Top Questions I Get Asked as a Locksmith

Can you pick every lock?

Every lock probably can be picked by someone.

Can’t you just slip a credit card between the latch to open the door?

Slipping a latch to open the door isn’t as easy as it sounds. There has to be enough of a gap between the door and frame to get a piece of shim stock between the latch. Additionally, if the lock and door frame are positioned correctly, the deadlock plunger will be depressed and the latch is much more difficult to bypass. It might technically be the easiest way to get into a door but in practice it’s not. We typically use several other methods of entry before trying to slip the latch.

Can I buy lock picks?

Simple answer is yes. Some states have rules about lock picks and locksmithing products.

How do you know it’s the person’s house?

We check ID. It wouldn’t be smart for a robber to create a paper trail of phone records, payment, and invite a witness to the scene of their crime.

Can you copy any key?

We can copy any key we have a key blank for. Key blanks are uncut metal in the shape of the key. Unique keyways or restricted keys have very different profiles from one another. Some blanks are very difficult to find while others are restricted on purpose to prevent unauthorized duplication.

 

 

Now Servicing Lorain County

We are now offering residential and commercial locksmithing services along with our other security services in Lorain County! We have a locksmith that lives in Elyria and services those areas directly, as well as coming out to Cleveland. Elyria is centrally located in Lorain County which helps reduce our arrival times.

Providing locksmith services in Lorain County is very special to me. I was born and raised in Amherst Ohio. It means a lot being able to provide quality services to my home county. In the past, I have personally taken service calls to Amherst because it’s a nostalgic trip for me.

There is no difference in how you book a service call. The main number is still 216-505-1389. Calls regarding locations on the West Side and Lorain County will get routed directly to our West Side locksmith. If he’s not available we may be able to send someone else. If you’d like to book a job with the West Side branch directly, the number is (440) 529-2799. The email is still info@lockalchemy.com Everything comes through our main office and gets documented and filtered to the right people.

Expanding services to Elyria was not easy. We had to find a good technician and provide them the appropriate training so they can perform work at the same level as the main branch. The distance between Elyria and South Euclid is about 45 miles and takes about 50 minutes. The distance between the far West side and far East Side of our service area is about 60 miles.

Expanding our service area was a great choice for several reasons. One, we have been growing and need additional help in Cleveland proper. Two, many small businesses may have offices or stores throughout North East Ohio. Now, a company can use a single provider for both locations. Three, many of the real estate and property management companies we work with service the greater NEO region. We can now provide services to the same areas they cover.

This is our first major expansion of service area coverage but it won’t be our last. We plan on moving into Summit and more of Geauga County. The hardest part is going to be keeping track of all of those different taxes!

You can view our service area on the map at the footer of each page. It’s currently broken down into three sections. Central, West, and Commercial. We currently only provide commercial locksmithing and security services to businesses in Geauga county.

The West Side location will carry all of the standard stock of residential and commercial lock and door hardware. Granted, there won’t be the same volume as the main location and certain products will still only be stored in our main location. However most specialty items can be ordered and delivered with in two days.

August 2021 at Lock Alchemy Residential Locksmith

A LOT has been happening at Lock Alchemy, located in South Euclid. I plan on writing several blog posts detailing what’s been going. We have maintained a steady growth in the residential market from 2020. There are several factors driving the increased demand of residential locksmithing services.

The real estate market has been very hot over the past few months. Home inspections are being delayed and or skipped all together with the home owner assuming the violations. I believe there are many new home owners that are finding issues with their homes that the sellers otherwise would have attempted to fix. The new home owner enters a situation where they have a lot of repairs they need to do all at once. Once other trades are giving estimates and being scheduled they’re more likely to invite a locksmith to join and rekey they home and/or fix other door issues. This might also turn some new home owners away from getting their new home rekeyed. With the expenses piling on they may decide to forgo the security of having the locks changed.

Reports are showing that the housing market is cooling down. However, there seems to be a consistent number of individuals that are interested in rekeying their home or having lock/door work done. I think the shift towards multi-family housing will be the biggest factor in the future of residential.

Homes in the area are getting older. The housing stock in University Heights, Shaker Heights, Beachwood, and Cleveland Heights are getting older and newer homes are not being built. Older homes often have more issues than newer homes. The locks on some of these homes, especially in Shaker with particularly older homes, can be 80, 90 even over 100 years old. The oldest lock that I have personally worked on was about 119 years old. Some of these locks are just coming to a time period where they need to be serviced. Instead of replacing these vintage and antique locks, we can often perform a basic cleaning service and a few other small items to get them working again.

Smart locks are also driving a lot of demand for residential locksmiths. There are incredible number of brands offering smart locks. Our recommendation for standard smart home locks continue to be Schlage or Kwikset. They are typically priced well, are well made, and support is available in case there is an issue. Many home owners try to save money by purchasing less expansive import smart locks that have issues. All electronic devices have a failure rate. That rate is significantly higher with cheap electronics. Getting locked out of your house because a smart lock failed is a high stakes gamble to bet on cheap electronics.

The price of residential locks has not been significantly effected by the issues with supply chain and available stock. However, the availability of certain items certainly has been effected. We have waited weeks for several common locks to arrive at our distributors. There really hasn’t been a lot of communication regarding the actual ETA of particular items. My distributors tell me that there are issues with shipping and shipments keep getting delayed. I’m checking in with some suppliers twice a week to get an idea of when certain products will be available.

Towards the end of the summer season we also replace a lot of screen door closers and patio locks. They tend to get used more in the months with milder / hot weather.