You do not know how many keys to your new home exist. Neither does the seller, honestly. Estate agents, contractors, cleaners, a previous tenant, the neighbour who watered the plants — keys spread quietly over years. Here is the short list worth doing in week one.
Do this first
- Rekey every exterior door. Not replace — rekey. It retires every existing key and costs a fraction of new hardware. This is the single highest-value thing on the list.
- Key them alike while you are at it, so one key runs the front, back and garage.
- Check the garage side door. It is the most-forgotten exterior door in any house and often has the oldest lock.
Then check the things nobody looks at
- Strike plates. If the screws are short, replace them with longer ones into the framing. Minutes of work, and the biggest single gain against a forced door.
- Door alignment. If a deadbolt needs lifting or shoving, the door has dropped. Fixing alignment now stops it wearing out the new pins.
- Window and patio locks, especially sliding doors.
- Any safe left behind. An inherited safe with no combination is openable — see safe opening.
- Keypad and smart locks. Wipe the previous owner’s codes. All of them, not just the one they told you about.
If you are renting it out
Rekey between every tenancy without exception, and keep a record of when. It is cheap, it is quick, and it is the thing that gets asked about if there is ever a dispute about access. For multiple units, a master key system is usually cheaper than managing separate keys badly — see commercial locksmith.
What you can skip
You probably do not need to replace working hardware just because it is old-looking. A solid deadbolt that throws cleanly into a reinforced strike is doing its job regardless of the finish. Spend the money on the strike plates and the rekey instead.
Where to go next
Need a locksmith in St. Louis? Call (314) 916-6766. Open daily 5:30am–11:30pm. Price agreed on site before any work starts.
Common questions
Should I rekey or replace when I move in?
Rekey, in almost every case. The hardware is usually fine; the problem is unknown keys, and rekeying solves that for less.
How soon should I do it?
First week. Until then you genuinely do not know who can open your doors.
Can one key work every door?
Yes – locks can be keyed alike in the same visit, which is much cheaper than doing it later.
What about the previous owner’s smart lock codes?
Wipe all of them and set new ones. Old codes commonly survive a handover.