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Key copies for every shift in the house

Kingsway Mobile Locksmith cuts house, apartment, mailbox, padlock and workplace keys on site across Renton, so the person coming off the late shift and the one heading out before sunrise each carry a key that works. Every copy goes into its lock before it goes onto your ring, and the estimate is free.

One household, three schedules

In a house where one person works nights at the hospital, another starts early at a warehouse in the valley and the kids come home on their own, a single front-door key gets passed around until somebody is left standing on the step. The fix is simple: one key for each person who comes and goes on their own schedule, and one spare kept with someone you trust outside the house.

Copies are cut from a good original while the technician is with you. Front door, back door, the door in from the garage and the deadbolt all count, and if those locks don't share a key yet, that's worth asking about on the same visit rather than carrying four keys where one would do.

Key cutting machine in the service vehicle, WA

Cut on site, tried in the lock

The key machine and a stock of common blanks travel in the vehicle, so copies are made at your door rather than at a counter across town. Each new key is turned in the lock it belongs to, both ways, before it's handed over. A copy that only works when you jiggle it isn't finished.

Wear matters more than people expect. A key that has been in a pocket for years has rounded edges, and a copy made from it repeats that wear. When the original is tired, the better route is a fresh key cut to the lock itself, so the new key matches the pins instead of matching an old key's bad habits. The technician looks at the original and tells you which way makes sense.

If no good original exists at all, that's still workable: a new key can be made to fit the lock you have, and you decide afterward how many copies to carry.

Apartment keys and the building's say

In an apartment, the unit key, the building entry and the mailbox often belong to different people. The unit key is usually yours to copy with the landlord's agreement. Building entry keys and fobs are often controlled by the property, and some are cut on a restricted keyway that only the manager can authorize.

So the visit follows the paperwork: copies of the unit key for the tenant, building and common-area keys only with the property's written OK. It keeps your lease clean and keeps the building's key count honest, which every tenant benefits from when someone moves out.

Padlocks, sheds and storage units

The small locks are the ones that get forgotten: a padlock on the side gate, the shed out back, a bike lock, a storage unit near the freeway. When the only key to one of those has gone missing, a copy is no longer possible, but a new padlock can be keyed to match your house key so there is one less key to lose.

For storage units, the facility's rules come first. Many let the renter use any padlock they like; some require their own. Either way, the technician can cut spares for a padlock you already own as long as one working key is in hand.

How a key visit runs

Short, and the same order every time.

Name the keys
House, unit, mailbox, padlock or shop, and how many copies of each.
Show you can have them
An ID with the address, a lease, or the owner's or manager's OK for building and work keys.
Cut and tried
Each copy turned in its own lock, both directions, before it leaves the machine for good.
Counted and labeled
Every key handed over with a note of which door it opens.

Shop and warehouse keys

Businesses around the valley run on keys that open more than one door. In a master-keyed building, a copy of the wrong key hands someone access to rooms they were never meant to enter, so work keys are cut only with the manager's or owner's approval, and restricted keys only through whoever holds the authorization card for that system.

If keys are being copied faster than anyone can track them, more copies aren't the answer. That is the moment to rekey the affected doors and start a fresh, short list of who holds what. The commercial locksmith page covers master systems and access control in more detail.

When a copy isn't the answer

A key that has gone missing with a former roommate, a tenant who never returned a set, or a lock that only turns after a shove: in each case another copy just spreads the problem. Rekeying makes every old key stop working, and a worn lock can be replaced and keyed to match the rest of the house. See lock rekeying for how that visit goes.

Households that hand out access often find codes easier than keys; a keypad lets you add and remove a person without cutting anything. Car keys and fobs are their own job, made and paired at the vehicle, and live on the car key page. For house, unit, mailbox and padlock keys, the free estimate comes before anything is cut.

Key copy questions

Can you copy a key stamped do not duplicate?

That depends on who controls the lock. With the owner's or the property manager's OK, a copy can usually be made. Without it, the technician will ask you to get that approval first, so nobody ends up holding a key the owner doesn't know about.

My only key is badly worn. Can it still be copied?

Often, yes, but the copy carries the same wear. When the original is too rounded to copy well, a fresh key cut to the lock itself works more smoothly, and the technician tells you which route fits after looking at your key.

Do you come to apartments and workplaces?

Yes. Apartment complexes, employee lots, shops and warehouses are regular stops. For building or work keys, have the manager's or owner's approval ready, by email is fine.

Can you make a key for a mailbox?

If you have a working key, a copy can be cut on site. If the mailbox lock belongs to the building or the key is lost, the lock can be changed with the property manager's agreement, and you get new keys for it.

How many copies should a household keep?

One for each person who uses the door on their own schedule, plus one spare with someone you trust who doesn't live with you. More than that tends to scatter, and scattered keys are the reason people end up rekeying.

I have no key at all. What now?

A new key can be made to fit the existing lock, or the lock can be rekeyed so you start fresh. Proof that you live there comes first.

Will a new copy fix a key that sticks?

Not if the lock is the problem. A sticky lock or a door that has to be pushed to latch needs attention itself, and the technician looks at both while there.

Is the estimate free?

Yes. You hear what will be cut and what it involves before the machine starts, and the estimate is free whatever you decide.

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