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GTA Lockman Mobile Locksmith Services · Toronto & GTA
Check the construction key arrangement, the strikes and the door fit before deciding what to change.
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A newly built home arrives with locks already fitted, and most buyers never think about them again. They work, the keys turn, and the house is new. The hardware is still worth a look, for two reasons: the keys have been through many hands during construction, and builder-supplied hardware is usually chosen to a price.
Neither is a criticism of the builder. Trades need access while a house is being finished, and hardware is a small line in a large budget. It does mean that the locks on a new home are a starting point rather than a finished decision.
This page covers what to check in the first week, what the construction key system does, and which upgrades are worth considering once you have lived in the house for a while.
During the build, framers, drywallers, painters, electricians, plumbers, flooring crews, inspectors and cleaners all need to get in. Many builders use a construction key arrangement, where a temporary key operates the locks until the homeowner's key is used for the first time, which cancels the construction key.
That system works when it is used properly. Ask your builder which arrangement was used, whether the construction key has been voided, and how many homeowner keys were cut. If the house was left on ordinary keys during construction, treat every copy as unaccounted for.
Turning the new homeowner key in each lock is often what voids the construction key, so do it at every door, not just the front. If you are unsure whether the system was used at all, rekeying removes the question; see rekey or replace.
Test each exterior door with the door closed. The latch should catch on its own and the deadbolt should throw fully without the door being pushed, pulled or lifted. New houses settle, and frames move as materials dry out, so a door that closed cleanly at handover can bind within months.
Check that every lock has been keyed to the same key, if that is what you expect. Builders sometimes fit a different cylinder on the garage entry or a side door.
Look at the strike plates. Builder installations frequently use short screws into the door casing rather than long screws reaching the wall framing. That single detail is the difference between a frame that resists a kick and one that splits.
Hardware supplied with new homes is often Grade 3, the basic residential level. It works, and on an interior door it is perfectly reasonable. On an exterior door it is the minimum rather than a considered choice, and it wears faster on doors used many times a day.
The page on lock grades explained sets out what the grades measure. If you decide to upgrade, the usual order is: correct the alignment, reinforce the strikes and hinges with long screws, then improve the hardware itself.
Upgrading does not mean replacing everything. Many households change the front and garage entry hardware and leave the rest, or simply add longer screws and a reinforced strike to every exterior door.
New houses move. Lumber dries, foundations settle and frames shift slightly through the first heating season. Doors that worked in June can drag in February. This is normal, and most of it is corrected by adjusting hinges and strikes rather than replacing hardware.
If your builder offers a warranty inspection at the end of the first year, note any door that sticks, any lock that needs force and any latch that misses, and raise them while the warranty applies. The pages on front door will not lock and stuck deadbolt and door will not open explain what causes these faults.
Garage entry doors move the most, because one side of the door is heated and the other is not. See garage-to-house door locks.
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Photographs from GTA Lockman Mobile Locksmith Services work across Toronto and the GTA. Send a picture of your own door and we can tell you what the visit would involve.
Many new homes come with a keypad deadbolt on the garage entry or the front door, and some are prewired for alarm or access equipment. Reset any device that was set up during construction: remove the builder or trade codes, set your own administrator code and test the mechanical override key.
If the house has a smart lock linked to an app, confirm the account is in your name and that no installer account remains. The page on smart lock repair and troubleshooting covers device accounts, and the keypad lock page covers code management.
Many new homeowners have more work done in the first year: a deck, a fence, a finished basement, window coverings or landscaping. Each brings more trades and more temporary access.
Rather than handing out house keys, use a keypad code you can remove or arrange access for specific days. The page on keys for cleaners, nannies and dog walkers covers managing temporary access, and lock problems after a renovation explains what to check when the work is finished.
A new condo suite is a slightly different situation. The suite lock is usually part of the building's master-key system, fobs are issued by the corporation, and the declaration may restrict hardware changes. Ask management what is permitted before changing a cylinder, and confirm how many fobs and keys were issued to your unit.
The page on buying a condo: suite locks, fobs and building rules covers the handover in detail, and apartment and condo lockouts explains the constraints on suite doors.
