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Every copy of your house key seems to work a little differently. One needs a jiggle, another sticks halfway, and the original wore down years ago. The lock itself is fine; the keys have drifted so far from each other that none fits cleanly.
Locksmith in Toronto, OntarioKeys nobody copiesbehind your back.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 805-5275What's happening right now?
Locked out
Safely, right now
- Stay somewhere warm and safe while you wait, such as a neighbour's or your car.
- Don't break a window or pry the door. It adds damage without getting you in sooner.
- Keep ID that shows your address handy if it is with you.
Key broke in the lock
Safely, right now
- Leave the lock alone: pushing the piece further in makes it harder to get out.
- Keep the piece you still have. It helps cut a new key.
Lock won't turn
Safely, right now
- Stop turning hard: a key that bends or snaps makes the job bigger.
- Don't spray oil or glue into it, and don't pour hot water on it in the cold.
Lost keys
Safely, right now
- Keys lost together with your address? Assume someone could use them.
- Don't leave a spare key anywhere outside while you wait, under the mat or elsewhere.
A patented keyway means the blank is not sold at any counter and every extra key needs an authorised name. We register the system to you, number each key and keep the record honest.
Request a visit
Same fees day or night · 20 years in business
The fix, explained · Toronto
What is the door doing?
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceThe keypad on the smart lock blinks once and goes dark.
The fix
The visit follows a steady order. On the phone you describe the door, the lock and where the key went, which tells the locksmith what to bring.
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceIt is ten to nine, three staff are on the sidewalk with their coffees, and the key that has opened the glass front door for six years will not turn.
The fix
On a commercial door the lock is rarely alone. A door contact feeds the alarm panel, a card reader drives an electric strike or a magnetic lock, and a monitoring company is watching for an opening outside business hours.
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionThe padlock on the shed has been stiff all summer.
The fix
If a key has just snapped in your lock, the most helpful thing you can do is nothing further to the lock. Keep the half in your hand, note whether the door is locked, and resist the tweezers and the glue, both of which push the piece deeper and add material the locksmith must clear first.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairThey did not get in.
The fix
When a home is broken into, the locks are not the only thing that has changed hands. Keys hanging in the hall, a spare in a drawer, a garage remote on a visor or a house key on a stolen car's ring may all be gone.
Call (289) 805-5275Request a visit Break-In Damage Lock Repair
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe old mortise lock on the front door of the house turns the key halfway and stops with a dull clunk.
The fix
When the cylinder is the part that has seized, the work is about cleaning rather than force. Keyways collect dust, salt spray, metal filings and residue from sprays never meant for locks, and over time the pins stop lifting cleanly.
Call (289) 805-5275Request a visit Seized & Jammed Lock Opening
EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyThe lawyer's envelope held two keys for the new house.
The fix
How much a lost key matters depends on what was lost with it. A ring that dropped into a lake on a canoe trip tells nobody where it fits, so the rekey is a tidy precaution.
Call (289) 805-5275Request a visit Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey
- 20years in business
- 24/7open, every day
- Same feesday, night or weekend
- On siteassessment preferred
Meet the locksmiths
Older houses around here have older doors, and older doors have their own logic. A mortise lock from the 1920s was built to be serviced, not thrown away, and a rim lock on a back porch may simply need cleaning and a new spring. We carry the parts and the patience to keep original hardware working, and we say so when replacement is the wiser route.
Alderwood, Long Branch, Mimico, Mimico Beach and New Toronto
You set the pace. We explain, you decide, we work. If you would rather sleep on a bigger change, we do what is needed now and leave the rest for another visit.
The reasoning behind each suggestion. Every recommendation comes with the reason for it, in language that does not require you to know the trade. Ask why as often as you like.
Order restored. Tools packed, dust cleared, doors closed properly. We leave your home or business looking as it did, with the lock problem gone.
Ask about a spare key before you need one: (289) 805-5275
Locksmith services
Where to start
Below are the jobs we handle most often. For each one you will find what it fixes, how a visit usually goes and what information helps us arrive with the right parts. If two services sound alike, call and we will explain the difference in a sentence.
LockoutsLockout ServicesThere is no good time to find the shop door forced or the house key gone.Services
There is no good time to find the shop door forced or the house key gone. What we offer in those moments is a straight answer about what can be done tonight, what must wait for daylight and parts, and how the door will be held secure in between.
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceThe keypad on the smart lock blinks once and goes dark.
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceIt is ten to nine, three staff are on the sidewalk with their coffees, and the key that has opened the glass front door for six…
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionThe padlock on the shed has been stiff all summer.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairThey did not get in.
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe old mortise lock on the front door of the house turns the key halfway and stops with a dull clunk.
EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyThe lawyer's envelope held two keys for the new house.
Change or rekeyChange or Rekey LocksGate locks, building entry locks and shared vestibule doors are part of residential work too, especially for townhouses and small walk-ups.Services
Gate locks, building entry locks and shared vestibule doors are part of residential work too, especially for townhouses and small walk-ups. These pages cover hardware that lives outdoors and gets used by many hands.
High securityHigh Security LocksWhen a landlord or employer holds keys to many doors, a restricted key system with a master hierarchy gives control without a fistful of keys, and…Services
When a landlord or employer holds keys to many doors, a restricted key system with a master hierarchy gives control without a fistful of keys, and stops any tenant or staff member copying theirs. The page explains how the keyway, the register and the hardware work together.
CommercialCommercial LocksWe handle the commercial jobs that keep a premises running: getting staff in when the key is lost, changing the locks when someone leaves, setting up…Services
We handle the commercial jobs that keep a premises running: getting staff in when the key is lost, changing the locks when someone leaves, setting up keys so managers reach every room, fitting exit hardware, adding keypads, and opening or installing safes.
