Super Secret Safes and Other Security Options and Ideas

When you've purchased a new house, you need to make sure that it's as safe as possible for you and your family. The first thing you need to do to ensure this is to make sure that nobody can access your house with an old key you might not know the existence of. The previous owners might have made duplicates of the key that aren't accounted for when they left their main key to you. To do this, you need to either have your lock replaced or rekeyed. In order to choose between these two procedures, there are a few things you should know about.

The condition of the lock

If the lock to your house is undamaged, and the lock is a proper security lock, you might want to rekey it rather than replace it. Rekeying an old or damaged lock is dangerous, as the procedure might put a strain on the lock itself and make it even more fragile. A fragile lock doesn't matter to the people that are trying to use an old key on your lock, but for other intruders, it becomes easier to break the lock and get into your home.

Think about the price

Rekeying is a cheaper procedure than replacing the lock entirely. If you get the lock replaced you need to pay for the work the locksmith puts into replacing it as well as the lock itself and the key. If you rekey it, you only need to pay for the work and the key. If your lock is damaged, however, the cost of rekeying might be just as high as replacing the lock, as you also will have to repair the lock for it to hold a satisfactory safety standard. Also remember that the cost will go up if you want more than one key made to fit the new or rekeyed lock.

Where is your nearest locksmith?

The choice also depends on what access you have to a locksmith. If you have a locksmith in your neighbourhood, replacing the lock might be the best solution, as they can come and have the lock replaced without any complications. They might even provide a lockout service which means you can have a locksmith at your door the same day as you call them. If the nearest locksmith is far away, it might cost too much or be impossible to get them to do a home visit. In that case, you should remove the lock yourself and take it to the locksmith where they then can rekey the lock for you. You shouldn't attempt to do either procedures yourself if you don't have any experience, as one mistake can affect the security of your home gravely.