Locksmith in County Down

How Much Is A Locksmith?

If you’ve ever been locked out of your home or car, then you probably know how frustrating the experience can be. And even more so, when you don’t have a spare key kept somewhere. In this kind of scenario, a professional locksmith is your best bet to help in this type of bind and lots more. So exactly how much is the average cost of hiring a locksmith? This article will help you shed more light on this as well as the factors influencing the amount you may need to pay.

Locksmith provides a wide range of services including replacing your existing lock, installing a new lock system as well as re-keying a lock for a house or car. The services may also encompass installing garage door locks, repair damaged locks for doors and lots more. Depending of the locksmith service you require, the price of a locksmith can range between £65 to £90. For instance, if you happen to be locked out of your house, you may have to pay up to £70 to £80 and could even be higher or lower depending on the location, the lock’s type as well as the time of the day. Furthermore, if you wish to completely change the lock, this will cost you above £65 or more. You’ll discover the starting price list for each service of most locksmith companies on their websites.

To provide their service, a professional locksmith company will have to visit your location to help change the lock on your car, at home or in the office. Therefore, the minimum service fee your locksmith will charge will include factors such as travel fees. Generally, the minimum service fee to visit your home will fall within the range of £65 to £90. However, if your call comes in during the company’s off hours, you may have to pay more than the usual.

What Is A Locksmith?

A locksmith is a skilled and professional technician who is properly trained in the art of working of locks, be it on doors, cars, windows, safes and lots more. They specialize in the installation, repair and adjustment of locks in probably everything with a lock from offices and homes to cars and safes. Locksmiths are able to help individuals accidentally locked out of their homes or cars and can also be consulted by people about their security systems. This is an ancient profession which makes it a very popular one as well.

What Does A Locksmith Do?

A professional locksmith offers a plethora of residential, commercial and automotive as well as security devices solutions. They’re able to change lock combinations, fabricate locks and bypass locks when authorized. With their expertise, knowledge and skill when it comes to installing and repairing traditional security hardware as well as lock sets, they’re able to bring a lot to the table in the commercial, residential and industrial world which needs different levels of physical security to prevent any form of unwanted entry.

Although locksmiths are best known to pick only locks, they also offer several other solutions which includes:

• Provision Of Locks For Both Doors & Windows

Locksmiths are well trained in the provision, servicing and repairing of the door and window locks, which are the two most common lock types for use in both homes and businesses.

• Cutting Of Keys

Locksmiths are able to cut keys for locks in all buildings, cars, windows and more.

• Provision Of Locks For Security Safes

Unlike the door locks, security safe locks are not as common and even more complex. Locksmith are able to provide, open as well as repair all kinds of security safes and vaults.

• Provision Of Automotive Locksmith Service

In case you’re locked out of your vehicle, many professional locksmiths can help you get back in and can also program or reprogram transponder and remote keys, provide a new key for your car and repair car key fobs.

How Long Does A Locksmith Take?

It’s usually a surprising experience when a security issue that you might have thought is not resolvable or nearly impossible to overcome, took an expert locksmith just a couple of minutes to fix. This is not magic or some voodoo, it’s just a learnt skill being perfectly applied by an experienced and well versed locksmith. In this article, you’ll get to know what to expect when you call on a locksmithing professional for help with a security issue.

To determine the period of time a locksmith will take to complete his services, two factors are to be considered - the estimated arrival time as well as the service providing time.

Generally, if you call on a local locksmithing company, you should expect the locksmith to arrive within 15 to 30 minutes to your location. However, this might be shorter or longer if you put into account some influences such as the distance involved and traffic. Some companies can show up faster but charge an extra fee to it, while others will need more time to show up but offers a cheaper service. Usually, locksmithing companies will publish information about the estimated time of the arrival of their technicians on their websites. If you don’t find any, you might want to consider another company with one as this is a red flag.

The second factor which is the service providing time which depends on many influences including the type of lock and key in question. Therefore, it’s impossible to give a precise answer. However in general, a professional locksmith would not usually take more than an hour and half to create a new key for a car or house, or more than 10 minutes to unlock a house or car. Whereas replacement of a lock can take within the range 10 minutes to 40 minutes depending on the complexity of the lock.

Can A Locksmith Make A House Key Without The Original?

If you’ve misplaced or lost the last set of your house keys, you’d probably be wondering if a locksmith can help replace the key without the original. If true, then you should know that a locksmith can cut a new key for you with the help of their expertise and tools without having to give them the original one. A professional locksmith can achieve this in three separate ways. Let’s have a look!

• Cut The Key By Code

What makes physical keys unique is basically the spacing and depth of their cuts. During the manufacturing process, manufacturers often stamp some characters also called key codes on the lock or include them in the lock’s manual. With these characters, a locksmith has all that’s needed to create a new key without having to see the original one. Using HPC Blitz key generator or any other code cutter and the right key blank, a locksmith can give you a new key. However, in cases whereby the key does not come with any code, the locksmith can obtain the needed information via the manufacturer or the retailer who possess such information.

• Impression The Lock

To complete this key cutting process, the locksmith will need a key blank, a file as well as a vice grip. This procedure entails inserting the right key blank into the lock, followed by turning it to bind pins within the locks cylinder. This process will enable the locksmith determine the sections that requires to be filed on the key blank. It also involves inserting and removing the key from the lock several times in order to get all the needed cuts. However, it must be noted that various key blanks like brass, steel and aluminium blanks require a special attention to ensure they do not break during the process

• Disassemble The Lock

To disassemble a lock, the locksmith will first pick the lock. However, in the event whereby a broken key is stuck in the keyhole, then you may want to consider an entire lock replacement. The disassembling process is a very delicate one that involves the internal mechanisms of the lock and should not be done unless by a true professional.