Salem Locksmith Professional Service (503) 308-4299

Premier NW Locksmith Salem Lock Change (503) 308-4299

Premier NW Locksmith Salem Lock Installation (503) 308-4299

Salem Locksmith Automotive Key Make (503) 308-4299

The Importance of a Deadbolt

It is a known fact that majority of home burglaries around the country happen as a result of forced entry. In spite of the fact that an alert system or even a dog might be useful to alert intruders, locksmith Salem companies say a quality deadbolt is the best force of resistance against home break-in. Most of the time, Intruders use force in order to break into a home. A deadbolt incorporate a steel bolt that stretches out into the door frame and the strike plate mounted on it which will make it much harder to break through using forced entry methods. On the off chance that you have deadbolts that are utilized and working appropriately, this will make your home a less desirable target.

The three essential parts of a deadbolt lock are a cylinder that is operated with a key, the bolt that goes in and out of the door frame when the deadbolt is locked or unlocked, and the thumb-turn that is responsible for controlling the locking status of the deadbolt from the interior side of the door. All deadbolt locks ought to be made of steel, bronze or metal. It is recommended to avoid die cast materials as they can wear out and break very easily.

There are two types of traditional deadbolts that are available in the market, a single and double cylinder types. A single sided deadbolt is the most commonly used to secure homes around the country. It is designed with a thumb-turn on the interior side of it and a key-way on the exterior side. The name "Deadbolt" comes from the fact that the bolt is "dead" and have to be retracted almost manually in order to control the locking status in contrast to a key-in-knob type lock which is spring loaded. Although it is much more secure than a key-in-knob type of lock, if placed on a door surrounded by glass windows, an intruder would still be able to break into your home by breaking the glass and unlock the door by reaching to the thumb-turn through the broken glass.

With implementing a double cylinder deadbolt, a burglar won't be able to take advantage of the fact your door is surrounded with glass windows as this type of deadbolt requires a key to be used from both sides of the door. However, some individuals lean toward not to utilize such deadbolt because of safety concerns where an emergency evacuation would be necessary and the key to the deadbolt won't be available.

On the off chance that you do utilize a double cylinder deadbolt, keep a key close by, however, out of reach around the entryway area. It's critical to note that before considering a double cylinder deadbolt, be aware of fire safety regulations in your city that may forbid such type deadbolt lock installation which require a key to unlock from the interior side of the door. The best thing to do is consulting a Salem locksmith before making any decisions.

Locks To Re-key or Replace

A legitimately secured door by a lock is your first layer of guard against intruders. Obviously, that layer of protection is not extremely solid in case you're not certain who has keys that will access the lock on the door.



There could be many reasons that might dictate changing the locks at your home -

• Recently moved in the place.
• You lost or misplaced the key.
• An intruder broke into your home.
• Your bag which had your keys inside got stolen.
• The existing locks on the door are malfunctioning.  
• The existing locks are of a lower grade and you are looking for something more durable and reliable.

The trouble of changing a lock is different depending on the type of situation. Some of the times, the job may seem straightforward which would make you to believe you can do it yourself. However, on most other jobs, it would be best to call a professional Salem locksmith as you would not want to take risks with the security of your home.


Re-keying VS. Replacing 

On the off chance that a new hole or modification to the existing one would need to be made on the door, a special template along with a special saw would need to be used in order to properly install the lock. Most likely such a job would require the skills of a professional locksmith.

However, if the lock on the door is in pretty good shape, having it re-keyed might be a better and less expensive option. Re-keying the locks involve changing the pins inside the cylinder with a different set of sizes than the existing ones. Once the lock has been through the re-key process, a new cut key which will match the new sized pins will now be used in order to operate the lock on the door.

A locksmith in Salem will most likely be able to re-key your locks for a lower cost than it would take to replace the entire unit. Even though most certain you will need the help of a professional locksmith to have the locks re-keyed, it would still most likely be more cost effective than buying new locks and changing them by yourself. Another situation where a locksmith would most certainly be needed in order to re-key the existing locks would be if you lost the key to the locks. In such situation, special tools in which only a locksmith would have will be required in order to remove the cylinder from the lock to have it re-keyed.

Preventative Lock Maintenance

It's that season of year once more where it gets freezing cold outside. It seems as every time the winter season is at its pick, locksmith in Salem tend to get a lot of emergency calls of people that got stuck in the cold outside their home or vehicle in a circumstance that otherwise could be avoided.

Locks are for the most part made of metal, and when they are in extreme cold weather conditions, which happen consistently overnight, combining with humidity, they will tend to freeze.

Salem locksmith companies often get calls from people who broke their keys inside the lock that is on the front door of their home or even inside their vehicle's door lock.

