construction keying problem

[rina]

I have a problem and I was wondering if anyone here can help me

I have two heavy duty security house doors (door a and door b)
I used the construction keys when construction was taking place and now i have moved in and activated the real keys for door A

However, I believe I used the master key for door b instead.

Now the problem is... using the regular keys from door b, I can unlock and lock the door from inside, and only lock the door from the outside (cannot unlock from outside)

Is this normal, can I fix this by inserting the master key for door a back to reverse the problem (assuming that I really used the incorrect master key to activate the lock)

any advise will be appreciated.

[Evan]

@rina:

umm, yeah... we really need more information about the locks themselves...

Brand ? Model ? Cylinder type ?

As far as the keys goes:

You had a construction key which opened both doors ?

Then permanent keys for door a and door b which were different from each other ?

Or where there separate construction keys for each door ?

Speaking in general there are only two ways to accomplish construction keying with ball bearings:

Master Key method -- using the permanent master key in each lock voids the construction keys...

Change Key method -- using the permanent change key in each lock voids the construction keys...

The difference is where in the pin stack the ball bearings are located... Using the key which is set up to void the construction key loses the ball bearings into pockets drilled in the plug...

So it doesn't seem possible that you used an incorrect key to void the construction key in your locks unless some serious mistake was made by whomever assembled and pinned your locks... But once those ball bearings are lost and the construction keys no longer work, no amount of trying to use keys other than the ones intended to operate the lock will accomplish anything...

Other than describing those general terms for you, your posting did not provide enough specific information to give a more definite answer...

~~ Evan

[SnowyBoy]

As a general rule of thumb with change keys you can go back & forth so long as you have the actual change key itself.

Only thing I can think you done wrong is inserted "User Key 2" in the lock after using "Change Key 1". On certain systems this won't be a problem (wafer & slider style change key locks), but with the pin tumbler systems you could be having some problems getting it back since "Change Key 2" probably won't go in now...