Rekey or Replace: What Makes More Sense for Your Business’ Locks?

Running a business is undoubtedly filled with an endless list of decisions, from which vendors to use to business policies, hiring, security, and more. In the business that comes with your daily life, it’s all too easy to overlook one very important piece of keeping your business’ facility and its employees safe: regularly changing the locks.

There are several incidents that may spur you to change your business’ locks. If you have recently moved to a new location, you will of course want new locks to be extra sure that you are the only one with active keys to your space. If you have had break-in attempts or successful break-ins, you should change your locks (and look into additional security measures – but that’s for another time). Firing of employees, changes to cleaning or building maintenance, or a change in other business maintenance services may also be cause to change the locks. The fewer people that have access to your business, the more secure it will be – so make sure that only the people who absolutely need access have keys; and that you have removed the opportunity for access from anyone who no longer needs it.

As you look to change your business’ locks, one of the big decisions you must make is whether it makes more sense to rekey or replace the locks in question.

Rekeying Locks
Rekeying a lock is a way of trading out the cylinder tumbler with a tumbler of a different size. The change in tumblers prevents the original keys from working with the new tumbler; a locksmith will provide you with new keys to work with the new tumbler.

The main benefit to rekeying your locks is cost; it is a significantly more cost effective option to rekey your locks rather than replacing them all together.

Replacing Locks
Replacing your business’ locks requires a bit more hardware and substantially more time than rekeying the locks. To complete a full lock change, your locksmith will fully remove all components of the existing lock – from the tumbler and cylinder system down to any attached mechanisms, such as handles, levers, and the like. They will then dispose of the previous lock system and replace it with brand new equipment.

When Does it Make Sense to Replace vs. Rekey?
Each situation is a bit different and, while we can give you our opinions, at the end of the day it is about making the decision that will allow you to feel the most secure.

Rekeying is usually sufficient for changes in staff or services. We recommend a full replacement when you first move into a new space as well as if you have had any break-in attempts; you want to be sure that no damage was done to the existing locks as well as have peace of mind that the thieves weren’t at all successful.

Beyond a full rekeying, there is a third option: keyless entry products, such as those by Schlage. These products allow you to easily change the keypad entry combination with the push of a few buttons, allowing for self-maintenance and a cost effective option.

If you have any questions about Schlage keyless entry products or about having your business’ locks changed or rekeyed, call us at (949) 748-0699.