Did you make this dangerous mistake?

You did if you haven’t had the locks on your doors rekeyed.

This is important, even with brand new construction. Let me share a few of my thoughts and tell you why I feel this is true.

First, I was called to replace a set of lost keys in a brand new subdivision. To do this, I took the lock apart and noticed it had been master keyed by the contractor as a convenience for his company while building in the subdivision. There is a way to achieve this convenience that’s legitimate and protects the new homeowner.

It’s accomplished with little ball bearings that fall out of the bottom of the lock the very first time the homeowner’s key is used. When this happens, the contractors key no longer works and the homeowner knows where every key is when they get them from the builder. It’s called Construction Master keying.

This isn’t what was done. What was done was a permanent master key like you’d find in an office building. That means the builder key would work forever unless it was repined and the master wafers were removed. This is a trend I'm seeing in more and more subdivisions.

Real life, Not a sales pitch.

Now, let me tell a true story about the dangers of not doing this. I had a friend that bought a brand new house. He had the locks changed and all was okay there.

About five years after he’d moved in, he was home alone, on his way to bed so the lights were out. No cars were in the driveway. He heard someone trying his doorknob at each door. He was concerned enough to call the police who arrived and caught someone in my friends bushes. It turned out to have been a subcontractor of the builder that had kept the master key we used when the development was built.

These people are probably strangers to you.

How many subcontractors, service people, realtors, electricians, plumbers, carper layers, painters, etc. have had that key pass through their hands? I’ve noticed this trend in keying new construction to be more and more common. It’s worth your family’s security to have the locks redone, or at least checked.


Okay, so your house was previously owned. Think about this.

Now I'll offer another observation I’ve made over the years. You can probably self-validate this scenario.

Let me ask you to think back at the time you closed on your home. How many keys were you given at closing? I was give three as far as I can remember. I was thinking about this the other day.

Right now, today – I have a key to my house, my wife has a key, each of my four adult children have keys, my parents have a key, my wife’s parents have a key. I loaned a key to my neighbor once to bring the mail in. I don’t remember if I ever got that back. So far I’ve counted maybe eleven keys floating out there. If I sold my home, what do you think would be the chances I’d gather every key up and turn them over at closing? Would you? Do you think the previous owners of you home did?

Let me tell one more short story.

I had a customer purchase a new town home and they were sitting in the front room unpacking boxes when the front door swung open and a couple of strangers walked in. It turns out they were friends of the previous owners and knew where they hid the key over the door. They didn’t know their friends had moved, so they just walked in like they’d done so many times before. This is what I call a mystery key. There may be keys to your home whose existence is a mystery, but you can protect yourself. You get my point. Always have your home rekeyed before you move your stuff in. It’s safety: it’s common sense.

Call Thomas Lock & Key, (801) 668-KEYS (5397) | http://www.thomaslockandkey.com