Car keysCar KeysAutomotive services cover the vehicle side of our work: getting you in when you are locked out, replacing or duplicating keys and remotes, freeing a…Services
Automotive services cover the vehicle side of our work: getting you in when you are locked out, replacing or duplicating keys and remotes, freeing a key that broke off, and repairing an ignition that fights you every morning.
Bigger photo, sooner job: Emergency Book soon Plan ahead
EmergencyCar Lockout ServiceYou dropped the duffel bag in the trunk, closed the lid with your elbow, and heard the keys land inside a heartbeat too late.
EmergencyCar Key ReplacementYou bought the car privately and it came with a single key on a shoelace.
Spare Car Key Duplication
Key Fob Programming
Transponder Key Programming
Ignition Lock Repair
Vehicle Lock Repair
Motorcycle & Scooter Keys
Sound familiar?
Small things. Big difference.
2 / 3
The manager's key ring went missing somewhere between the bank and the car, and the master on it opened every door in the building. Until the cylinders are changed, whoever finds it is holding the run of the place.
3 / 3
Someone tried the door last winter. The frame took it, but the strike plate is bent, one screw hole is stripped, and the bolt sits in the pocket at a slight angle. It still locks, and it still bothers you every night.
Which fix fits?
IfThe old mortise lock on your front door rattles and barely catches.
ThenService the mortise case and reset the strike.
They were built to be opened, cleaned and re-sprung, and most come back to a firm close.
IfYou love the antique glass knobs but the spindle keeps slipping.
ThenReplace the spindle and set screws, keep the knobs.
The wearing parts are still made; the knobs stay exactly where they are.
IfThere is a beautiful old lock and no key for it anywhere.
ThenCut a key by impressioning or from the lock itself.
With the case open we read the levers and make a key to fit.
IfThe rental van came with one key.
The visit follows a steady order.
IfMinus twenty outside, the fob button does nothing, and the door keyhole has a crust of road salt over it because you have not used a metal key in that car…
It helps to think of a car key as several parts sharing one case.
IfAfter a week of humid weather the back door has swollen in its frame.
The visit follows a steady order.
Answering 24/7 in Toronto
How a visit goes
Alderwood Lock & Key Specialists
Job ticket · open 24/7
1 Call
Ask about a spare key before you need one.
Describe the property, the hardware and what has changed, and the visit starts from what you have seen.
(289) 805-5275 · open 24/7
2 Questions
Understanding the safe
We ask what the safe is for, how it is opened and what has changed: a lost combination, a dead keypad, a bolt that will not retract. Each points to a different approach.
3 On the way
In the van
Toronto to Alderwood, Long Branch, Mimico, Mimico Beach and New Toronto.
- Replacement cylinder or deadbolt
- Plug follower and repinning kit
- Key blanks and key cutter
- Broken key extractors
- Strike plate and long hinge screws
4 Fixed
Setting it up for you again
Opening or repairing carefully. Where a combination can be reset or a keypad replaced, we do that. Where the safe must be opened without its code, we use the method that leaves it usable afterwards.
Setting it up for you again. Once it works we help you choose a new combination or code, show you how to change it later and suggest a sensible place to keep a record.
Same fees day, night or weekend · on-site assessment preferred
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto information
- Town
- Toronto, Ontario
- In business
- 20 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 805-5275
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
58%
Older homes. About 58% of homes in Toronto were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
In neighbourhoods of established homes, keys have often been copied many times over many owners. Rekeying every exterior door to one fresh key is the common first job, and it works on old cylinders just as well as on new ones.
23%
Single-detached houses make up about 23% of homes in Toronto (2021 Census).
Where most homes are apartments or condos, storage lockers, bike rooms and parking gates carry their own locks. A locksmith can supply and key padlocks and cam locks for those spaces so one household ring covers everything it uses.
Locksmith FAQ
Can a smart lock or keypad deadbolt be rekeyed?
The mechanical part of it can. Many keypad or app-controlled deadbolts hide a small keyed cylinder under a cap for the day the batteries fail, and that cylinder can be pinned to your house key so the backup key on your ring is the same one that opens the other doors; some models are key-free and rely on an external battery backup instead. Codes are a separate matter: the locksmith will suggest deleting any code belonging to someone who no longer needs access at the same time.
I am a landlord. Should I rekey between tenants?
Many landlords do, and it removes the question of whether every copy came back. The locksmith rekeys the unit's cylinders so the incoming tenant holds the only working keys, cuts the copies you want, and notes the count for your move-in record. Because provincial tenancy rules expect the tenant to be handed replacement keys whenever a landlord changes a lock, the visit ends with keys for both of you and a clear list of which doors were done.
How often should locks be rekeyed?
There is no calendar for it. What matters is who holds a key, not how many years have passed. Think about it when occupancy changes hands, when someone who had a key no longer needs one, or when a ring goes missing along with something that shows where you live. Between those moments a well-kept cylinder may need no scheduled care, and when it does, use whatever that cylinder's maker specifies. With the doors already on one recorded system, any repeat is a short piece of work.
Should I upgrade the front door only, or every door?
Start with the doors that matter and the ones that are weakest, which are often not the same. Front doors usually carry the sturdiest hardware already; the side door by the driveway, the door from the garage and the basement walkout often carry the lightest locks and get the least attention. The assessment walks the whole perimeter with you so the upgrade goes where entry is most likely, and the remaining doors can join the same key later.
Open 24/7
Request a visit
Talk to us about access for your staff.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 805-5275- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 20 years in business