Home Rekeying in Scarborough
We carry out home rekeying & lock changes for homes across Scarborough, from Agincourt, Malvern and Guildwood through to Bendale. New home, lost key or a tenancy change — existing locks re-pinned to a new key at a fraction of replacement cost.
One of the largest concentrations of 1960s–80s bungalows, backsplits and sidesplits in Ontario, many with side and rear entrances added later, plus extensive post-war apartment towers. Knowing the housing stock matters: the right hardware for a 1960s side entrance in Agincourt is not the right hardware for a post-2010 build, and fitting the wrong one wastes your money.
The split-level and bungalow stock here is the reason Scarborough generates so much break-in repair work: side and rear doors added in the 1970s often sit in softwood jambs with a 1/2-inch strike screw, which a single kick defeats regardless of how good the deadbolt is. The fix that actually holds is a full-length security strike with 3-inch screws driven into the stud — hardware that costs very little and changes the outcome completely. Rear service doors on the Kennedy and Markham Road plazas take the same treatment.
We hold stock for the hardware that recurs in Scarborough, which is often what decides whether a door is fixed today or boarded until a part arrives.
Typical range: $35–$120 CAD per cylinder, plus service call. Ranges are typical for the GTA and depend on the door, the hardware and the time of day. We confirm the price before dispatching.
Where we work in Scarborough
We cover the whole municipality for home rekeying & lock changes, including Agincourt, Malvern, Guildwood, West Hill, Birch Cliff, Cliffside, Woburn, Rouge, Highland Creek, Dorset Park and Bendale — across the M1B, M1C, M1E, M1G, M1H and M1J postal areas. The main corridors we work are Kennedy Road, Markham Road, Lawrence Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, Sheppard Avenue East, Midland Avenue and Danforth Road.
Rekey on possession, always
This is the one piece of advice we give unprompted. Whatever assurances came with the sale, keys accumulate over years and nobody tracks them. The cost of rekeying is small and the certainty is complete.
It matters more on newer builds than people expect. Builders routinely key an entire phase to a small number of profiles so trades can move between houses, and that construction keying is frequently still in place at closing. In fast-built areas like Milton, Mount Pleasant and Vellore Village this is common.
Getting to one key
Most homes accumulate different keys for the front door, the back door, the side door, the garage and the shed. There is no reason for that.
Where the locks share a keyway, keying them alike is straightforward and inexpensive. Where they do not, swapping cylinders to a common keyway achieves the same result without replacing the locksets.
When replacement is better
- The lock is worn enough that the key drags or has to be jiggled
- It is a builder-grade lockset on an exterior door, where the grade is genuinely inadequate
- The finish is damaged or the lockset is loose in the door
- You want smart lock functionality, which rekeying obviously cannot provide
- You are rekeying because keys were copied without your knowledge, in which case the open keyway is the actual problem and a restricted cylinder is the fix
This page covers home rekeying & lock changes specifically in Scarborough. For the full technical detail — every option, every fault mode and the complete FAQ — see our main home rekeying & lock changes page.
Home Rekeying in Scarborough — questions
Do you cover all of Scarborough?
Yes — the whole municipality, including Agincourt, Malvern, Guildwood, West Hill and Birch Cliff, across the M1B, M1C, M1E and M1G postal areas and the rest. We also cover the surrounding City of Toronto area and the neighbouring municipalities, so a job that sits on a boundary is not a problem.
How quickly can you get to Scarborough?
It depends on the time of day, where in Scarborough you are, and what is already in progress. We give you a realistic window when you call rather than an optimistic one, and we would rather tell you ninety minutes and arrive in seventy. For non-urgent work we will usually offer you a scheduled slot, which is cheaper than an emergency callout.
Can all my house locks use the same key?
Yes in almost every case. If the locks share a keyway it is straightforward. If they are different brands, cylinders can usually be swapped to a common keyway at modest cost, which is still far cheaper than replacing the locksets. Front, back, side, garage and shed on one key is a normal request.
Should I rekey or replace locks when I buy a house?
Rekey, unless the hardware itself is worn out or inadequate. Rekeying gives you exactly the same security outcome — every old key stops working — at a fraction of the cost of new locksets. Put the savings into a reinforced strike plate on the doors that matter, which does more for your actual security than a new lock body would.
How much does it cost to rekey a house?
It is charged per cylinder plus the service call, so a typical home with three to five exterior locks is modest. Keying them all alike so you carry one key is normally included rather than extra. We quote the total on the phone once you tell us how many doors.