Q: We recently purchased a home and worry that the prior owner may have given a key to a friend or neighbor. Do you suggest we re-core all the locks or replace them outright?
A: Happy New Year and congratulations on the new home. Re-coring and replacing effectively accomplish the same thing with regard to preventing anyone with an ‘old’ key from from entering the home.
If you replace your entry door hardware, however, I suggest you explore the SmartKey technology from Kwikset and their sister brands. With a special tool inserted, you can ‘change’ the key that works in your lock, allowing you control of future changes should you or a child lose a house key, or if other circumstances cause you to need to change the locks. For example, if you give a service provider a key during a project, or a neighbor while you were on vacation, and now want to ‘change’ the lock to a key only you have.
