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GTA Lockman Mobile Locksmith Services · Toronto & GTA
One key for everything, a key for each lock, or a master system: how to choose and what a lost key costs.
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When locks are installed or rekeyed, one of the first decisions is how they are keyed. Should one key open everything, or should each lock have its own key? The answer depends on who needs access to what, and the choice affects convenience, security and how much work it takes when a key goes missing.
Keyed alike means several locks use the same key. In a house, that usually means the front door, back door, side door and garage entry all open with one key.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
For most households, keying exterior doors alike is the sensible default, and rekeying the house to one key for every door is usually a single visit.
Keyed different means each lock has its own unique key. One key opens one lock.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Keyed different suits locks that guard different things: a storage room separate from the house, each locker in a gym, each unit in a building, or each office in a suite.
Master keying combines the two. Each lock has its own key, called a change key, and a master key opens all of them. Larger systems add sub-masters for groups: one key for every office on a floor, another for every storage room, a grand master for everything.
Master keying is standard in apartment buildings, offices, schools and hospitals. It gives managers access everywhere while tenants or staff open only their own doors. It needs careful planning, accurate records and, ideally, a restricted keyway, so unauthorised copies cannot be made. The principle behind master pins is part of how a pin tumbler lock works, and restricted keyways with restricted key systems.
Typical arrangements:
Separating internal access by role is a big part of server rooms and restricted internal areas.
Padlocks, cam locks and cabinet locks can also be keyed alike, which is useful for sheds, gates, containers and banks of cabinets. Padlocks keyed alike to the house key let one key open the shed, the gate and the garage. Banks of lockers are often keyed different with a master. The same choices apply to cam locks.
Keyed alike: every lock that key opens is exposed, so all of them are rekeyed together.
Keyed different: only the one lock is exposed and rekeyed.
Master keyed: a lost change key exposes one lock; a lost master key exposes every lock in the system, which is why master keys are tightly controlled and why restricted keyways matter.
Whatever the arrangement, keep a record: which key opens which lock, how many copies of each key exist, and who holds them. For master-keyed buildings, the keying schedule is essential; without it, adding a lock or replacing a lost key can mean rekeying everything. Many businesses keep this record with their key cabinet, as with key cabinets and managing many keys.
Locks can usually be rekeyed from one arrangement to another. A house with three keys can be brought onto one; a business with everything keyed alike can be split by role; a building can move onto a master system. Where locks use different keyways, some cylinders may need replacing.
When people move into a house, the locks are often a mixture: the front door on one key, the side door on another, a garage door key nobody can find. Rekeying every exterior lock to one new key at the same time gives the household a single key and makes sure no previous keys still work. It is usually done in one visit.
A landlord with several units in one building can key the main entrance, laundry room and storage room alike for all tenants, while each unit is keyed different. A landlord's master key opens every unit for maintenance with proper notice. This kind of small master arrangement is common in duplexes, triplexes and small apartment buildings.
A small shop or office often keys the front and rear doors alike so staff carry one key, while the cash office and stockroom are keyed different and held only by the owner or manager. That keeps opening and closing simple while protecting the areas that matter most, an arrangement that suits retail stockrooms and cash office locks.
New homes and buildings are often handed over with locks keyed alike, sometimes on a construction keying system that disables the builder's key when the owner's key is first used. Rekeying at handover, or confirming the construction key no longer works, is the safe step, as explained for construction site keys and locks.
Master keying adds convenience but reduces security slightly, because each lock accepts more than one key. Very large or poorly planned systems can end up with keys that open locks they were never meant to. Careful planning, a documented keying schedule and periodic review keep a master system sound. For very sensitive areas, keeping a lock completely outside the master system is sometimes the safer choice.
Some households and businesses replace part of a keyed-alike system with keypad locks, so codes can be issued and removed without rekeying. A keypad on the back door alongside a keyed front door is a common combination. Keypad codes follow the same logic as keys: who needs access, to which door, and for how long.
A set of padlocks keyed alike, and keyed to match the house where the keyway allows, means one key opens the shed, the side gate and the garage. For cottages and properties with several outbuildings, this is particularly convenient, and it reduces the number of keys that can go missing.
For a small building, a simple two-level system is often enough: a change key for each unit or room and a master key for the owner. Planning it well means listing every door, deciding who needs which key, choosing a restricted keyway, and recording the schedule. A small system planned carefully stays manageable for years; one assembled piecemeal over time becomes confusing.
A missing master key is serious, because it opens every lock in the system. The usual response is to rekey the whole system, or at least every lock the master opens, and to review who holds master keys. Restricted keyways and a signed register for master keys reduce the chance of it happening.
Many businesses combine keys with electronic access: fobs or cards on the main entrances, keys on internal rooms. Electronic access can be changed without rekeying, and it records who entered. Keys remain useful for rooms where electronic access is not practical or as a mechanical override.
A typical arrangement for a detached house with a rented basement suite might be: the front, back and garage doors keyed alike for the owner's household; the basement suite's entrance and its side of the connecting door keyed to the tenant's key; and a simple master so the owner's key also opens the suite for maintenance with proper notice. The storage room is keyed separately. Four groups, two keys in daily use for the owner.
A small office might key the main entrance and rear door alike for all staff, the manager's office and the server cupboard to separate keys, and the supply room to a key held by two people. A restricted keyway stops anyone copying the main entrance key, and a short register records who holds each key.
Keying needs change as households and businesses change. Reviewing the arrangement every few years, or whenever people move in or out, keeps it matched to who actually needs access.
Keying locks alike or different at the time of installation or rekeying costs much the same. Master key systems cost more because they need planning, additional pins and a keying schedule, and restricted keyways add the cost of controlled blanks. For most homes, keyed alike is the simplest and least costly option.
Some owners with a house and a cottage ask for both to be keyed alike. It is convenient, but a key lost at one property then exposes the other. Keeping each property on its own key, with spares stored separately, is usually the safer choice.
Tell us how many locks are involved, who needs to open what, and whether you want one key, separate keys or a master arrangement. A list of doors and the people who use them is the most suitable starting point.
We can rekey locks alike, separate them by role, plan and install master key systems, and set up restricted keyways. Business work is part of our commercial locksmith services, and household locks are part of our residential locksmith services.
Keep reading
Several locks use the same key. In a house, that usually means one key opens every exterior door.
Several locks use the same key. In a house, that usually means one key opens every exterior door.
Each lock has its own unique key, so one key opens only one lock.
Each lock has its own key, and a master key opens all of them. Larger systems add sub-master keys for groups of doors.
Keying all exterior doors alike suits most households. A storage room or rental unit can be kept on a separate key if needed.
Every lock that key opens is exposed, so they are rekeyed together, usually to one new key.
Usually, if they share a compatible keyway. Locks on a different keyway may need a new cylinder.
Often. Padlocks can be supplied on the same keyway and keyed alike, so one key opens the shed, gate and garage.
So staff cannot copy keys freely. That matters most in keyed-alike and master-keyed systems, where one copied key opens many doors.
GTA Lockman Mobile Locksmith Services is a mobile locksmith working on homes, businesses and vehicles across Toronto and the GTA, with more than 14 years in the trade. Every review is written by a customer on Google, where you can read them in full.
Areas served: Toronto, North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Stouffville, Newmarket, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Uxbridge.
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