In order to avoid these types of broken key situations we recommend doing some small testing first. On the off chance that the surface is obviously cold, or you suspect it might be due to recent cold weather conditions, continue carefully. When you put your key in, give it a slight turn, if you feel any sort of resistance, do not proceed!

If you can, or beforehand, go to your nearby hardware store and get some De-icer spray bottles. This is a consolidated de-icer and lubricator for the locks as a preventative maintenance. Its main use is for de-icing a vehicle's windshield, but will work on other surfaces as well.

On the off chance that you know you're going to face some bone chilling temperatures, using De-icer spray bottle even before would help prevent from the lock to bind and potentially break the key when forcing it open. Consider it radiator fluid for your home security, or as essentially as the item that will keep you from harming your locks.

In case you are experiencing extreme cold weather temperatures or you are foreseeing them happening, know that your locks are not the only ones that can malfunction. Your vehicle's ignition and even other component related to locking mechanism at the door can get frozen as well. In this case you might need to utilize more de-icer within the lock components as well. The work will help you prevent any future damage to the lock or key in cold weather temperatures.

Differences in Locks

Something that many people keep wondering is about the differences in between types of locks. People tend to think all locks are equal and only the style or design is usually different. Whether it is the locking mechanism, the level of security the lock has, technical specs like the size and color, or even the brand, there are such a large number of contrasts in different types of locks.

In the event that you have ever attempted to change the locks on your own then you most likely already know what number of various brands of locks there are in the market in addition to a variety of distinctive colors and sizes. In any case, what numerous individuals don't know is that you can purchase the same lock in the same style made by the same manufacturer yet one will be far better than the other when it comes to the level of security. In the locksmith business we call these locks high security locks!

A high security lock is normally utilized on commercial properties yet more residential property holders are adapting to these types of locks as well in recent years. This is mostly because of the fact that many people are now familiar with the method of hacking a lock known as a "bump key".

With regards to high security locks there are a wide range of choices such as, pick and bump proof and even drill proof, which is the most costly option to have in a lock out of the other options. Most of home intruders normally relay on one type of method in order to break into a home which is a bump key since it is very easy to get and using it does not require any type of skills or special training. However, picking a lock is a different story.

Picking locks require skills and training in which many professional locksmiths proud to have. Although it seems that most burglars may attempt to use a drill, think again. Because of it being fairly loud, home intruders would rather avoid it than using this type of method.

The most ideal approach to ensure your house is as secure as it can be is to call your nearby Salem locksmith and have them go over with you on all the options of high security locks available for residential settings.

Automotive Lockout

Many people have been in that situation before, being locked out of your vehicle while you have to be somewhere just at that time. As a Salem locksmith company operating for many years, we came across many different ways customers have tried using in order to unlock their vehicle before calling us.

There is a myth that was going around for a while about unlocking a vehicle with a tennis ball. However, it seemed as the people who have tried it, failed. It appears that a hole would need to be made in the tennis ball which should be a little larger than the key hole size. Then, forcefully press the tennis ball on the key gap where the pressure supposedly will cause the lock to unlock.

Despite the fact that we have never seen this done effectively it would have the ability to work in the event that you have manual entryway locks, so if your vehicle does not have these types of locks or is utilizes a key fob remote than this next technique may work out better for you.

Again, these strategies have never been demonstrated to be successful yet it would hurt to try them. In the event that you get yourself locked out of your car yet have a relative or companion who has your extra keys obviously the principal believed is to have them come and drop them off. Well that might not always be practical, however, you can have them utilize your extra remote and point it into the mouth bit of their cell phone while you remain around one foot far from the vehicle pointing the ear piece of your cell phone at the vehicle in which case the vehicle supposedly will get unlocked.

As we previously mentioned, none of these "tricks" have ever proven to be successful despite the fact that they probably been tested by many people before. If you ever find yourself locked out of your vehicle and have what it takes to attempt these methods, we will welcome you to try. However, in case these methods would prove to not work, you are welcome to call a professional locksmith in Salem!

Lock Re-key or Replaced

A typical misguided judgment when asking for a lock service is asking for it to be replaced rather re-keyed. When you feel your security is bargained by somebody that you don't know has a key to your home, the first thing that comes to mind is to change your locks. While that is conceivable, much of the time it would be recommended to simply re-key your locks. Re-keying is the procedure of adjusting the pins or wafers in a lock so another key will be required and the current key will not be able to operate the lock. This avoids anybody with the original or any copy of the old key to get access through the entryway of your home.

There could be a situation where changing your locks by a locksmith in Salem is the required arrangement because of a feeling you may have someone is targeting your home. For this situation, it's suggested that you change your current locks as well as move up to high security locks and deadbolts like Medeco.

