Locksmith recommendations?

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

Sadly, my roommates and I are looking at the possibility of having to get the locks changed on our front door. We live near Harvard Square. Anyone have recommendations for a Cambridge/Somerville locksmith they really like? And, what's a reasonable price range we should expect them to charge us? Thanks.

Comments

[frotz.livejournal.com]

Commonwealth in Porter is pretty good. If you just want your locks rekeyed, figure $25ish for most normal locks if you remove them and take them to a locksmith, and prices probably vary somewhat but not hugely. (Maybe a bit more at full-service well-regarded locksmiths like Commonwealth, more like half that at Home Depot.) If you want somebody on-site, add at least $60, and that will vary lots. Add another $30-50 (and, again, up) if you want completely new hardware instead of just rekeying.

I've heard good things about Flying Locksmiths for on-site service, but have no direct experience other than seeing them around a bunch. (They do seem to be an actual dedicated group of people as opposed to a referral service, which I like but which might also make them not-the-cheapest.)

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

That's very helpful. I will find someone among my immediate circle who has Clue about these things to look at the locks and tell me whether they can easily be removed.

We're probably looking at re-keying rather than new hardware...the hardware works fine, there's just a possibility that someone has our key who we'd prefer didn't have it.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Really? I remember being surprised at how cheap it was when I brought a lock in to a locksmith be rekeyed -- maybe in the $5 range.