolt — and for high-value entries or properties with elevated risk, a commercial locksmith grade mortise lock is the gold standard.

Toronto's housing stock is wonderfully varied — detached homes in Lawrence Park, Victorian semis in Trinity-Bellwoods, modern condos near Yonge and St. Clair, mixed-use properties along Eglinton Avenue — and each type of property has different door configurations and frame depths that affect which hardware can be installed. A mortise lock, for example, requires a specific door thickness and edge depth; not every residential door is pre-routed for one, and retrofitting requires a skilled hand to avoid weakening the door panel. Our team brings the right tools and a range of hardware options to every call, so you're not limited to whatever happens to be at a big-box store. Whether you're a homeowner looking to upgrade a single front door or a property manager with multiple units who needs a commercial locksmith to create a master-key system across an entire building, we approach each job with the same methodical assessment. Call 647-558-2673 — we answer 24/7, and we'll walk you through the right solution for your specific door before we ever pick up a tool.