Is rekeying different from fitting new locks?

Rekeying changes the inside of the existing cylinder so only the new key works, keeping the hardware you already have. New locks mean the whole unit comes off and is replaced. On a house where some hardware is worn or mismatched, a job is often a mix of both.

Will one key open everything?

That is the usual aim — every exterior lock on one new key, including the garage side door and any gate or shed. Tell the locksmith up front which doors you want included so the estimate covers all of them.

What identification do I need for a Gainesville rekey?

The locksmith will ask for identification and proof you are entitled to the property before opening or working on anything. Standard practice in Florida is government-issued photo ID plus a deed, lease, utility bill or confirmation from a property manager. Have it to hand and the job starts cleanly.

Are locksmiths licensed in Florida?

Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith licence and has no state locksmith licensing board. The trade is regulated at county or municipal level, and requirements vary and change, so check current rules with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office where the work is done. For general business registration and consumer complaints, FDACS and the Florida Department of State are the usual points of contact.

When is the busiest time to book this in Gainesville?

The summer moving season, with student and rental turnover concentrated in July and August. That is when rekeying work stacks up locally, so it is worth booking rather than leaving.

Who are One Call Locksmiths?

We are a referral and scheduling service covering all fifty states. We arrange locksmith work with independent locksmiths — we are not the locksmith and we do not perform the work ourselves.

Rekey a new home in Gainesville, FL

You have the keys the seller or the agent handed over. What you do not have is any way of knowing how many other copies exist. A previous owner, a contractor who worked on the place, a former tenant, a cleaner, a letting agent — any of them may still be carrying a key that opens your front door tonight. Nothing about the lock looks wrong, and that is the point. Rekeying fixes it by changing what the cylinder answers to, so every old key stops working.

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In Gainesville this comes up constantly, because of how the housing stock turns over. There are 1900s to 1940s wood-frame and brick homes near downtown and the University of Florida, large concrete-block-and-stucco subdivisions from the postwar years through the 1990s and newer, and a heavy share of student-oriented duplexes, townhomes and condos. Turnover is concentrated in July and August. Florida's heat and humidity also swell wood doors and frames so deadbolts bind against strike plates, and year-round moisture corrodes cylinders and pits brass and steel hardware — so a house that has changed hands a few times often has a mix of tired, mismatched locks rather than one clean set.

While you wait — please don't

Do not assume the handover keys are the only keys. The number of copies made over the life of the house is unknowable, and there is no way to count them after the fact.
Do not skip the side and back doors. The garage side door, a back patio door, a gate or a shed are all entry points, and leaving one on the old key undoes the rest of the work.
Do not force a deadbolt that is binding. Humidity here swells wood doors and frames so the bolt catches on the strike plate, and leaning on the key is how keys snap off in the cylinder.
Do not leave it until the week you move in. The summer moving season is when this work stacks up in Gainesville, so it is worth booking rather than leaving.

What the technician does

Identification and entitlement checked firstBefore any lock is opened or worked on, the locksmith asks for identification and proof that you are entitled to the property — standard practice in Florida is photo ID plus something tying you to the address, such as a deed, lease or utility bill.
A walk round every entry pointThe locksmith looks at each exterior lock, plus the garage side door and any gate or shed. That tells you what can be rekeyed and what is worn or mismatched enough to be worth replacing instead.
The price before anything startsYou get the estimate up front and you approve it before work begins. The estimate is free.
Cylinders rekeyed to one new keyEach exterior lock is rekeyed so a single new key runs the whole house. Hardware that is too worn, corroded or mismatched to keep is replaced rather than rekeyed.
Old keys made uselessOnce the cylinders are changed, every key handed over at closing stops working — and so does every copy you never knew about.
Keys cut for the householdKeys are cut on site for everyone who needs one, so nobody is left borrowing. Tell the locksmith how many you want before the work starts.

Why this happens in Gainesville, FL

Gainesville sits about 50 to 60 miles inland, so there is no salt air working on your hardware. Humidity more than makes up for it. It stays very high year-round and it rusts hinges, gate hardware and lock cylinders, which is why older locks on a house you have just bought often feel gritty or stiff long before they look bad. On the 1900s to 1940s homes around the Duckpond and Pleasant Street historic districts and downtown, you can find decades of mixed hardware on one house. On the newer concrete-block-and-stucco builds out toward Haile Plantation, Town of Tioga and Jonesville, the locks are usually more consistent, which makes getting everything onto one key straightforward.

Timing matters here. The student rental population around the University of Florida means rapid wear on locks, weatherstripping and door hardware, with turnover concentrated in July and August — the same months when most families move. June through November is hurricane and thunderstorm season in North Central Florida, and storm-dropped limbs from the live oaks and laurel oaks that shade the older neighbourhoods are a leading cause of damaged driveway gates, which is worth remembering if a gate lock is part of your list. Winters are mild, with several frosts and occasional hard freezes in the upper 20s, but frozen cylinders are an uncommon problem in Florida.

Questions people ask

Is rekeying different from fitting new locks?: Rekeying changes the inside of the existing cylinder so only the new key works, keeping the hardware you already have. New locks mean the whole unit comes off and is replaced. On a house where some hardware is worn or mismatched, a job is often a mix of both.
Will one key open everything?: That is the usual aim — every exterior lock on one new key, including the garage side door and any gate or shed. Tell the locksmith up front which doors you want included so the estimate covers all of them.
What identification do I need for a Gainesville rekey?: The locksmith will ask for identification and proof you are entitled to the property before opening or working on anything. Standard practice in Florida is government-issued photo ID plus a deed, lease, utility bill or confirmation from a property manager. Have it to hand and the job starts cleanly.
Are locksmiths licensed in Florida?: Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith licence and has no state locksmith licensing board. The trade is regulated at county or municipal level, and requirements vary and change, so check current rules with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office where the work is done. For general business registration and consumer complaints, FDACS and the Florida Department of State are the usual points of contact.
When is the busiest time to book this in Gainesville?: The summer moving season, with student and rental turnover concentrated in July and August. That is when rekeying work stacks up locally, so it is worth booking rather than leaving.
Who are One Call Locksmiths?: We are a referral and scheduling service covering all fifty states. We arrange locksmith work with independent locksmiths — we are not the locksmith and we do not perform the work ourselves.

One call

One call to (866) 690-5848 and we arrange a locksmith to rekey your Gainesville home, with a free estimate on every job. The locksmith gives you the price before any work starts, and nothing begins until you approve it.

Call now · (866) 690-5848

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