Home Lock Change in Leesburg, FL: The Complete Guide to Upgrading Your Home Security
The locks on your home are the foundation of your family’s safety and security. While locks are typically thought of as stationary, indestructible components of your home, they are actually subject to replacement at regular intervals to ensure optimal safety and functionality. At Standby Locksmith, we specialize in home lock change services for homes in Leesburg, FL, and are committed to helping homeowners understand when and why locks should be replaced, as well as which locks are most appropriate for different needs and budgets, and how to ensure optimal safety and functionality for your Lake County home.
When and Why Homes in Leesburg, FL, Should Change Their Locks
There are many different reasons why locks should be replaced to ensure optimal safety and functionality. Moving into a brand-new home in Leesburg is perhaps the most significant reason why people seek out lock change services. Regardless of whether your brand-new home is located in an historic neighborhood near downtown Leesburg, or in a newer neighborhood such as Plantation Bay or Royal Highlands, or near one of the many beautiful lakes in the area, the locks on your home have likely been used by many different people throughout their history. Former owners, their children, their children’s children, real estate agents, contractors, home inspectors, pool cleaners, landscapers, HVAC repair people, and many other people have probably had access to your home at some point or another with keys to your locks. Unless you have some way of knowing where these keys are currently located, how many people have copies of your keys, and how many people these keys have been given to over the years, you can’t be sure whether or not your new home in Leesburg is truly secure.
Security breaches call for the replacement of locks immediately, without any delay or hesitation. If your house in Leesburg has been burglarized or has been the target of an attempted burglary, the locks are most certainly compromised. This is especially the case even when the burglary attempt has been unsuccessful. This is because the lock’s integrity has been compromised, thereby rendering the overall effectiveness of the lock as a security device considerably less. This makes the house an attractive target for burglary by the same criminals, as well as other thieves. Any lock, especially one that has been compromised in any manner, has to be replaced immediately. This is the only way you, as the homeowner, can feel secure in your house, especially after what is always an emotionally traumatic experience for any homeowner. Lost keys are one thing, but the chances are always there for the keys to end up in the wrong hands. This is especially the case when one considers the fact that the chances of the keys being found by the rightful owner are remote. This is the reason why, even in the case of lost keys, the only solution is the replacement of the locks. This completely eliminates the possibility of the lost keys being found by the wrong people, who might end up using the keys for criminal activities.
Changes in relationships may require changes in locks due to various safety, privacy, and security reasons that must be addressed as soon as possible. Once roommates move out, rental contracts are terminated, divorces are finalized, relationships are broken, or families are involved in disputes, changing the locks ensures that individuals who had legitimate, authorized, and unhindered access to your property in the past are no longer able to do so without your current permission or knowledge. This is especially important and critical in situations where relationships are acrimonious, separations are bitter, domestic disputes are ongoing, restraining orders are active, or in other situations where you must have absolute control over the individuals who may be accessing your property without your knowledge or permission and potentially threatening your safety or the safety of your children.
The benefits of changing the locks even if the existing locks are functioning well are the primary reasons why Leesburg residents are motivated to change their locks. Most homes, especially older homes or previously owned homes, are usually secured with builder-grade locks that were installed years or even decades ago. Most builder-grade locks are designed to provide only the most basic security against the various methods, tools, and techniques that burglars use to break into homes. Therefore, if your Leesburg home still retains the original locks that were installed when the home was built without any improvements or upgrades over the years, replacing the existing locks with the latest high-security lock technology will greatly improve the security provided for your family and other precious assets against the various security challenges that we are faced with today.
Understanding Lock Deterioration in Florida’s Climate
Locks are mechanical devices that contain a number of intricate mechanical parts, all of which are subject to gradual but certain wear and tear from normal use over a period of time. Each time you insert the key and turn it in the lock cylinder, the internal pins move up and down through very accurately machined tracks, the springs compress and expand under tension, the cylinder rotates within very accurately fitted housings, and the locking mechanism engages or disengages from the strike plate. All of this mechanical operation generates considerable friction between the metal parts, which gradually wears them away over a period of months and/or years of constant use. The more frequently used the locks, the more wear and tear they will exhibit, and the more they will impair the ability of the locks to perform their intended function. Household locks, such as the front door deadbolt, which is used by various members of the household, visitors, delivery personnel, and service personnel a number of times a day, will exhibit considerable wear and tear, which will impair the ability of the locks to perform their intended function. The Central Florida climate in the Leesburg area is particularly difficult, and the locks will be subject to a number of adverse climatic conditions that will impair their ability to perform their intended function over a period of time. The high humidity level in the Central Florida area during most months of the year causes the metal locks to corrode, oxidize, and develop surface rust, particularly the locks that are exposed to the climatic conditions of the outdoors, such as the locks on the front door. The extreme heat of the Central Florida summers, which often exceeds 95 degrees, the high humidity level, which often exceeds 70%, and the frequent afternoon thunderstorms with strong rain and the occasional severe storms, such as tropical storms, all combine to create a very adverse climatic condition.
The fluctuation in temperatures, as well as the extreme changes in humidity, can cause wooden doors and door frames to expand when the humidity is high and contract when it is low. Such changes can, over time, put locks out of alignment with door frames and strike plates. When a lock becomes slightly out of alignment, often just a few millimeters, it can become increasingly difficult to turn a key smoothly, causing stress on internal lock components beyond normal operational limits. Leesburg experiences extreme temperatures due to air conditioning, creating a differential between indoor temperatures maintained between 72-75 degrees and hot, humid temperatures that often reach into the 90s, causing a constant cycle of door and lock expansion and contraction.
