A practical option after moving in, losing a key, changing tenants, or updating who should have access. The hardware stays; the key that opens it changes.
Inside a standard pin-tumbler lock, a stack of small spring-loaded pins has to line up exactly at the shear line before the plug can turn. Each pin is a specific height, and only a key cut to match those heights raises every pin to the right spot at once. Rekeying takes the cylinder apart and swaps that set of pins for a new one, matched to a different key. Afterward the old key no longer lines the pins up, so it simply stops working, and a new key takes its place.
The lock body, the deadbolt, the latch, and the exterior trim all stay on the door. Nothing about how the lock looks or mounts changes, and from the outside there is no sign anything was done. That is why rekeying is usually the quicker, less disruptive, and less expensive route when it applies — it is a change to the key, not the lock.
For rekeying to be the right choice, two things have to be true: the lock must be in serviceable mechanical condition, and it must use a keyway that can be pinned to your key. A lock that binds, has a worn plug, or is the wrong function for the door is a repair or replacement question first.
Rekeying solves a key problem directly. If the hardware is fine and the issue is who can open the door, this is usually the answer.
You do not know who holds copies from before — previous owners, real estate agents, contractors, house cleaners, dog walkers, neighbors. Move-in rekeying across every exterior door resets that, and it is the standard first booking for a new homeowner. Covered on the residential page.
A lost key, especially one on a ring with anything identifying, is a reason to rekey rather than hope. Once the cylinder is re-pinned, the lost key is just a piece of brass. If you are also locked out, this can be done in the same visit — see lockout service.
Retire keys from a former tenant or employee without replacing hardware that is otherwise fine. Turnover rekeying is a large part of the work for Tucker-area landlords and managers, and it keeps any master plan intact. See the commercial page.
Where keyways match, several exterior doors can be keyed alike so one key opens the front, back, and side doors while each still locks on its own. Fewer keys on the ring, same security.
Ask about keyed-alike →A single door that currently needs two or three different keys — a knob and a deadbolt that were never matched — can be consolidated to one key.
Discuss it →A small plan where one key opens everything and sub-keys open only certain doors. Useful for a rental with a shared laundry, or a small office. It needs planning and a written record to stay maintainable.
Master key systems →Keyed different is the default: every lock has its own key. Simple, but a full keyring for a house with several exterior doors.
Keyed alike means a group of locks all operate from one key. Each lock still works independently — locking the back door does not lock the front — but you only carry one key. This is the most common request for a home. It requires the locks to share a keyway, which is checked before it is promised.
Master keyed means each door has its own individual key, and a single master key opens all of them. A landlord holds the master; each tenant holds only their own. A small business owner holds the master; staff hold keys to just the doors they need. Master keying is powerful but adds complexity, and a plan that is not written down tends to become unmanageable within a year. For anything beyond a handful of doors, the plan is worked out before any pinning is done.
Which option fits depends on how many doors there are, who needs to open what, and whether the existing hardware supports it. That conversation happens before the work, so you understand the setup you are getting.
Rekeying does not repair a mechanical fault. If a key is hard to turn, a bolt drags against the strike, a latch misses the hole, or a cylinder feels gritty, that is a lock repair question and the cause needs to be found first. Re-pinning a worn cylinder gives you a worn cylinder with a new key. The note on why a key sticks covers the usual causes.
It also does not upgrade weak hardware. A lock that is corroded, loose in the door, low grade for its use, or the wrong function — a privacy lock where a keyed deadbolt belongs — should be replaced rather than re-pinned. And rekeying cannot, on its own, make locks with incompatible keyways share a key. Mismatched brands may need a cylinder swapped so every door accepts the same keyway before keyed-alike is possible.
Finally, rekeying a lock does not do anything about a key that was copied before you re-pinned it and then handed back. The point of a rekey is that every key made to the old pinning stops working at once, which is exactly why it is the right tool for a move-in or a staffing change.
