Lock changes and rekeying, Paddington
Rekeying re-pins the cylinder you already own so every existing key stops working. It takes minutes per lock, keeps your hardware, and costs a fraction of replacing anything.
1 Alexandra St, Paddington QLD 4064 · open 24 hours
What rekeying actually is
Inside every pin tumbler cylinder is a row of small pins cut to specific lengths. Those lengths are what make one key work and every other key fail. Rekeying means taking the cylinder apart, swapping those pins for a different set, and cutting a new key to match.
Nothing visible changes. The handle, the plate, the finish and the door all stay exactly as they are. What changes is that every key cut to the old pinning — however many are out there and whoever has them — stops working the moment we finish.
Making one key run the house
With the cylinders already apart, pinning them all to a single key costs almost nothing extra. One key for the front, the back, the garage and the shed.
The alternative is the bunch most people carry, which exists only because each lock came pinned differently from the factory. There is no security benefit to it; it just makes the door harder to open when your hands are full.
When you should do this
A tenant moves out. A relationship ends. A property settles and you have been handed a bunch you cannot account for. Keys go missing in public. A tradesperson kept a key. Somebody forced the back door. In every one of those cases the question is not whether the lock works — it does — but who else can open it.
Collecting keys back does not answer that, because a key can be copied at a hardware counter in ninety seconds for a few dollars and there is no record of it having happened. Rekeying is the only response that actually closes the question.
What the price covers
- Your existing locks retained
- One key for the whole house if you want it
- Keys cut and handed over on the spot
- Far cheaper than replacement
- One agreed price up front
- Same rate at any hour
When this is the right call
- You have just settled on the house
- A tenant has moved out
- A housemate has left
- Keys lost in public
- A tradesperson was given a key
- After a break-in, even an attempted one
Questions about rekeying
For the same hardware, yes. The cylinder is re-pinned to a new key and every previous key fails. New locks only add security if the old hardware was itself inadequate, and we will tell you if that is the case.
A few minutes per cylinder once we are there. A typical house with three or four locks is generally done inside the hour.
Usually yes, provided the cylinders are compatible. Keying alike while we already have them apart costs very little extra.
It is the most worthwhile hour you will spend on the place. You cannot know how many keys exist or who has them, and nobody can tell you.
Need rekeying in Paddington right now?
Ring Paddington Emergency Key Rescue on (07) 3180 2326. You get a price, an arrival time, and nothing happens until you agree to both.
Locksmiths on Alexandra Street, Paddington, working across the character suburbs. Lockouts, original hardware serviced and rekeyed, dropped doors realigned, lost keys, car lockouts and period-appropriate security upgrades. Licensed, insured, 24 hours.
Services
- House lockouts
- Original locks serviced
- Lost keys and rekeying
- Doors that have dropped
- Car lockouts
- Discreet security upgrades
© 2026 Paddington Emergency Key Rescue · Paddington QLD 4064 · Licensed & insured locksmiths · (07) 3180 2326