Locksmith Questions, Answered Straight

A locksmith job is priced as a callout plus the work itself, and you should be told the total before a van is dispatched. Anyone quoting one number without the other is giving you a hook rather than a price. Ask what would change the figure, and ask for the quote by text.

Yes. Johnson Locksmith Inc. answers calls and dispatches technicians 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including statutory holidays. The question worth asking any locksmith advertising 24 hour service is whether the person answering can actually dispatch, rather than only take a message.

Ask for the legal business name and street address on the phone, and check the business is answered by name rather than as a generic service. A very low quoted price is usually a hook. Expect to be asked for identification proving you may enter, and expect an invoice carrying the business name and address.

Not by much. Under Ontario's Consumer Protection Act a consumer generally cannot be charged more than ten percent above an estimate they agreed to. Ask for the quote by text before the van is dispatched, because that written record is what makes the provision practical to rely on.

Ask when you call and you will be told the total, including any after hours component, before anything is dispatched. What matters more than whether a night rate exists is that the number quoted on the phone is the number on the invoice.

It depends on where you are and what the roads are doing, so you get a realistic window for your specific address rather than a marketing number. Overnight travel across Mississauga is generally faster than at rush hour, because the 401, 403 and Hurontario are clear.

Rarely. A standard residential or commercial cylinder should be picked or bypassed, not drilled, and a locksmith reaching for a drill first is either underequipped or upselling. Drilling is genuinely necessary only on seized, already forced, high security or key snapped cylinders, and you should be told the replacement cost first.

Yes, and you should be asked. Identification matching the address, a lease, a utility bill, a vehicle permit or a property manager confirming by phone all work. A locksmith who opens a door without checking would do the same for the next person who called about your address.

Most standard residential and commercial locks are opened within five to fifteen minutes once the technician is at the door. Travel time across Mississauga is the larger variable, so you are given a realistic window for your specific address before a van is sent rather than a marketing number.

No. A replacement pane or a repaired door frame costs several times a lockout callout, and a forced entry can complicate a home insurance claim. Forcing a steel or uPVC entry door also frequently bends the frame, which turns a lock job into a door job.

Call 911 immediately rather than a locksmith. A closed vehicle in Ontario summer heat becomes dangerous within minutes, and emergency services will reach you faster and are equipped to open the vehicle by any means necessary.

Done properly, no. An inflatable wedge creates a gap of a few millimetres at the top of the door frame, within the panel's designed flex, and a long reach tool operates the interior handle. Damage comes from improvised tools such as coat hangers, which snag wiring and airbag components inside the door.

Rekey when the hardware is sound and you only want the old keys retired, which covers most situations including moving into a new home. Replace when the lock is worn, damaged, or below the security grade the door needs. Rekeying is faster and costs less because you are paying for labour and pins rather than new hardware.

Reinforcing the front door strike plate with a box or reinforced strike anchored by three inch screws into the stud behind the jamb. Most forced entries split the frame rather than defeat the lock, and this costs less than a new deadbolt while doing considerably more.

Yes, as long as the cylinders share a compatible keyway. Locks of the same brand and family are keyed alike easily, and where a door has an incompatible cylinder that one is swapped so the whole property runs on a single key. That is normally far cheaper than replacing every lockset.

They are restricted rather than universally banned. The Ontario Building Code requires many means of egress to open from the inside without a key, and condo corporations and insurers commonly prohibit them. Upgrading the glazing beside the door is usually the better answer.

A dry lubricant, either graphite powder or a PTFE based spray. Avoid WD-40 and other oil based products inside a cylinder, because they attract dust and grit which forms a paste that seizes the pins within a few months.

Yes on most vehicles. The key is cut to the code derived from the vehicle identification number and then programmed to the immobiliser, at your vehicle rather than at a dealership. It takes longer than adding a spare, and several manufacturers impose a security wait period during the procedure.

Because the blade was cut but the transponder chip was never programmed to the immobiliser. The module challenges the chip, gets no valid response, and blocks fuel and spark, so the engine cranks without firing. Cutting and programming are two separate operations and a key needs both.

Usually, and the saving is larger than the price difference suggests because a car with no keys cannot be driven to a dealer, so that route often adds a tow. The exceptions are vehicles where the manufacturer restricts security access to the franchise network.

Keep the fob in a signal blocking pouch at home, away from the front door, a window or a wall next to the driveway, since that is where the signal gets captured. Check whether your fob has a motion sensing sleep mode, and consider a visible steering wheel lock.

Usually, but check with the corporation first. Suite doors are normally fire rated assemblies, so hardware must be listed for a rated door and the prep is limited. Many corporations also require notification because the building may hold a key for emergency access.

Not without giving you a replacement key. Under Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act a landlord may not alter the locking system on a rental unit during a tenancy unless the tenant is supplied with keys, and a tenant may not change the locks without the landlord's consent.

No. Under the Ontario Fire Code a required exit must open from the inside without a key, a tool or special knowledge. The legal alternatives are an alarmed exit device, keyed dogging to hold the latch retracted during business hours, or exterior key trim so the door can be entered from outside.

Yes, if they held keys. A returned key tells you nothing about copies, since a hardware store duplicate costs a few dollars and leaves no record. Rekeying is the only way to be certain the previously issued keys no longer work.

No. Roadside community mailboxes are Canada Post property and only Canada Post may open or rekey them. Contact Canada Post to arrange a lock change, and collect held mail from your local delivery depot with identification in the meantime.