Q&A for How to Change a Lock Cylinder

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Is it cheaper to rekey or replace locks?

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wikiHow Staff Editor

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Key pins are quite inexpensive, so it’s usually cheaper to rekey your locks than to change them. Most locksmiths will only charge labor instead of charging you for both labor and parts, as they’d need to if you had your locks changed.

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How do you change the cylinder on a UPVC door lock?

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Unscrew the screw on the faceplate along the edge of the door. Put the key on the inside lock barrel and turn it slightly to the left and right wile pulling it toward you at the same time. Eventually, the cylinder will slide out. Simply reverse the process to install a new cylinder.

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What do you do if the lock cylinder pops out by accident?

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It this happens, it probably means that the lock has been damaged. For some kinds of locks, you can purchase a small retainer clip to help keep the cylinder in place. If the lock is too badly damaged, you may have to replace the whole thing.

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Question

What do I do if I don't have the original key?

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You will need to extract the core from the lock and have a locksmith who knows how to work with Interchangeable Cores "decode" your core (take all the pins out of the core) and provide you with the key codes. You will then need to use the key code for the original key for the locksmith to create a copy of the key based on the original key code.

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