In a modern urban setting, an individual is entrusted to have a number of keys in his person. It is a big responsibility and there are chances that you may displace one or all if they are kept in a single ring. If you are an employ who has a duty to keep all the keys safe, it is a common occurrence that you are looking for a company to get key replacements for the broken keys. In the long run, it is also important to replace the locks so that no one with the lost set of keys could open all the locks.
In this article, we will get in detail about how you can fix the situations when you have broken keys at your hand. The most important factor in this regard is the cost to rekey locks. It is also important in the setting when there are keys to multiple locations in your care.
The Commercial Key Systems
A location automatically experiences a security breach when an employee is terminated from the company who was the key-bearer. The same is true when a company changes its location and moves out to a new location. It is only natural to change the locks and other security appliances in place to ensure the merchandize and integrity of the company is intact.
But it is not so simple and straightforward to change commercial lock systems in an establishment. This is due to the key system and the volume of security in both quantitative and qualitative terms.
One of the most common commercial system for keys is the master key system. In this, managers and other key position individuals have keys that can a majority of locks in the facility. This is done through professional locksmiths that can arrange the pins in the lock to make sure those with master key can lock and unlock a number of locks.
For instance, a territory manager has lost a key. Now, his key could open almost all the doors in the stores in a region. On the other hand, store managers on a number of locations in the state can access only their respective stores. In the event of a senior official losing a key, it makes a dilemma.
In this regard, it is hard to know how many locks should be changed, especially without considering the methodology that went into the strategic locations of the locks.
The ideal situation in this is to hire a professional locksmith that can tinker with the locks and alter the pin settings. This will help you in filling the gulf that was made in the security of the establishment in the event of the misplaced key and rekeying locks price. Also, there will be less industrial disturbance that could hamper the constructive work. Not to mention the costs of replacing locks could easily get out of hand.
How Much Does It Cost to Rekey A Lock?
In many commercial spaces, there is a common practice of installing locks with interchangeable cores. This helps in altering the lock settings in the event of a broken or lost key. As far as the average cost of rekeying is concerned, there are many variables that need to be considered, like locksmith’s visit fee, the lock type, etc. On average, it costs around $20 to $35 for standard commercial rekeying work. From here, it is easy to count the cost of the rekey. But this is strictly for the commercial setting and not the domestic locks which could cost much less.
On the bright side, there are alternatives that can help a manager change the cores of the locks without the aid of a professional locksmith. This is a big boost for an enterprise in both time and money.
The DIY Route
In this system, authorized personnel can change the cores of the locks for up to nine times. This is a big number that can cover occasional broken and lost keys. Of course, this cannot replace the actual locksmith if you run into other lock-related troubles. The best part is that you can even alter the master key system going through this route.
There is no denying that the initial cost of getting locks with adjustable cores could be expensive. On average, it would cost 20% to 30% more than traditional commercial locks. This could go out of your designated budget if you are up for the change of the locks. But in the long run, this will definitely pay up.
Another bright side to this is less stress on the staff who is responsible to keep the keys safe. They would know that in any event, changing the locks will take seconds and not long hours, if you still need to call a locksmith for the job.
