New House, Mixed Locks, Lack of Keys - Change Pins?

[ShaneC]

Forgive my newbieness but I figured this site had some great knowledge and could help me out on this.

We just bought a house, have a key for the front door, and that's it. In lieu of going around replacing all the actual locks, I've been humoring the idea of repinning them.

Here's what I do know:

Front Door - Schlage - Dead bolt and Knob, same key, have key.
Garage Door - Schlage key "sorta fits" - feels sticky, like there might just be grime/build up in the keyhole. Assume no key.
Back Doors 1 & 2 - Unknown brand - Deadbolt & Knob, no keys, random Kwikset/#66 key physically fits.

With that bit of knowledge and lack of current keys, is it practical for a novice to repin these locks successfully?

At best, with what's in place, I'm guessing it may be possible to have a Schlage key that works both the garage & front door, and then a Kwikset/#66 for the back doors.

Thoughts/suggestions/opinions?

[MacGnG1]

personally i would replace all the locks so they are all the same key. but if you dont mind two different keys then you can repin them. isnt too hard but you are gonna need all the pins and springs and covers and a few tools

[cledry]

If you are talking about the lock in the middle of a roll up garage door then it isn't a Schlage C. It is very similar but thinner. You can modify a Schlage key to fit by filing it thinner. The correct bkank is an Ilco 1537 which will also slide into your Schlage locks.

What I would do is buy Schlage locks KAA for the door with the Kwikset keyway, then rekey the front door to match and the garage door, then cut the keys on a 1537 blank.

[Evan]

Forgive my newbieness but I figured this site had some great knowledge and could help me out on this.

We just bought a house, have a key for the front door, and that's it. In lieu of going around replacing all the actual locks, I've been humoring the idea of repinning them.

Here's what I do know:

Front Door - Schlage - Dead bolt and Knob, same key, have key.
Garage Door - Schlage key "sorta fits" - feels sticky, like there might just be grime/build up in the keyhole. Assume no key.
Back Doors 1 & 2 - Unknown brand - Deadbolt & Knob, no keys, random Kwikset/#66 key physically fits.

With that bit of knowledge and lack of current keys, is it practical for a novice to repin these locks successfully?

At best, with what's in place, I'm guessing it may be possible to have a Schlage key that works both the garage & front door, and then a Kwikset/#66 for the back doors.

Thoughts/suggestions/opinions?

Welcome to LP101...

Umm, not for nothing but the pinning kits (even the stripped down consumer ones) are going to run you more than the cost of replacing the locks... Plus you would need to be able to pick the Schlage locks in order to access the cylinders for re-pinning...

As to the garage, are you referring to the man-door leading into the house or the roll-up door for the cars ? If it is the roll up door just replace the rim cylinder with a new one...

Just choose a new type of lock and obtain a keyed alike set with enough locks in it to replace the locks on all your doors...

~~ Evan

[GWiens2001]

If the Schlage locks are single cylinder, then he shouldn't have to pick open the locks. To rekey, once he has the cylinder removed, he could shim the plug out from the back side. But you are correct about the cost of a pinning kit being prohibitive.

[ShaneC]

Welcome to LP101...

Umm, not for nothing but the pinning kits (even the stripped down consumer ones) are going to run you more than the cost of replacing the locks... Plus you would need to be able to pick the Schlage locks in order to access the cylinders for re-pinning...

As to the garage, are you referring to the man-door leading into the house or the roll-up door for the cars ? If it is the roll up door just replace the rim cylinder with a new one...

Just choose a new type of lock and obtain a keyed alike set with enough locks in it to replace the locks on all your doors...

~~ Evan

I was going to comment that cheap basic knob+deadbolt sets look to be about $30USD per (3 man-doors = $90+) and that I was seeing rekey pin kits for $12-20 on Amazon. After reading some more, I'm under the impression that I'd need one kit for the Schlage and a different kit for the Kwiksets due to the different pin sizes used, so there's about $30-40 based on the cheap kits, and it looks like those cheap kits only use 3 different pin sizes.

D'oh!

By "garage door", I'm referring to the roll up. The man door at the garage I was counting as a 'back door'.

I'm also debating what to do with the screen door at the front and sliding glass door too. I'm not too concerned, except for the fact that the wife likes to lock the screen door on occasion.
The sliding door bothers me just because the lock cylinder and latch isn't there. IMO, a block of wood to keep it from sliding open works better from a security standpoint, it's just a cosmetic thing.

