Hi there:
I clean out foreclosed homes for a living. At a job I have to change up to four locks. I have been buying precoded Kwikset locks online for about $6 each. How would I be able to rekey the original lock? What tool would I use? Is it time consuming? At $6 each, am I just better off buying new locks?
Thanks
Joe
I got a guy that does that.,. he brings me 30-40 locks at a time, wants them rekeyed to ONE key.. and its a spare time thing for me.. he gets another 20-30 built up and drops them off.. I charge him $3 to redo a cylinder.. and i do NOT install back in knob.. I can turn about 40 an hour, so are making a 'nice' piece of change for my efforts..
you would need access to some cut keys, and a pinning kit and plug follower.. which are available at some lumber yards unfortunately.. in MY neck of the woods, about $50 out of pocket..
IF, you want or are REQUIRED to have these keyed different per house, your best bet would be make friends with a lumber yard or such, get the locks there, and 3 or 4 keyed alike as needed.. My customer has to have pinned to a certain key that the local GOV uses in these instances.
AND IIRR, there are some 'clone' KW's (look alikes) that you can buy in CASE quanities, that are cheaper. --Shiva--
you're "better off buying new locks" in my state you wouldn't even be able to mess with the locks unless you were state licensed. are you sure that you're legal in your state ?
reverse that, 1.5 minutes per lock.. BUT, pull the lock cylinder out of everything, then un do the clips.. then pop the top and dump, reload bottom pins, top and springs, and cap. done.. 2 bucks a minute average.. and the check is good..
if the plug is too worn, trash the whole thing..
--Shiva--
First, where are you? Might be cheaper to find someone on this list (or some other list) to rekey them as an off hours activity.
My sense is that most locks you'll find on foreclose properties are cheap junk Taiwan locks. Which are worth about six bucks each, new. My second thought is that six bucks for a replacement lock is super cheap, and that not many people are going to be able to rekey for less than that.
You can probably learn rekeying, but the time needed to learn could be used for other things. Unless you can find a local locksmith who will take this on as a sideline, you're probably about as best as you're going to get.
Only a total pussy would care. Locksmith licensing is a f****ng joke.
thats about right, too
--Shiva--
40 per hour WOW wish I could do that
pure practice.. first was about 5 minutes per..
--Shiva--
Don't be ridiculous. State licensing is ONLY relevant if you want to mess with locks FOR MONEY. The state has no power to tell you you can't take apart your own f****ng doorknobs.
Not true. AFAIK, there are no states that have yet done this. I'm quite sure it won't be long.
In some states, you can't connect your own gas applicance, for example.
In some countries you can't add a power outlet or replace a broken window without a license.
read the thread again. the OP was about someone cleaning out forclosed properties (obviously for pay) and changing the locks while they were at it.
Malcolm is incorrect. I never said anything about an individual working on their own locks. but, in my state (Louisiana) the licensing law prohibits anyone else, other than the owner, to "mess with locks". for instance, a clean-up crew that does clean-up for any company (for pay) can NOT alter or change the locks on a door for said company. only a state locksmith licensed firm/individual can "mess with locks". if a company or individual pays anyone to alter or change any locks, they must have a state locksmith license.
RE: news:45c98610$0$1387$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com
sorry Malcolm, I meant to say snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com is incorrect. not you...
the alarm industry 'almost' got a law passed making it illegal for ANYONE that was NOT a member of the alarm association, to repair/install/replace ANY lock in the state.. the proposed law was SO poorly written that it included cars, file cabinets, and houses.. totally.
(and BTW, AFAIK ALOA did NOT fight it)
you could not have replaced the door lock on your own vehicle, and neither could the local car dealership.
--Shiva--
Appreciated ;-)
the alarm folks tried that here but couldn't get it done so they just decided to take the locksmiths under their wings (so to speak) and drafted a new licensing law and get it passed and signed by our governor. without the knowledge of the locksmiths in Louisiana. (we had one drafted the year before and it sat on the governors desk and was never signed) our new, so called locksmith licensing, is just about as crazy. however, car dealerships can still work on the vehicle locks in their own shops.
§1664.5. Exemptions to licensure 13 The requirements for licensure shall not apply to: ... 25 (3) Any owner, management firm, or public institution and such person's or 26 entity's employees while such person or entity is certifying, inspecting, installing, 27 integrating, selling, and servicing mechanical locks... 28 ...only on the premises of the owner... 29 ...during the normal course and scope of his duties.
How does a person repinning a lock while in the employ of the property owner not qualify for this exemption?
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