Change or rekey · Wilmot
Gate & Building Entry Locks
The padlock on the side gate has gone stiff every winter for three years running, and this year the key simply will not turn past the first few pins.
In plain words
A gate or door that will not latch is rarely just a lock problem; more often the hardware is being asked to catch a moving target. This visit reads the gate or door's actual swing, sag and alignment first, then brings the closer, hinges, strike and cylinder into agreement with each other rather than replacing parts one at a time. Once the physical fit is right, the same lock that seemed unreliable for months often turns out to have been sound all along.
How the visit goesA visitor buzzes from the panel downstairs, someone presses the button by the door, and nothing happens. The electric strike on the lobby door used to click open on cue; now it stays silent, and residents are propping the entry with a folded flyer instead.
Gate & Building Entry Locks
How the visit goes
Looking for prior damage or an attempted entry
Before any work begins, the locksmith looks for signs that something has already been tried on the gate or door: pry marks near the strike, a scratched or spun cylinder, a bent hasp, or a padlock shackle that has been cut and replaced. Noting this clearly, before touching anything, means the property owner knows exactly what was there beforehand and what the visit actually changed. It also flags whether the surrounding frame or post absorbed damage that needs attention alongside the lock itself.
Freeing a seized or salted padlock
A padlock or gate cylinder stiffened by rust, dried grease or old grit is worked open with patience: a penetrating product suited to locks, gentle heat where appropriate, and a pick or the original key worked in small movements rather than forced. Where the internals have corroded past saving, the padlock or cylinder is replaced with a weather-rated unit built for that kind of exposure. Afterward the mechanism is dried and treated with the lubricant the manufacturer specifies for that cylinder, since the right product for one model can gum up another.
Hardware set up to last outdoors
Anything replaced or adjusted during the visit is chosen and finished for life outside: corrosion-resistant fasteners, a cylinder rated for weather exposure, and a lubricant matched to whatever the cylinder maker specifies for it, since the wrong product collects grit and gums up in the cold. A light coat of that lubricant at the interval the maker recommends, worked through with the key a few times, keeps a cylinder turning smoothly well beyond what the hardware would otherwise manage sitting exposed at a gate or a street-facing door.
Gate & Building Entry Locks
In the van
Voltage tester for electric strikes
Key blanks and code cutter
Hinges, pivots and shims
Strike plates and keepers
Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
Gate & Building Entry Locks
What affects the quote
Condition of the closer, hinges and post
Simple adjustment of an existing closer is a smaller job than replacing a worn closer, correcting sagging hinges, or resetting a post that has shifted with the ground; the quote follows whichever combination the assessment finds.
Whether keys need coordinating across doors
Rekeying a single lock is one task. Bringing several gates or a shared entry onto one common key, or setting up a master key arrangement across a property, adds planning and cylinder work beyond a single rekey.
Any damage from a prior forced entry
Where pry marks, a bent strike or a cut hasp are found, repairing or replacing that damaged hardware is additional to a routine lock adjustment, and the locksmith points out what was already there before quoting it.
What to have ready
- Is the gate sagging, dragging, or hard to close by hand?
- Roughly how many people currently need a working key?
- Are there other gates on the property that should share a key?
Gate & Building Entry Locks: questions
QuestionsHow should I look after a gate lock so it keeps working?
Twice a year, work the lubricant the cylinder maker specifies into the keyway and cycle the key a few times; the wrong product for that model can collect grit or gum up the mechanism instead of helping it. Check that the closer still settles the gate into the latch without slamming, and look at hinges or post hardware for movement, especially after a hard winter. A cylinder that starts needing a wiggle, or a gate that has begun to drag, is worth addressing while it is still a small adjustment.
What actually happens during a gate or building entry lock visit?
The locksmith first watches the gate or door move and checks the hardware fitted to it, then works out whether the issue sits in the lock, the closer, the hinges or the alignment of the frame itself. Whatever combination is found, the relevant piece is adjusted, rekeyed or replaced, and the whole assembly is cycled repeatedly afterward to confirm it closes, latches and locks the same way every time. Any keys involved are cut and tested before the visit is considered complete.
How long does a gate or building entry lock visit usually take?
It depends on what the assessment finds once the locksmith is looking at the actual hardware. A single gate lock that only needs adjusting or rekeying is a shorter visit than one where the closer, hinges and post all need attention, or where several gates on a property are being brought onto one key. Electronic hardware such as a buzzer or electric strike adds its own testing time. The locksmith can give a closer sense of the scope once the gate or door has been examined in person.
Related services
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- Vintage Mortise Lock ServiceSomeone painted the door years ago without removing the hardware.