Most homes and small businesses use a standard keyway — the common profiles that any hardware store or kiosk can cut. That is convenient, and for most households it is fine: after a rekey, the risk of an unauthorized copy is low because the only people with a working key are the ones you handed it to.
Where key control genuinely matters — a rental portfolio, a business with turnover, a property where a lost key would be a real problem — a restricted keyway is worth considering. Blanks are not sold openly, and copies can only be made through the system with authorization, so a departing tenant or employee cannot quietly keep a spare. It costs more to set up and adds a step whenever a legitimate copy is needed, but it closes a gap that a standard rekey cannot.
Either way, a rekey resets the situation completely for every key cut to the old pinning. That is the core value: whatever copies existed before — known or unknown — stop working the moment the cylinder is re-pinned. Whether you then move to a restricted system is a separate decision about how tightly you want to control copies going forward, and it is worth discussing during any commercial keying project.
Each lock is checked for condition, keyway, and compatibility. This is where keyed-alike is confirmed or ruled out, and where any lock that needs repair or replacement first is flagged.
The cylinders are taken apart, fitted with a new pin set, and reassembled. New keys are cut and tested in each lock with the door open and then closed.
You get the new keys, old keys are collected or destroyed where possible, and if a master or keyed-alike plan was set up, a simple record of which key opens what.
Assuming every lock can be keyed alike. Two deadbolts from different brands, or even the same brand with different keyways, may not be able to share a key without swapping a cylinder. It is checked before it is promised, so a "one key for everything" plan does not fall apart halfway.
Rekeying a lock that should be replaced. If a cylinder is worn or a lock is loose in the door, re-pinning it just buys a little time. The inspection step exists to catch this, so money is not spent twice. See lock repair for how condition is assessed.
Forgetting the doors nobody uses. A side door, a basement door, or a garage-to-house door is exactly the kind of opening a former keyholder would try. If access needs to reset, it needs to reset on every door, not just the front.
Not collecting the old keys. After a rekey the old keys do not work, but handing them back invites confusion later. Where possible they are collected or destroyed, and any keyed-alike or master plan is written down so the next change is simple.
Rekeying is one of the steadiest calls in the Tucker area, and it splits fairly evenly between homeowners and property managers. In the owner-occupied neighborhoods of Tucker, Embry Hills, and parts of Stone Mountain, the typical job is a new buyer who just closed and wants every exterior door on one fresh key before the first night in the house. In the rental-heavy areas of Clarkston and the apartment communities along the main corridors, it is turnover rekeying between tenants, often on a schedule as units cycle.
Older homes near Lawrenceville Highway and Hugh Howell Road sometimes carry original hardware from the 1960s and 70s. Those cylinders can often still be rekeyed, but they are also the ones most likely to need a repair or a replacement first, which is why the inspection step matters. Newer construction across the area usually has current hardware that rekeys without complication.
The service areas page covers coverage community by community, and the contact page lists what to have ready. If you are not sure whether you need a rekey or a new lock, the rekey-or-replace note works through the decision with examples.
Home lock work, including move-in rekeying and keyed-alike sets.
View →Business rekeying, master key planning, and key control.
View →For locks that stick or bind, where the mechanism is the issue.
View →Rekeying during a lockout when keys are lost.
View →Coverage across Tucker and nearby DeKalb County.
View →A plain guide to deciding between the two.
View →Rekeying keeps the lock body and changes the pins inside so a different key operates it. Replacement installs new hardware. Rekeying suits locks that are still in good mechanical condition.
If the locks share a compatible keyway, they can usually be keyed alike. Mismatched brands or keyways may need a cylinder swap first.
No. Rekeying changes the key, not the mechanical condition. A binding or worn lock needs repair or replacement.
It helps but is not always required. Tell us on the call whether any working key exists.
A rekey normally includes a set of new keys, and additional copies can be cut at the same time. Old keys are collected or destroyed where possible.
Many electronic deadbolts have a standard cylinder for the mechanical override that can be rekeyed. The code side is managed separately through the lock's own settings.