Locksmith Charley
Presents:
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Do you know......
Who has keys to your house?
Maybe you do, and maybe, just maybe, you don't!
If you have not personally arranged to have your house re-keyed since the time you moved in then you have absolutely NO IDEA who may have keys to your house. As a locksmith and safe-cracker I have learned many things over the years both from teachers and from self discovery. One of the things that I have discovered is the phenomenon that I call the "BUILDER KEY PROBLEM".
Most lock manufacturers that sell vast quantities of locks to builders of new homes have a "construction keying" feature available to the builders. The feature has different names from different manufacturers such as Protecto-Key by Kwikset. The way these features work is that a "construction key" is issued to literally every trades person (carpenter, electrician, plumber, etc.) who works on a job site. The concept is that once the home owner uses their key the "construction key" is effectively locked out from any further use.
There is a problem with this scenario. While it is true that the actual "construction key" issued to the workers is no longer functional because some little balls have dropped out of the pin stack, the lock still contains the master pins which create the opportunity for multiple keys to operate your lock.
Simply put, your lock may be pinned up in such a fashion as to allow as many as 32 different keys to open your house. Your key, a master key the builder keeps, and 30 others that are what we call "incidental" or unintentional cross-keys.
What has LOCKSMITH CHARLEY done? Charley has, from the known cuts of a construction key produced a set of 5 keys that will open many many homes in the Phoenix area. Recently Charley used one of these keys to open a house that was on its third owner and had been there some 20 years.
OH NO, WHAT CAN I DO?
Well, very Simply what you can do is to call LOCKSMITH CHARLEY at 602-717-5397 and schedule a service call for one of his professional staff members to come out to your residence (or business) and re-key your house so that only YOUR key will fit. Our technician will also be able to discuss various alternatives with you such as High Security Locks and other security measures.
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This page is under construction and will be updated as time permits
construction key: Temporary key issued to workers to use while house (or other building) is being built that will become inoperative after the construction is completed. The construction keys are usually retained by the construction workers and used on various job sites throughout the nation.
high security locks: Locks such as Assa Twin, Schlage Primus, Medeco and others meet specifications that set them apart from locks of "ordinary security". Those specifications include a level of pick resistance to render the lock virtually un-pickable, hardened steel inserts to help prevent attack by drilling, and usually patented exclusive key control.
master key:
(noun) A key that operates many locks in a building or many houses in a
neighborhood.
(verb) To re-key a lock in such a manner that permits the change key (user key)
and a designated master key to operate the lock.
master pins: The master pins are pins placed between the top pins and bottom pins to create multiple opportunities for keys of different heights to achieve alignment of the gap between the pins to the shear line.
pin stack: Within a chamber of the lock cylinder the pin stack would include the bottom pin, master pin(s), construction-key balls, top pins and springs.
re-key: The operation of changing the pins in a lock so that the old key(s) (including master keys) will no longer operate the lock and only the designated new keys (and new master key if one is created) will operate the lock.
shear line: The junction between the plug and the housing of a lock.
top pins: Also known as drivers these are the pins directly in contact with the springs that maintain force on the pin stack in the direction of the key.
Thanks for calling and don't forget -
call again real soon!
602-717-5397-voice
509-278-1751-fax