It depends on how the build was managed. If the builder used a construction key system, the homeowner key voided it and the number of homeowner keys is known, rekeying may add little. If the house sat on ordinary keys, if keys were left in a lockbox, or if nobody can tell you how many keys exist, rekeying is a straightforward way to start from a known position.
Rekeying keeps the existing hardware and changes the key, so it costs less than replacing locks. It can also bring every exterior door onto one key; see one key for every door.
We check each exterior door closed, test the locks, look at the strikes, hinges and frames, and tell you which doors need adjustment. We can rekey compatible cylinders to a new key, fit reinforced strikes with long screws, replace hardware where you want a different level or function, and set up or reset keypad devices.
Where a door binds because the house is still settling, we say so and adjust it rather than selling hardware that will behave the same way.
While the builder's customer care line is still active, ask a few specific things and keep the answers. How many homeowner keys were issued for the house, and were any extras cut? Was a construction key system used, and has it been voided at every opening? Which cylinders are keyed alike, and is the garage entry on the same key? What hardware brand and model were fitted, in case parts are needed later? Is any door hardware covered by the builder's warranty, and for how long?
Those answers take one email and save a great deal of guesswork in the first year. Keep them with your closing documents alongside the hardware model numbers, so a future repair or a matching purchase does not start with a search.
When you call, tell us the age of the house, how many exterior doors it has, whether a construction key system was used and whether any door is already sticking. Our posted hours appear below, and we do not promise a fixed arrival time. The residential locksmith page covers related work.
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It depends on how access was managed during the build. Many builders use a construction key system, where a temporary key works until the homeowner key is first turned, which voids it. If that was used properly and you know how many homeowner keys exist, rekeying may add little. If the house sat on ordinary keys, keys were kept in a lockbox, or nobody can say how many copies exist, rekeying puts you in a known position while keeping the existing hardware.
It depends on how access was managed during the build. Many builders use a construction key system, where a temporary key works until the homeowner key is first turned, which voids it. If that was used properly and you know how many homeowner keys exist, rekeying may add little. If the house sat on ordinary keys, keys were kept in a lockbox, or nobody can say how many copies exist, rekeying puts you in a known position while keeping the existing hardware.
It is a temporary key arrangement that lets trades into the house during the build. When the homeowner's key is turned in the lock for the first time, the construction key stops working. It only protects you if it is actually used and if you turn your key in every lock, not just the front door. Ask your builder which arrangement was used and confirm the construction key has been voided at each opening.
It works, but it is usually the basic residential grade, chosen to a price across an entire subdivision. That is reasonable on interior doors and the minimum on exterior ones. Before replacing anything, check the strike plates: builder installations often use short screws into the casing rather than long screws into the wall framing, and correcting that usually adds more resistance than a new lock does.
Usually it is normal settling. New houses move as lumber dries and the frame settles, especially through the first heating season, and doors that worked at handover can bind later. Most cases are corrected by adjusting hinges and strikes rather than replacing hardware. Note any sticking door before your builder's warranty inspection so it can be raised while the warranty applies.
That door has heated air on one side and an unheated garage on the other, so it is exposed to the largest temperature and humidity difference in the house. The door and frame move more as a result, and the deadbolt or latch can drift out of line with the strike seasonally. Adjusting the strike, and sometimes enlarging the bolt hole slightly, gives the bolt room to engage in all seasons while still entering the frame fully.
Reset it. Remove any codes set during construction, set your own administrator code, and test the mechanical override key, which may never have been used. If the device links to an app, confirm the account is in your name and that no installer account remains with access. Check the battery type the manufacturer specifies and replace the batteries if the device has been sitting through the build.
Often yes, or use access that you can withdraw. Rather than handing out house keys to the next round of trades, use a keypad code that can be removed when the work ends, or arrange access on specific days. If you do rekey first, plan how trades will get in. Either way, check the doors again once the work is finished, because new flooring, thresholds and frames all affect how a door closes.
Yes. The suite lock is usually part of the building's master-key system, fobs are programmed by the corporation, and the declaration may limit what hardware you can fit. Confirm how many keys and fobs were issued to your unit and ask management what changes are permitted before altering the cylinder. The condo purchase page covers what to collect and check at handover.
Describe the door, hardware and service address. Contact GTA Lockman Mobile Locksmith Services to confirm the scope and scheduling for your location.
