We change, rekey, and upgrade the locks on your apartment or house, and we come to you.
What locks are on doors around here?
Most pre-war apartment doors in Washington Heights carry a mortise lock, the New York standard. The lock body sits inside the edge of the door, and the key cylinder and the handle sit on the hallway side. Many doors also have a second lock higher up, usually a round deadbolt cylinder. We work on both, on old doors with many coats of paint and on new ones.
When do people call us for this?
- You moved into a new apartment and want the old keys to stop working.
- The mortise lock sticks, or you have to lift the door to turn the key.
- The door only has one lock and you want a second.
- You lost your keys.
- The handle or knob came loose on the door.
Do I need a new lock or just new keys?
If the lock works well, a rekey is usually enough. You keep the lock, we change the pins inside the cylinder, and you get new keys. If the lock is worn or broken, we replace it. We tell you which one fits before we start.
How do I get a quote?
Call us, or text a photo of the lock from the hallway side and one of the door edge. You get a written quote before any work starts.
How does the visit go?
We come out with the parts your call and your photo point to. Before we touch anything, we show you what is worn or broken and what we plan to do. When the work is done, we test every lock and key with you before we leave.
Questions we get
Do you work on doors in rental buildings?
Yes. If your landlord has rules about door hardware, tell us and we work within them.
Can one key open both locks on my door?
Often, yes. If the two cylinders share a keyway, we can set them up to work with one key.