We'd like to be the number you keep after the lockout is over. The one you call when you need a spare, when your parents' front door gets difficult, or when you finally decide to do something about the key that only works if you hold it just so.
We're Whitby Locksmiths, a mobile locksmith service in Whitby, ON. There are about 20 years in the locksmith business behind us. We work with home locks, car keys and business doors, and our emergency service is available 24/7.
You can reach us on 905-481-1115.
Choosing someone to work on your locks involves a bit of trust. Perhaps you're letting a stranger into your home. Perhaps you're arranging the job for a parent and won't be there yourself. You want the person at the door to understand what was agreed, and you want the work explained in words you can follow. That's a reasonable place to begin. You should feel comfortable asking what a part does, why it needs changing and whether there's another way to deal with the problem.
We're happy to have that conversation. Including the bit about the money.
There's also room for personal preference. Some people like a keypad. Others would rather have a key they can hand to a neighbour. You may love the old handle on your door and want to keep it. Or you may be quite ready to see the back of it. Either way, the job starts with the door you have and how you use it.
Yes. One lock can be quite enough of a nuisance.
Say it's the door you use from the driveway. The front entrance is fine, but this one needs a hard pull before the key will turn. Everyone in the house has learned the trick, so fixing it keeps slipping down the list. Then somebody visits, borrows the key and rings you because they can't get in. That's a useful reminder that the door could be easier to live with. We can look at the lock, the fittings and what happens when the door closes.
Our dispatch point is on Garden Street, and we come to the property or vehicle. There's no need to take the lock apart before calling. Seeing it where it's fitted is much more useful.
A lost key doesn't make the handle on your front door any less useful. A new owner doesn't automatically need new locks. Those are two good reasons to talk about rekeying before choosing replacement hardware.
With suitable locks, rekeying changes the key that operates them. The old copies stop working. It's part of our residential locksmith work, along with repairs, lock changes and new installations.
Imagine you've just moved into a home in Brooklin. You like the doors and their fittings. The keys arrive in a little bundle, and the person handing them over thinks that's all of them. Probably. There's no easy way to count copies that were made years ago, so starting again with a new key can be a sensible choice.
The condition of the locks still matters. Rekeying changes access; it won't mend a part that's already failing.
Then there's the question of how many keys you want to carry. Compatible locks may be able to work with one key. That can save the daily business of choosing between two keys that look almost the same, especially when you're standing at the door with your hands full. The fittings need checking first. We'd rather look at them than promise one key for every door before we know what's there.
A few small things are worth bringing into that conversation:
That last one can get overlooked. A fitting that feels fine to you may be awkward for someone with stiff fingers. They're the person who has to use it, too.
For a replacement, fit matters before finish. There's the space already cut into the door, the existing fittings and the way everything meets the frame. A nice photograph of a lock can't settle those details. We can go through suitable options once we understand the door.
Condo owners may have building requirements to consider as well. A shared key system or rules about the suite entrance can affect the choice of hardware. It's useful to know about those before buying anything.
A spare for your partner. A key for the person who opens the shop. The copy your neighbour holds because, sooner or later, somebody is going to shut the door and leave theirs inside.
That's why our locksmith services cover more than getting a door open.
That's useful to know. A remote that has stopped locking the doors isn't quite the same problem as a missing key. You may still be driving the car every day, with a key that now needs attention. There's no need to wait until you've lost it as well.
A spare sounds unexciting until you're sharing one key between two drivers. One of you gets home late. The other leaves early. Somewhere in between, the key is supposed to change hands, and occasionally it goes to work in the wrong coat. Having another key removes that daily arrangement. Spares are part of our automotive locksmith work, along with car key replacement and programming for supported vehicles. The make, model and year help us work out which key the car needs.
Lost the only one already? We can look into a replacement for supported vehicles in that situation, too. You don't have to find a spare before calling.
Then there's the key you can see through the window. Sitting on the seat, doing absolutely nothing useful. Our car unlocking service is for that situation. Whether the car is at Whitby GO or in your driveway, our car locksmith service is mobile. We come to the vehicle. Having somebody come to you is rather useful when the thing you need help with is the thing you normally drive.
Having someone standing at the door with a bag of tools can make a decision feel urgent. You've already called them out, after all. But you're still allowed to ask about the work, take a look at a suggested part or decide that an optional change can wait. We'd like you to be comfortable doing that with us. Maybe you have a finish in mind. Maybe you're more concerned about what happens to the old keys. Or the price is higher than you expected and you want to talk through a smaller job. Those are all part of the conversation. It's your property and your money, and a few questions should never feel like an inconvenience.
You might have quite a definite limit in mind:
All reasonable. Knowing where you stand helps us discuss a job that you're actually ready to have done.
At a business, the person paying for the lock may hardly ever use that door. The opening staff, the cleaner and the person bringing stock in will. Their small complaints are worth hearing. A key might work for the manager and stick for everybody else because the manager knows to lift the handle a little. That's not much use to a new employee on their first morning. Our commercial locksmith work covers repairs, replacements and rekeying, with the existing keys and any master key arrangement taken into account.
It helps to have that new employee in mind, even if they haven't started yet. Will somebody need to explain a trick to opening the door? Is the spare easy to tell apart from the key for the stockroom? These details matter to someone standing outside with the right key, wondering what they've got wrong.
For a shop around Brock and Dundas, there may also be customers using the entrance while we're working. We can discuss how the visit fits around that. The person running the place knows when the delivery comes and which door everybody heads for. We'd like their input.
At midnight, you may not be in the mood for a long conversation about hardware. You want the door open. Our emergency locksmith service is available 24/7 on 905-481-1115, and we can go through the immediate problem with you.
There's one question we think is worth asking even then: "What happens to the lock afterwards?" A lock opening service should aim to leave sound hardware usable where possible. When damage or wear changes that plan, the explanation matters. You're going to be using the door after the emergency has passed.
The price deserves a minute of that conversation, too.
There's the visit itself, the labour and anything that needs fitting or programming. Tax and any after-hours charge belong in the total as well. Some faults need a closer look before a firm price is possible; you should know what the initial estimate covers. It's fine to pause over a figure or have something explained again. Nobody gets extra marks for understanding a locksmith quote on the first go.
We'll need your location to discuss the arrival estimate and confirmation that you're entitled to enter the property or vehicle. A wallet left inside with the keys is something to explain during the call.
You may have a perfectly usable door and still want some work done. Perhaps you're handing over a rental, adding a spare or finally getting around to a lock change you've been discussing for months. You can book that sort of visit as well. It gives you time to think about the choices, find out what the work involves and decide who needs a key when it's finished.
Our local locksmith service covers Whitby, including Brooklin, downtown and Port Whitby. We also take enquiries for Ajax, Oshawa and Pickering, with availability checked for the address and the job.
Whitby Locksmiths is on 905-481-1115. You can call while you're still at the "What would it involve?" stage. We're happy to start there.
