High security · Mississauga
High Security Locks
The restricted keys you bought years ago are no longer restricted; the locksmith mentioned the patent has run out and blanks are sold openly. Your key control quietly stopped being control.
High Security Locks
In plain words
Most break-ins do not involve picking; they involve a boot, a pry bar or a key that should never have been copied. High security hardware answers all three. A deadbolt with a full one-inch throw and a hardened core resists sawing and kicking, a reinforced strike with three-inch screws keeps the jamb whole, and a patented keyway means a copy can only be made through the locksmith who holds your system. The pick, bump and drill resistance of the cylinder is the layer on top. The locksmith's job is to fit those layers to your particular door and your particular worries.
How the visit goesYou jiggle the key a little and the old deadbolt opens even when the cut does not look quite right. If your worn key can do that, you wonder what a stranger with the right tools could do.
Mississauga
How the visit goes
The fit of new hardware to old doors
Older houses in this region have doors that predate modern hardware: narrower stiles, a mortise pocket already cut, a thick slab door or a steel-clad door with a specific backset. The locksmith measures the bore, backset, door thickness and edge preparation so the chosen deadbolt or cylinder fits without hacking at the door. Where a mortise lock is present, a high-security mortise cylinder often replaces the old one directly. Where a knob lock is the only lock, the assessment includes where a new deadbolt bore would sit and whether the frame can take a proper strike.
Reinforcing the strike and frame
The strike is where a forced door actually fails, so it gets serious attention. The stamped plate comes off and the pocket is deepened to accept a box strike or a long reinforced strike, fastened with three-inch screws that pass through the jamb into the wall framing. Stripped or split wood is filled and doweled first so the screws have something to hold. Where the frame is thin, a wrap-around reinforcer around the door edge and a full-length jamb plate are options. The result is a bolt that ties the door into the house rather than into a strip of trim.
A known number of keys
The most noticeable change is not in the door but in your head. You know exactly how many keys exist, who holds each one and that nobody can add to that number without your authorisation. The system is registered in your name with the locksmith, so a request for an extra key comes back to you rather than being filled at a counter somewhere. Keep the authorisation card or login details somewhere safe and separate from the keys. When a key is lost, tell the locksmith; the record is updated and you can decide together whether that key's loss warrants any further step.
High Security Locks
In the van
- Pinning kit and plug follower
- Patented key blanks
- Reinforced strike plate
- Key control authorisation card
- Three-inch strike and hinge screws
What affects the quote
Same fees day, night or weekend
1Documentation and registration
Setting up the key register, recording signatories and providing a written schedule of cylinders and keys is real work on a business system and is listed rather than hidden.
2Number of doors
Each door gets its own cylinder or lock, strike work and testing. Several doors on one keyway share the setup cost of the key system but add hardware and time per opening.
3Commercial lock bodies
Heavy-duty deadbolts, mortise locks, narrow-stile deadlocks and cylinder guards for storefront and warehouse doors are heavier hardware than residential deadbolts and priced as such.
High Security Locks: questions
Do high security locks need special maintenance?
Only light care. Use the dry lubricant the locksmith recommends once or twice a year, never oil, which gathers grit around the finger pins and sidebar. Keep the keyway free of debris and insert the key fully before turning. In winter, warm a resisting key in your hand or use a de-icer rather than forcing it. Check hinge and strike screws each season so the door stays aligned. Treated this way the cylinder lasts for decades.
Are high security locks only for businesses?
Not at all. Homes are the most common place they are fitted, especially after a move, a break-in nearby, or the realisation that too many keys have been handed out over the years. A graded deadbolt with a patented cylinder and a reinforced strike is a modest, quiet upgrade for a front or side door. Businesses tend to go further, with laboratory-rated cylinders, heavy lock bodies and a documented key system across many doors.
Can a high security cylinder be rekeyed later?
Yes. Like any pin tumbler it can be repinned to a new combination by a locksmith who holds the system, so a departed employee's key can be retired without replacing hardware. Some lines use interchangeable cores that swap in moments with a control key, which suits businesses with frequent turnover. Rekeying stays within your registered keyway, so the key control you paid for continues after the change.
High Security Locks
High Security Locks near you
Choose a service to see how it works in Mississauga. Each page explains the situation it suits, what the locksmith looks at first, how the job is done, and how to look after the hardware afterwards. If your problem sits between two services, either page will get you to the right conversation.