Plenty of houses in Toronto still carry their first mortise locks and brass knobs, and they are worth keeping. We service that hardware so it turns freely again, find matching parts where they exist, and only suggest replacement when a piece genuinely cannot be brought back. Character stays; the door locks.
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Locksmith services
For a household in Toronto the common requests are a rekey after moving in, a lockout, a deadbolt that grinds, and a lock that finally needs replacing. For a business they are storefront hardware, staff key control and exit devices. Both lists, and a few less common jobs, are laid out here.
Toronto
Break-In Damage Lock RepairYou came home to find the front door standing open.
Seized & Jammed Lock OpeningIt is the coldest morning of the winter and the key goes halfway into the side door and stops.
Lost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyYou let a part-time employee go on Friday.
Lock Replacement & UpgradeSomeone tried the back door while you were away.
Smart Lock InstallationThe deadbolt is a stiff double-cylinder model that needs a key from both sides, and in the dark hallway finding it is a nuisance.
High Security LocksA colleague showed you a video of a lock being opened with a bump key in a few seconds.
Commercial RekeyingThe renovation is finished and the contractors have gone, along with the loaner keys they used for six weeks.
Spare Car Key DuplicationTwo coworkers share one delivery van and one key between them, trading it at the start and end of every shift in a parking lot.
Ignition Lock RepairThe car arrived with one worn-looking key and a story about a lost spare.Commercial
A master key system lets the owner open every door with one key while each employee's key opens only what they need. It is a plan on paper before it is hardware in a door, and the master key page explains how we design it with you.
Lockouts
Every lockout call gets the same question first: can you show us this is your place or your vehicle? A licence with the address, a lease, a registration document or a neighbour who can vouch for you all work.
Toronto
Every key we cut in Toronto is tested in the lock it belongs to before we leave. It sounds obvious, but a key that works on the bench and sticks in the door is a common complaint about lock work. We turn each one, from both sides where the door allows, and adjust the cut or the cylinder until every key slides in and turns cleanly.
— Newton Brook Locksmith Specialists
Hours
Toronto, Ontario
Nearby
2021 census · what it means at the door
58%Older homes
About 58% of homes in Toronto were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Period hardware on older homes deserves matching parts, not a mismatched modern set. A locksmith who works among such houses keeps finishes and styles that suit them, so a repaired or replaced lock still looks like it belongs to the door.
23%
Single-detached houses make up about 23% of homes in Toronto (2021 Census).
Townhouses share walls but usually have their own front door and often a back door or garage. Keying both alike, and checking the strike on the less-used door, is the everyday work in a neighbourhood of attached homes.
Toronto
Break-In Damage Lock Repair
There is a hole where the cylinder used to be. Somebody twisted it out of the deadbolt with a wrench, and now the empty bore looks straight through to the kitchen, with the bolt still stuck in the frame.
Break-In Damage Lock RepairTreat it as two exposures. The house key is handled by rekeying every lock it fits. The remote is handled at the garage door opener: its memory is erased so every old remote stops working, and new remotes are programmed. If the car had your address on its paperwork, do both before anything else. A locksmith can rekey the doors and, on many openers, clear the remotes during the same visit or show you the learn button on the motor unit.
The key and cylinder are doing their job; the bar behind the cylinder that drives the bolt, called the tailpiece or cam, has broken, slipped or twisted out of engagement. It is a small part. The locksmith retracts the bolt through the mechanism or removes the cylinder to reach it, then fits a tailpiece of the right length and profile. Your cylinder and keys are unchanged afterwards.
They lead to the same result, a door that a different key opens, by different means. Changing the locks puts new hardware on the door. Rekeying keeps the deadbolt and handle you have and changes what is inside the cylinder, commonly the bottom pins on a conventional lock or a reset on a homeowner-rekeyable one, so a new key operates it and the old one turns nothing. For hardware in good condition, rekeying is the natural choice after a lost key because nothing about the door's look or fit changes.
Grades follow ANSI/BHMA standards, with Grade 1 the highest and Grade 3 the lightest, and residential hardware carries a separate label that scores security, durability and finish. The grade reports how the lock performed on the standard's own operational, strength and security tests; a higher grade often comes with a longer bolt, a sturdier housing, pins that resist picking and a strike built to anchor into the framing, but those features are worth confirming on the specific model rather than assumed from the grade alone.
Yes, with your landlord's agreement first. Tenancy rules in this province expect a tenant to have the landlord's consent before changing a lock, and expect the landlord to have a working way in, so the sensible route is a short conversation and a note of what will be fitted. A retrofit model that mounts inside and keeps the existing exterior lock and key is often the easiest thing for a landlord to say yes to, since the door is unchanged from outside.
On-site assessment preferred
Send a photo of the lock. Call about rekeying your new home.
Open 24/7 · same fees any hour
On-site assessment preferred · (289) 819-2910 · open 24/7
