Moving is a blur, but locks are one of the few things genuinely worth handling early. Until you’ve dealt with them, you don’t really know who can open your new front door. Here’s a short, sane checklist.
This is the big one. The previous owners, their relatives, agents, cleaners, and contractors may all have had keys at some point, and you can’t track them down. Rekeying every exterior lock — front, back, side, garage entry — retires all those old keys in one visit, usually for less than replacing hardware. If any locks are worn or you want an upgrade, that’s the moment to replace instead.
While you’re at it, have the exterior doors keyed to a single key. Fumbling three different keys at the back door in the rain gets old fast; one key for the house is a small daily luxury.
Test every deadbolt. Does it throw fully and smoothly, or do you have to lift or shove the door? A bolt that only goes halfway isn’t protecting much. Often it’s a quick strike-plate adjustment; sometimes it’s worth a reinforced strike with longer screws on the main entrances.
Side gates, the door from the garage into the house, patio sliders, and any outbuilding are easy to overlook and are often the weakest points. Make sure they lock properly and are keyed the way you want.
If the home has its own mailbox lock rather than a shared postal cluster, get it rekeyed or replaced too. Same for any padlocks or cabinet locks you inherited and don’t have keys for.
Before the boxes are even unpacked, decide where your spare lives — with a trusted neighbor or family member, or in a quality lockbox. Future-you, standing on the porch at night, will be grateful.
Most of this can be handled in a single visit. If you’ve just landed in Pasadena or one of the nearby communities, we’re glad to knock out the whole list at once — see the residential page or just call.
Rekeying is usually enough — it retires all the old keys and keeps good hardware. Replace only worn locks or where you want an upgrade. Our rekey-or-replace guide goes deeper.
Usually, yes. Rekeying the exterior doors, keying them alike, and checking the deadbolts is a common single-visit job for us.
A local Pasadena locksmith is a call away — happy to advise before anything is booked.
