Rekey a new home in Palm Bay, FL
You just moved in. The seller handed you a key, maybe two, and you have no idea how many more are out there. A rekey fixes that. The locks stay on the door, the insides are changed, and the old keys stop working.
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The people who held keys before you are the whole reason this job exists. A previous owner. A contractor who was in and out during a renovation. A former tenant. A letting agent. Nobody can tell you how many copies were cut over the years, because nobody kept count. Rekeying ends the guesswork in one visit.
While you wait — please don't
- Do not assume the seller handed over every key. The keys you received are only the ones someone chose to give back, and copies cut years ago are still out there.
- Do not skip the side and back doors. The garage side door, a gate, a shed or a rear slider is just as much a way in as the front door, and those are the ones people forget.
- Do not force a lock that is already stiff. Humidity and salt air here pit cylinders and swell doors, and twisting hard on a sticking lock can snap the key off inside it.
- Do not leave it on the to-do list. Summer moving season is when this work stacks up in Florida, so it is worth booking rather than leaving.
What the technician does
- You get the price firstThe locksmith looks at how many locks you have and what shape they are in, then gives you the price before any work starts. You approve it first.
- Identification is checkedThe locksmith will ask 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.
- Every exterior lock is countedFront door, back door, the garage side door, any gate or shed lock. The goal is that nothing on the outside of the house is left on the old key.
- The locks are rekeyed to one new keyThe existing hardware stays in place and the cylinders are changed to accept a single new key. Every old key stops working from that point.
- Worn or mismatched hardware is replaced insteadIf a deadbolt is corroded, badly worn or does not match the rest, replacing it can make more sense than rekeying it. The locksmith tells you which is which before deciding anything.
- Keys are cut for the householdYou get keys for everyone who lives there, all on the same new key, so one key opens the whole outside of the house.
Why this happens in Palm Bay, FL
Palm Bay was laid out as one of Florida's largest platted subdivisions, so houses of very different ages sit side by side on the same street grid. A 1970s block-and-stucco home in Port Malabar and a recent build in Bayside Lakes can be a few streets apart, and the hardware on them is nothing alike. On the older homes, the locks on the doors may be the ones that were fitted when the place was built, with decades of keys behind them. That is worth thinking about when you take over a house in Lockmar, Turkey Creek or anywhere across the southwest and southeast sides of the city.
Climate matters here too. Palm Bay sits on the Indian River Lagoon with the Atlantic just across the barrier island, and the salt-laden air pits locks, deadbolts and keypads over time. Add high humidity year-round, near-daily summer thunderstorms, and grit that works into keyways after a storm, and a lock that was fine on moving day can be stiff by the time you get around to it. Florida heat and moisture also swell doors and frames, so a deadbolt can start binding against the strike plate. When the locksmith is already at your door changing cylinders, that is the moment to point out anything that is dragging.
Questions people ask
- Is rekeying the same as replacing the locks?
- No. Rekeying changes the inside of the lock so a new key works and all the old ones do not, while the lock itself stays on the door. Replacement means new hardware, which makes sense when a lock is worn, corroded or does not match the others.
- Can all my doors use the same key?
- That is the usual goal — every exterior lock rekeyed to one new key, including the garage side door and any gate or shed lock. Whether all of your existing hardware can be matched depends on what is fitted, and the locksmith will tell you before starting.
- Do I have to prove the house is mine?
- Yes. The locksmith will ask for identification and proof that you are entitled to the property before working on it. In Florida that normally means government-issued photo ID along with a deed, lease, utility bill or confirmation from a property manager.
- Are locksmiths licensed in Florida?
- Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith license and there is no state locksmith licensing board. The trade is regulated at county or municipal level instead, and rules vary, so check current requirements with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office where the work is done.
- When is the best time to book a rekey in Palm Bay?
- As soon as you have the keys. Summer is the busy moving and rental turnover season in Florida and this work stacks up, so booking beats leaving it.
One call
One Call Locksmiths is a referral and scheduling service covering all fifty states — we arrange the work with an independent locksmith, we are not the locksmith and we do not do the work ourselves. Call (866) 690-5848 for a free estimate on your Palm Bay rekey, with the price given and agreed before any work starts.
More from One Call Locksmiths
Something else in this area
- Locked out of the house
- Locked out of the car
- Lost car key or fob
- Keys lost or stolen
- Key broke in the lock
- Lock is stuck or broken
- New or upgraded locks
One Call Locksmiths arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.