Locksmith recommendations?

[taipeitigers.livejournal.com]

I just realized that I never changed my locks after buying my place (our dear seller, I hope you are not reading this).  I searched old posts, and the posts under "key and lock" were dated in 2011 or earlier.  Are there recent recommendations for locksmiths?  For changing the lock, do I need to buy brand new ones?  Or I have to somehow take it apart and bring it to a hardware store?  Or I should ask a locksmith to come?  What is a reasonable price to change the lock for the front door?

Thanks,

Comments

[42itous.livejournal.com]

We had a good experience with Herb's Locksmith in Arlington: http://www.yelp.com/biz/herbs-locksmith-arlington
The guy came and changed the locks when we bought our condo. He was able to rekey the existing locks, we didn't have to have new ones installed. I don't remember what it cost.

I've also heard good things about this place in Porter: http://www.commonwealthlock.com/

[hiddenbear.livejournal.com]

If you can remove the locks for a few hours, you can bring them to any Home Depot / Lowe's, and they'll re-key them. I believe I paid $5 per lock.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Best bet is to remove the locks and bring them to a locksmith shop to have them rekeyed (or HD/Lowes, but they screw up a lot). Lots of online tutorials floating around if this seems daunting. You *can* have a locksmith come to your place, but it gets quite pricy in that case (appt fees vary quite a bit, $75-200 for first hour).

We just bought new doors :P

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

In an old house, sometimes removing the locks, keeping them intact, and getting them back in is quite a hassle.
At minimum, if you're doing multiple doors I suggest bagging and labelling the locks from each door separately.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

dear god, if you have original doors with original locks on a 19th century home, replace both ;) (unless in good condition, then have restored, but I have doubts this will often be the case.)

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I had a good experience with Eli of Mr. Locksmith for a lockout from my own home, within the last year or so.

I can't answer the other questions.

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

Many years ago when we had our house rekeyed we may have used the locksmith with a store front on Mass Ave by Porter Square. Has anyone here had recent experiences with them they'd like to share?

[totient]

That's Commonwealth Lock. They can do a lot of things other places can't. I'm not convinced they're really any better than anyone else for rekeying an SC1 cylinder which I suspect is what the OP is looking for, and their hours are kind of restrictive.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

We also used Commonwealth Lock. Instead of rekeying we just bought two pairs of new locks for the two apartments in our house. We had the front and back door keyed to the same key, and they didn't take the same blank with the old locks, and at least one was worn out in a way where replacing rather than rekeying made sense. To buy new locks and keys was probably $50 per pair of locks. We removed the old ones and installed the new ones ourselves after we'd come home with the new ones in hand. There was a bit of carpentry but not too much. I suppose ours was many years ago, too, at this point, but I can remember doing it, so that makes it recent, right? It *might* have been within the past 4 years... maybe?

There is a newish lock shop in Medford, called something like Adamard and Dabbs, at the triangle intersection between Main St and Medford St.

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

If you have more than one apartment, I've found having a more complex lock setup is well worth the extra money. Having just one key open both the front door and your apartment (and a different key which opens the same front door and your tenant's apartment, but not yours) is a convenience which will stick around for years.

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

If the locksets are modern/standard, (like the ones that are sold at Home Depot), you can replace yourself with a phillips head screwdriver being the only needed tool.

[springhill02143.livejournal.com]

I've been using Peter at A-OK Locksmith for years and he's talented and reasonably priced. Comes to your house, can make keys on site, and has great suggestions about security strategies.

Telephone: 617.628.7877

Web: www.a-oklockandsecurity.com

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

Screw keys! Get this so you can lock & unlock your doors with your smart phone.

http://www.amazon.com/Yale-YRD220-ZW-ORB-Electronic-Technology-Oil-Rubbed/dp/B005NLKQJG