Handheld diagnostic unit with a screen and buttons lying on a dirty car floor mat, cabled to a port under the dash. — Collison Heights

High security · Collison Heights

High Security Locks

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After the attempted break-in the police officer pointed at your door and said the strike plate was held by two short screws. Nobody got in, but you have looked at that door differently every evening since.

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In plain words

Upgrading to high security rarely means new doors or a big disruption. Many high security cylinders retrofit into the existing deadbolt or lever, so the door preparation stays as it is and only the cylinder and keys change. A heavier deadbolt uses the same bore as the old one in most cases. The strike and hinge screws are swapped for long ones that bite into the framing. The visible difference afterwards is small; the practical difference is that the door resists the tools and tricks that defeat ordinary hardware, and that nobody can copy your key without you knowing.

Sound familiar?Collison Heights

The call: You jiggle the key a little and the old deadbolt opens even when the cut does not look quite right. If your worn key can do that, you wonder what a stranger with the right tools could do.

NextHow the visit goes

High Security Locks · Collison Heights

How the visit goes

Person in an apron holding a car key fob beside a key-cutting machine, with rows of key blanks on the wall. — Collison Heights

Scene 1
What the door is protecting
The assessment starts with a question rather than a tape measure: what is behind this door, and what has made you think about it now? A front door on a family home, a stockroom with prescription drugs and a server closet in an office carry different risks and deserve different levels of hardware. The locksmith also asks who has keys today and how sure you are of that count. Those answers decide whether the right answer is a graded deadbolt with a controlled key, a laboratory-rated cylinder in a heavy lock body, or a small keyed system across several doors. Spending goes where the risk actually sits.
Scene 2
Setting up controlled keys
The key system is registered to you before the first key is cut. The locksmith records the system, the authorised signatories and the number of keys issued, and hands you the authorisation card or online validation details. Every key is cut from code rather than copied, because the angled cuts or side milling must be exact for the sidebar to release. Extra keys later are ordered by an authorised person and logged, and blanks are not sold outside the manufacturer's network. This is what makes a key stop being a thing anyone can duplicate at a kiosk.
Scene 3
A key plan that survives staff changes
For a business, the handover includes a key schedule showing every cylinder, every key number and who holds it. When someone leaves, their key comes back and is struck off; if it does not come back, you know exactly which doors it opened and can decide whether one cylinder or several should be repinned. Because the keyway is restricted, a departed employee cannot quietly keep a copy. New hires are issued a numbered key against a signature. The plan lives in a folder or spreadsheet, and the locksmith keeps a matching record so the two can be reconciled whenever you like.

In the van

Wrap-around door reinforcer
Reinforced strike plate
Graded deadbolt with hardened bolt
Commercial mortise lock body
Hardened cylinder guard ring

What shapes the quoteAshburnham Lock Experts

Mortise and older doors: An existing mortise pocket, a thick slab door or an unusual backset can mean a specific cylinder or an adapted preparation, which takes longer than a standard bore.
Number of keys cut: Every key is cut from code on a machine that handles side bitting or angled cuts, so the count of keys you want at handover is a real line rather than a rounding error.
Strike and frame reinforcement: A reinforced strike with long screws is modest work on a healthy frame. Deepening the pocket, filling split wood, fitting a jamb plate or a wrap-around reinforcer adds materials and time.

FeesSame any hour

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Before you call · 0 / 3

For a business, who should be allowed to authorise new keys?
Is the door wood, steel-clad, fibreglass or aluminium with glass?
What does the door protect, and what prompted you to think about upgrading now?

(249) 494-7410

Questions we hear most

What is the difference between restricted and patented keys?

A restricted keyway is one the manufacturer supplies to a limited set of dealers, so blanks are harder to obtain but not legally protected. A patented key design is protected by a patent for a fixed term, and making or selling the blank without permission is unlawful during that time. Patented systems give the firmer control; restricted ones give a useful step up. The locksmith explains which your chosen line uses and when any patent expires.

What should I do when a controlled key is lost?

Tell your locksmith so the register is updated, then decide together what the loss means. If the key was lost with nothing identifying your address, the practical risk is low and many people simply strike it off. If it went missing with identification or from a known person, the affected cylinders can be repinned so that key stops working while the rest of the system continues. Because the keyway is controlled, you know that no further copies exist.

What information helps before the visit?

A photo of each door's lock from inside and outside, the type of door, whether there is glass nearby and roughly how many keys are in circulation. For a business, a sketch of the doors and who needs to reach each area saves a great deal of time. Mention any door that sticks, has been forced or has a closer or push bar on it. With that, the locksmith arrives with the right formats and a plan to discuss.