This is like changing your password on an account online account as opposed to moving to another location when you believe it's been compromised. When you reset or change your secret pass-code, the individuals who acquired the old one will never again have the ability to sign in. In spite of the fact that there are other, more propelled approaches to prevent undesirable individuals from getting into your home, re-keying your locks is essential.

Be that as it may, re-keying the locks by a Salem locksmith may not be the alternative at hand. In the event that you've lost the first key to the lock or the lock is so exhausted from years of utilization that it's presently failing, a lock substitution or repair would be the most legitimate arrangement. Truth be told, it's suggested that clients have their locks changed every several years to make sure there are no malfunctioning locks that affect the security of your home.

Locked Out Inside Your Garage?

Some people use the front door of their home as their main point of entry when getting into their house. Others however, go through their garage. Often times when a locksmith gets a call for a garage lockout, it is the inner garage door that people are referring to being locked out of. The reference is for the door inside the garage that is being used as a point of entry to the house from the interior of the garage itself.  

This type of lockout situation is considered the same thing as a normal house lockout because you are still locked out of your house. When you call a licensed, bonded, and insured locksmith in Salem to come let you in, make sure you let them know that you can get into the garage itself, but you need access to the door that leads into the house. This has caused some confusion in the past. When the locksmith arrives he can easily get you into the correct door that way. 

The first method that a locksmith will attempt to use in order to get the lock on the door opened is by picking the lock. He will use a tension wrench and a lock pick of his choice and try to pick the lock by moving the pins upwards. If the locksmith is unable to pick the lock with one pick, he will most likely try another. A locksmith will usually continue this way of changing picks until he will be able to unlock the lock.

If for some reason the lock cannot be picked, the locksmith will try to shim the lock. Shimming a lock is when the locksmith uses a card, normally a fake credit card of some sort, and trying to slide it between the locking mechanism and the strike plate. What it does, is pressing the locking bolt back inside the lock in order to simulate a situation where the knob or handle are turned and in return allowing opening of the door. Both methods a Salem locksmith will try use does absolutely no damage to the locks.  

File Cabinet Lockout

Have you ever needed your birth certificate or other important documents and realized that you lost the key to your file cabinet? How would you think to get your file cabinet open? You could break it but that would be a waste of money. Why not call a local Salem locksmith? They provide lockout services and could come out and open it with little to no damage.

Best case scenario they get it open with no damage to the file cabinet. Worst case scenario they would have to drill the lock. A file cabinet can be easier for the locksmith to pick. A file cabinet lock consists of wafers that are easier for the locksmith to manipulate with pick tools than a door lock with pins. The wafers are small and closer together that is why it has a smaller key than a door.

With a cabinet lock the wafers do not have top pins and springs that push the bottom pins down. Wafer locks consist of small wafers that are closer together making it easier to get into position for the lock to unlock. When the locksmith picks a cabinet lock it can be harder because there is little room to arrange the picks correctly. Once in the right position, the locksmith will have little to no problems picking the lock.

Are you concerned the lock may get damaged from the locksmith picking the lock? When the locksmith is picking the lock, it causes no damage to the lock. What the picking process does is essentially manipulating the lock to make it think the key is in the lock. There is no damage to the lock when they pick it. Once the cabinet is picked the locksmith will put the core back to the original position and the key if found, will work the lock just fine.

Restricted Keys

Many business property owners may or may not be familiar with Do-Not-Duplicate keys. This will usually be identified as a stamp on a key to the property. Technically, there is no such law that enforces duplication of such key. In reality, a key that is stamped Do-Not-Duplicate can actually be duplicated without it being considered as a violation. However, the trick is to find a locksmith or a shop that will duplicate such key since most won't without any proof of authorization.

The reason many business property owners seem to have the keys to their commercial property stamped with a Do-Not-Duplicate is to prevent any unauthorized duplication. This can come from random people or former employees who has a key in their possession and would like to make extra copies of it. This is a perfect way for intruders to gain entry to a business property without having to cause any damage and leave a trail. By having the keys stamped with a Do-Not-Duplicate, business property owners can pass the message to any lock shop or a locksmith that may come across a copy of their key. Its all about key control and keeping the business property as secure as possible.

The Do-Not-Duplicate stamp on a key may create an illusion of security to the business property. Most locksmith companies will ignore such stamp and treat the order the same like any other key. A professional locksmith will normally not recommend having such stamp on a key to the property as a main form of security preventing any unauthorized copies. However, patented restricted key-way lock systems are a different story. These types of locks will come with a pre-cut key from the manufacturer that require  special machinery in order to duplicate and most of the time only the manufacturer itself would be able to provide a copy in a time of need.

For more information about preventing unauthorized key copies of your business property to be made, contact Premier NW Locksmith Salem (503) 308-4299.

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