I'm looking to replace the locks on my front and back doors. My house has two doors on both ends, and I lost the keys a while back at work (long story). I've already replaced the deadbolt and door on the main front entrance, but the back door currently doesn't have any functional lock. I used to have keys for both doors, and I believe the back door used the same keys as the front. My plan is to have different keys for increasing security between the two sets of doors since I manage a handful of properties and have a bunch of keys anyway. Does this seem like a good strategy or should I consider other options?
3 Answers
Are these all entry doors, or is one a storm door? I generally think all entry doors should use the same key, while storm doors can be separate. You might find it difficult to have identical keys for both types.
If you’ve got the same or compatible brand locks on all your doors, you can rekey them to work with just one key. Having a ton of keys can be a hassle and it's easier to keep track of just one.
If the keys fit into all the locks, you can take the locks to a locksmith and get them rekeyed. It's usually way cheaper to bring the locks to them rather than having them come to you. The last time I did it, it cost about $10 per lock.
Both my doors are storm doors, with the entry ones being separate. Ideally, I want the same key for the storm doors and a matching one for the entry doors, just like before.