Rekey Service in
Westchase, Houston, TX

A New House at Royal Oaks and the Builder's Keys

Here's a typical rekey, start to finish, from a newly built home in Westchase.

A couple closed on a new custom home inside the gates at Royal Oaks. The builder handed them a small envelope of keys at closing. They moved in the following week. Over the next few days, they noticed how many people had been in and out of the house during construction: painters, electricians, the cabinet installers, the cleaning crew, the yard crew. The superintendent had mentioned, in passing, that the trades all used "the construction key."

A little after ten in the morning, the wife called us. The dispatcher asked how many exterior doors there were (front, back, a side door off the mudroom and the door from the garage), what brand the locks were, and whether she wanted them all on one key. Yes, one key. Did the garage opener have a keypad? Yes, with a code the builder had set. She keyed alike, with six new keys, plus resetting the opener and keypad. She asked for the gate code to the community, and booked the technician for that afternoon. He'd call when he was on the way.

The technician arrived on time, checked in at the gate, and pulled up in a marked van, in uniform. He showed his ID and checked her license against the closing documents. Then he walked the house with her. Three of the four locks were the same brand, in good condition. The mudroom door didn't match: a different brand with a different keyway, probably a last-minute swap by the builder. He tried the builder's key she'd been given: it opened the front, back and garage doors, and a separate key opened the mudroom. He tried a key from the envelope labeled "CONST": it opened the same three. That was the key the trades had been using.

He replaced the mudroom cylinder with a matching one from stock, so all four could share a key. Then he rekeyed each cylinder at the kitchen island with his pinning kit, one door at a time, so the house was never left with an unlocked door. He keyed all four to one new key and cut six copies on his key-cutting machine in the van. In the garage, he cleared every remote from the opener's memory, re-paired her two, and changed the keypad code to one she chose.

Then the test. He tried the old construction key in every lock. None turned. Her new key opened all four. The technician's advice was the kind you'd get from a neighbor: in a new build, assume everyone who worked on the house had a key.

Rekeying, Plainly Explained

What a Rekey Does

Inside each cylinder is a row of small pins matched to one key. A rekey swaps those pins for a new set. The lock looks and works the same. Old keys stop turning it.

Keep the Hardware or Swap It?

The rekey vs change locks question comes down to the hardware. If your locks work well and you like them, rekey. If they're worn, broken, low-grade or you want a different look, change them. See lock change.

New Construction and Builder Keys

New homes often have locks keyed for the builder and the trades during construction. Some brands have a construction mode that's cancelled by the homeowner key; many don't. Rekeying after closing removes any doubt.

Rekey After Moving Into a Resale Home

When you rekey after moving into a previously owned home, you cut off every key the sellers, their family, their cleaners and their dog walkers ever had. Do it the first week, before you've handed out any keys of your own, so the new key count starts at zero.

A Single Key for Every Door

If you'd like to key all locks the same, it's usually simple. Locks that share a keyway can be rekeyed to one key. Fewer keys on the ring, fewer copies floating around. If one lock is a different brand, we may swap its cylinder.

Rentals Near the Beltway

For landlords with rentals around Westchase, a landlord rekey between tenants is fast. We can keep your properties on a schedule.

Garage Openers and Keypads

Rekeying doesn't touch the garage. Clear old remotes from the opener's memory and change the keypad code at the same visit. Builders and previous owners often leave the keypad on a simple code like the house number or the last four digits of a phone number.

Getting Through the Gate

In gated communities like Royal Oaks, tell us how to get through the gate. We'll check in with the guard or use the code you give us.

Locks That Aren't Worth Rekeying

We'll tell you honestly and offer replacements keyed to match, so the whole house still runs on one key.

Who Can Ask

Owners, or tenants with written landlord approval. We check ID against the deed, closing documents or lease.

What a Rekey Runs

The brand, whether you want them keyed alike, and the number of keys. It's usually much less than replacing locks.

Time on Site

A typical house takes well under an hour. Swapping a mismatched cylinder or resetting a garage opener adds a little time, and it's worth doing in the same visit rather than coming back.

On-Site Visits in Westchase

Our technicians drive to you across Westchase, so there is no shop to visit. Most rekeys are planned. Westheimer and the Beltway feeders are slow at rush hour. Royal Oaks and the neighborhoods off Briar Forest and Wilcrest are quick to reach once we're off the main roads.

Neighborly, Organized Technicians

Every technician comes in uniform, with company ID. They rekey one lock at a time, count and hand over every key they cut, and test each key in each lock before leaving. They'll also try your old keys in front of you, so you can see they no longer work. If you'd like, they'll label each new key and write down how many were cut.

Fast Locksmith 24/7 is licensed and insured, with a 5-star rating on Google.

Rekey Service Around Westchase

Rekeys around Westchase come from buyers of new custom homes in Royal Oaks, families moving into ranch houses in Walnut Bend and Ashford Forest, townhome owners near Woodchase Park, landlords turning over rentals near the Beltway, and anyone who has lost a ring with a house key on it. A rekey service in Westchase is usually a one-visit job. If you're searching to rekey locks near me after a move, the first week is the right time.

Rekeying changes the inside of a lock so that old keys stop working and a new key takes over. The hardware stays, the key changes. It is a sensible step after a move, a break-up, a roommate leaving or a long run of tenants.

Gather the keys you hold and list the locks to rekey. Front, back, garage entry, patio slider and any gates or padlocks. We can set several to the same key to reduce the ring in your pocket.

The technician takes each lock apart, replaces the pins and cuts new keys. He then checks that the lock turns smoothly and the latch lines up.

If a lock is worn, bent or damaged, he'll tell you. Rekeying keeps good hardware, and it's not the answer for every lock.

Label the new keys. A tag noting which door each opens saves confusion in the first week.

Landlords in the district use rekeying between tenants. It protects the next resident and the owner, and the building can run on a master key system.

Keep a short record of the date, the doors and who received keys. It helps when the question comes up again.

We also rekey locks in the Energy Corridor, Memorial City and Bellaire. For whole-house planning, see our residential locksmith page.

Retire the Builder's Keys

Call Fast Locksmith 24/7. Tell us how many doors, what brand of locks, and how many keys you'd like.