[ShaneC]

edit: They're all single cylinder locks as well.

PS. Is there an edit button hiding from me?

[cledry]

No edit button.

Cheapest route would be buy KAA Schlage locks to replace the door locks you have that are not Schlage now. Take key from this set and the lock from the front door and the garage to a locksmith and have them key it to match the new locks and if necessary cut the keys on the blank I mentioned. A lot of garage doors cannot take a standard rim cylinder without spacing the lock out.

[Evan]

No edit button.

Cheapest route would be buy KAA Schlage locks to replace the door locks you have that are not Schlage now. Take key from this set and the lock from the front door and the garage to a locksmith and have them key it to match the new locks and if necessary cut the keys on the blank I mentioned. A lot of garage doors cannot take a standard rim cylinder without spacing the lock out.

I have never had a problem using thicker trim rings for the rim cylinders which have them projecting slightly from the face of the garage door rather than being almost perfectly flush... Sometimes you have to cut the tailpiece on a standard rim cylinder to fit into the hub on the garage door bolt...

~~ Evan

[Evan]

If the Schlage locks are single cylinder, then he shouldn't have to pick open the locks. To rekey, once he has the cylinder removed, he could shim the plug out from the back side. But you are correct about the cost of a pinning kit being prohibitive.

Umm, yes, to get the residential grade knob and lever lock cylinders out without totally disassembling the chassis of the lock (which is not a task for a newbie), you need to pick the cylinders to depress the detent to release the knob to do it without possibly destroying the piece...

~~ Evan

[GWiens2001]

See, I still learn something (usually more than one thing) everyday!

[cledry]

I have only had problems where the lock uses a plate behind a circular cut out. If the cylinder projects you can grasp it with pliers and open the lock. If it has two holes through the rib of the door then it can project safely.

No edit button.

Cheapest route would be buy KAA Schlage locks to replace the door locks you have that are not Schlage now. Take key from this set and the lock from the front door and the garage to a locksmith and have them key it to match the new locks and if necessary cut the keys on the blank I mentioned. A lot of garage doors cannot take a standard rim cylinder without spacing the lock out.

I have never had a problem using thicker trim rings for the rim cylinders which have them projecting slightly from the face of the garage door rather than being almost perfectly flush... Sometimes you have to cut the tailpiece on a standard rim cylinder to fit into the hub on the garage door bolt...

~~ Evan

[cledry]

If the Schlage locks are single cylinder, then he shouldn't have to pick open the locks. To rekey, once he has the cylinder removed, he could shim the plug out from the back side. But you are correct about the cost of a pinning kit being prohibitive.

Umm, yes, to get the residential grade knob and lever lock cylinders out without totally disassembling the chassis of the lock (which is not a task for a newbie), you need to pick the cylinders to depress the detent to release the knob to do it without possibly destroying the piece...

~~ Evan

He has keys to the Schlage locks I believe.

[Evan]

I have only had problems where the lock uses a plate behind a circular cut out. If the cylinder projects you can grasp it with pliers and open the lock. If it has two holes through the rib of the door then it can project safely.

If that kind of attack is a problem then you need to add a reinforcement plate behind the cylinder which has three holes properly located for the tailpiece and two cylinder mounting screws in the area of the lock and is securely fastened to the door... Such a plate would also allow for the lock body to be mounted with better than sheet metal/wood screws into drilled and tapped holes as well...

All rim cylinders are vulnerable to that problem if they are installed with a single cross bore hole through the door usually something is attached to the face of the cylinder which assists that process...

Rock + Glass is the easiest route into a house...

~~ Evan

[ShaneC]

If the Schlage locks are single cylinder, then he shouldn't have to pick open the locks. To rekey, once he has the cylinder removed, he could shim the plug out from the back side. But you are correct about the cost of a pinning kit being prohibitive.

Umm, yes, to get the residential grade knob and lever lock cylinders out without totally disassembling the chassis of the lock (which is not a task for a newbie), you need to pick the cylinders to depress the detent to release the knob to do it without possibly destroying the piece...

~~ Evan

He has keys to the Schlage locks I believe.

Yes, I have the keys to the Schlage at the front door.

Would I still have to pick the kwiksets to repin them?