Keys are subject to wear and tear over time that affects their performance in relation to locks and their longevity. As keys are used over time in regular cycles of opening locks over several months and years of service, their precise cuts and edges that come into contact with lock pin mechanisms tend to wear off over time and become blunted and rounded at their cutting edges. Such keys do not accurately engage with lock pin mechanisms and hence result in locks working harder and faster as they are not properly aligned with sharp cutting edges. Many Leesburg residents continue using their old and damaged keys for their locks long after they should have been replaced with new ones. This has resulted in locks being forced to work harder and faster, thereby reducing their longevity and causing keys to break off in locks at very inopportune moments for their owners. Physical damage caused by various factors tends to compromise locks’ performance and longevity even when they are not immediately apparent and obvious. Such damage includes break-in attempts by thieves using pry bars and other lock-picking devices that force locks open when they stick in their cylinders as a result of misalignment and internal corrosion. Damage caused by slamming doors in strong winds and during careless opening and closing of doors by residents and their visitors, as well as damage caused by furniture during relocations, tends to compromise locks’ performance over time. Once locks’ internal components are bent out of shape as a result of physical damage, they do not work as they should anymore.
There are clear signs that show when a lock has to be professionally replaced rather than continued use or temporarily fixed. Keys that stick, bind, or require excessive force to turn indicate significant internal damage. Locks that do not latch properly or require jiggling the door handle, lifting the door slightly, or several attempts to latch properly indicate misalignment or damaged internal lock parts. Presence of rust, corrosion, or a greenish tint on the outside parts of a lock often points to serious internal damage that compromises both lock functionality and security. Keys that frequently get stuck in a lock that requires significant effort to remove them, or a lock that feels loose and wiggles noticeably inside the door bore hole, all point to a serious situation that requires replacement. Such issues require prompt action to avoid total lock failure that may leave you locked out of your house at an inconvenient time or compromise your security when you need it most.
High-Security Lock Options for Enhanced Protection
While conventional residential locks offer a certain degree of security that meets most situations and neighborhoods with low crime rates, high-security locks offer much higher security levels against modern-day intrusion methods that criminals use today. Knowing what high-security locks have to offer helps Leesburg homeowners make informed decisions regarding security investments that are appropriate for their situations.
Pick resistance is a critical advantage that high-security locks offer over standard residential locks. Standard residential locks can be picked within a minute or less by an individual with average skills in picking locks, skills that can be acquired from the Internet and YouTube videos using a set of lockpicks that can be purchased online for $20-$30. High-security locks, however, offer extremely complex pin configurations, sidebar systems, telescoping pins, and patented security devices that make it virtually impossible for even the most skilled professional locksmiths with the most advanced tools to pick the locks. The most advanced high-security locks are virtually pick-proof, requiring specialized tools, training, and expertise. Criminals trying to pick high-security locks soon realize that the task is too difficult and time-consuming, giving up in favor of easier targets with standard locks that can be picked in seconds.
Drill resistance provides critical protection against forced entry attempts using cordless power drills. Some criminals resort to drilling out the lock cylinder using a cordless power drill in an attempt to break into a residence quickly without arousing the suspicion of neighbors. High-security locks contain steel inserts, rotating ball bearings, and protective plates strategically located in the locks to prevent or impede the drilling attempts, thereby preventing the drill bit from penetrating the critical components of the locks. The resistance makes it extremely difficult for the criminal to drill the locks without the noise attracting the attention of the neighbors, thereby giving up in favor of easier targets with standard locks.
Bump Key Resistance is a critical and troublesome vulnerability that is found in the majority of standard residential locks that are installed in homes across the nation, including the Leesburg, Virginia, community. Bump keys are specially cut keys that are able to overcome the basic physics and mechanics of standard locks to open doors in as little as a few seconds, requiring little skill, practice, or knowledge to accomplish the task. This is a burglary technique that is now widely known and understood through the Internet, videos, and the criminal underworld, and it is becoming a common burglary technique that is being employed by burglars to steal from residential homes in suburban communities across the nation. High-security locks are specially designed to resist this type of burglary technique, completely eliminating this critical vulnerability that is inherent in standard locks and that poses a significant threat to the security of the lock.
Key Control is one of the most critical security elements that is available to homeowners and that goes far beyond the lock itself, as it provides protection against the unauthorized duplication of keys that could be performed by former service personnel or others who might have access to the lock and the home. High-security lock manufacturers have carefully and closely controlled the distribution of key blanks to authorized dealers, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate keys without the express authorization and verification of the registered owner of the lock and the home. In fact, many of these locks are protected through active utility patents that completely prevent the duplication of the keys, and the key blanks are only available to specifically authorized and qualified locksmiths who must provide documentation and authorization to duplicate the keys.
Why Professional Installation Is Essential
The professional installation of a lock by a qualified locksmith, like Standby Locksmith, offers significant benefits that cannot be achieved by a DIY installation. Proper alignment ensures that deadbolts are completely and correctly inserted into the strike plates, providing maximum security. Correct installation depth helps eliminate security risks while providing ease of operation. Proper preparation of the door, with accurate drilling, helps prevent permanent damage and maintain structural integrity and aesthetic appeal of the door.
Our technicians will check the hardware for compatibility with your door type, door thickness, door composition, and existing bore hole preparations. We have specialized hardware and experience needed for handling all possible complexities involved in lock installations, which may end up costing valuable money and time.
Serving Leesburg with Professional Excellence
Standby Locksmith serves Leesburg and surrounding Lake County areas with professional residential locksmith services. We offer expertise, reliability, and customer satisfaction for all your home locksmith needs. Our fully equipped mobile service units carry all types of locks needed for our services. We offer lock change services for homes in Leesburg with the expertise and quality products needed for effective security solutions for your home. Our services provide guaranteed years of trouble-free performance for your locks. We offer lock installation services for all Leesburg residents.
