Changing the locks on your house is something most people instantly picture as the daily grind of locksmiths. Although we work on all sorts of home and commercial security measures these days, we’re still regularly called out to change people’s home locks.
You might instantly associate new locks with criminal activity. While that can be true, it’s not always the case. Here are the top five reasons why people change their house locks.
Moving to a new home
When you move into a new house, it’s a time of frantic activity, excitement and a significant amount of stress. Changing the locks can seem like a low-priority task, but getting it done as soon as possible is essential.
From the moment the keys exchange hands and you own your new property, you’ll have no idea who still has access. The previous owner may have accidentally neglected to give you a key or may have forgotten that they’d lent one out to a friend some years ago.
Getting the locks changed as quickly as possible will ensure you know exactly who can get in and out of your house. This could include your windows, too.
After a burglary or attempted break-in
Break-ins, successful or otherwise, can be a scary time for anyone. It’s disconcerting knowing that someone has been snooping at your windows and trying to get into your home.
A favoured method of most criminals is to simply force or snap a lock. This is much easier to do with older locks, which is another reason it’s so important to keep them updated reasonably often. Lockpicking could also be attempted.
These techniques do irreparable damage to a lock and may even mean your key can’t fit anymore. If you find that the lock’s been damaged, it’s time for a new one.
Lost keys
The embarrassing reality is that most of us will lose our keys at least once at some point in our lives. Whether they flung themselves out of your pocket when you took your phone out, or you left them on a park bench, you might suddenly find yourself with no access to your home.
That isn’t usually a problem in itself – most people have a spare. It’s even possible for a specialist locksmith to cut a new key without the original. However, issues arise because anyone could find your key and pick it up. If that person happens to know where you live, they’ll have access whenever they want.
If you lose your keys and don’t know where they are, replacing your household locks as soon as possible is the most sensible thing to do.
Getting updated locks
As we mentioned earlier in this article, keeping your locks up to date is an integral part of home security. Older-style locks are more straightforward for criminals to break into. After a decade or two, you’ll also find that any lock inevitably begins materially wearing down, meaning your keys might not fit properly anymore.
Call a specialist locksmith to change your locks if they haven’t been done for a significant time. This helps to keep your doors functional and your home secure.
Someone else has possession of your keys
Of course, if your keys get lost, a stranger may have picked them up.
However, other situations could arise. For example, a messy breakup or divorce might mean you want to change the locks to keep your ex away. Perhaps your child has naively given their key away to someone, or maybe you lent a spare to an acquaintance and haven’t heard from them since.
Under these conditions, changing the locks could be the only way to resecure your home. Of course, if you can get the key back (and get it back as quickly as possible), that would be ideal.
Get in touch with Grays Locksmiths
Grays Locksmiths has been in business for 35 years. As a Master Locksmiths Association member, we’re proud to provide trusted lock replacement and key cutting services to the good people of Nottingham and beyond.
If you need some new locks fitted, we’ll be happy to head out to you as soon as we can. Schedule an appointment by contacting us on 0115 942 2315 or at hello@grayslocksmiths.org. If you’d like to ask us a few questions or for any advice beforehand, please don’t hesitate! All our chats will be completely informal and commitment-free.
We hope this article has been beneficial and look forward to hearing from you.