Commercial · London
Commercial-Grade Lock Replacement
An inspection report flagged the rear exit as needing hardware that opens with one motion and no key, and that door currently has an ordinary keyed knob on the inside.
In plain words
A great deal of what happens during this service is choosing the right category of hardware before a single screw comes out. Storefront glass and aluminum doors call for a narrow-stile lock or a hookbolt rather than the mortise body a solid wood or hollow-metal door would take, and a door serving a busy exit route may need listed exit hardware regardless of what was on it before. The locksmith identifies which category the opening belongs to, sources hardware built for it, installs it to the door's existing preparation, and confirms the finished lock operates correctly from both the public and the staff side.
How the visit goesAn inspection report flagged the rear exit as needing hardware that opens with one motion and no key, and that door currently has an ordinary keyed knob on the inside.
Commercial-Grade Lock Replacement
How the visit goes
Looking at how the opening is actually used
A door's traffic shapes which hardware belongs on it. A staff entrance opened a handful of times a day tolerates lighter-duty hardware than a delivery door shouldered open on every shift, and a customer-facing storefront door needs a finish and function that hold up under public use. The locksmith asks how often the door opens, who uses it, and whether it is propped, wedged or held open in daily practice, since a door habitually held open needs hardware and a closer arrangement that account for that use rather than fighting it.
Fitting the new lock body or lockset
The new hardware is installed into the existing prep, with the lock body or lockset, strike and any reinforcing plate seated so the door closes without binding. On a narrow-stile storefront door, the hookbolt or deadlatch is aligned so it engages the keeper across its full travel rather than catching on one edge. On a mortise-prepped door, the case is fitted so the trim sits flush and the spindle and cylinder line up with the existing holes cut for them.
A storefront that closes the way it should
For a narrow-stile or glass storefront door, the finished job means the hookbolt or deadlatch engages fully across its travel every time, without the shoulder-check that a worn or mismatched lock used to need. Staff closing up for the night can throw the lock once and trust it caught, and the business is no longer relying on a habit of double-checking a door that should simply work. The hardware's finish is also suited to public-facing use, holding its appearance under daily handling.
Commercial-Grade Lock Replacement
In the van
Restricted keyway cylinder
Hookbolt and deadlatch hardware
Strike plates and keepers
Narrow-stile storefront lock
Listed panic or exit hardware
Commercial-Grade Lock Replacement
What affects the quote
Grade and duty rating of the lock
Hardware built for higher cycle counts and rougher daily handling costs more than a lighter-duty equivalent, and the right grade for a busy delivery door is not the same as for a quiet interior office.
Fire-rated or listed hardware requirements
A door that is part of a fire separation needs hardware listed for that specific rating, which is a narrower and typically costlier category than general-purpose commercial hardware, and the quote reflects that requirement rather than a standard substitute.
Number of keys cut and issued
Keys are counted individually into the quote. A small office needing a handful of keys is a smaller line item than a multi-shift operation issuing keys to a large staff roster.
What to have ready
- Who can authorize the work and sign for new keys?
- Do other doors on the property share a key with this one?
- Is the door part of a fire separation or a marked exit route?
Commercial-Grade Lock Replacement: questions
QuestionsHow do you know if my door is part of a fire separation?
The door and frame usually carry a small metal label stating the assembly's rating, and the building's own fire safety plan or a previous inspection report will identify which doors are part of a fire separation. If a label is missing or unreadable, that is worth raising with your building's fire safety plan holder before hardware is chosen, since it changes what can legally go on the door.
What happens to keys held by former employees or contractors?
Once a cylinder is replaced or rekeyed, any key that was not reissued for the new combination simply stops working on that door. This is the direct answer to a key that walked out with someone who left the business, and it is worth doing across every door that key used to open, not only the one that prompted the call.
What is a grand-master key system, and does a small business need one?
A grand-master system adds a layer above a standard master key, useful for a business with several buildings or departments where one senior key should open everything and mid-level keys should open only their own area. A single-location business with a handful of doors usually only needs a straightforward master and change-key structure, without the extra layer.
Related services
- Master Key System DesignThe new wing was built with its own brand of cylinder, so the two-year-old keys from the original building do not open a single door in the addition.
- Access Control InstallationThe keypad on the side door has started sticking on cold mornings, codes get shared instead of reset, and half the staff still remember a code you meant to retire two hires ago.
- Panic & Exit HardwareThe new access-control reader at the staff entrance works fine going in, but nobody has sorted out the door's exit side, and right now a card reader and a pushbar exist as two separate ideas.