Josh-the-Locksmith
25 Years Experience
Austin, TX
Male, 46
I've been a locksmith since 1998. I did automotive residential & commercial work from 1998 to 2008. From 2008 to 2018, I did some residential, but mostly commercial work. I have been project managing & estimating since 2018. I used to locksmith in the Chicago area, now the Austin area.
Well I would stay away from EZ Set, they're garbage. Apparently they have gotten to be harder to find as well. Assuming you're talking about a long pull handle with a thumb button, every model of every brand is a different length. I would go with Schlage or Kwikset. Much better quality. I I believe it's Schlage that makes them with an adjustable bottom post. That way you're not stuck having to find one that matches up perfectly, it will actually slide up and down to accommodate 1-2 inch differences. It should tell you the range it covers on the box. So measure your door from the center of the 2-1/8" hole to the center of the bottom hole. However, if you're replacing the deadbolt as well, EZ Set uses a Kwikset keyway, and Schlage uses a Schlage keyway. So you wouldn't be able to rekey it to your existing key, you would just have a separate key for your front door. Otherwise, you will have to find a Kwikset handle that matches close enough.
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Not sure what you mean by “needing a certain amount of cuts”. I haven’t done any automotive in 12 years. In fact, it got to be such a pain, the company I work for even quit doing mobile automotive work. Seems like locksmiths either go full in automotive, or none at all. It takes a lot of resources and money due to expensive machines and services. Also, more and more car manufacturers are doing proprietary keys and fobs leaving locksmiths with no options. This is a big disservice to customers, because it means keys will cost a fortune.
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I’m sorry it doesn’t work that simply. It’s the same as if I handed you a $20 bill and wrote on it “do not accept this”. It’s up to the cashier if they want to take it or not. It’s the same with a key that says “do not duplicate”. If the guy at Walmart wants to copy it, he can copy it. At our locksmith shops, we copy them, but usually make people sign a waiver releasing all liability on us.
If you want key control I’d recommend 2 options. 1. Install a keypad lock and don’t give your tenant the key. Give them a code. If they move out, reset it the code. 2. Install high security locks with true restricted patented keys. It will cost $125-200 per lock, $15-20 per key, but that’s the price you pay for a patented key system.
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Well there's no magic tricks. You can buy a tryout set of common "skeleton keys" online, see if one of them works; or take it to a local lock shop and let them either make a key or open it.
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Your landlord Is correct. Every apartment’s locks are keyed different, but the building entry doors are master keyed to allow multiple keys to access them. It’s basic master keying.
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We don’t offer that service at our company.
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I think most deadbolts have a range of 1-3/8” to 1-3/4” thick doors. I would recommend going to schlage.com or kwikset.com & looking at their electronic deadbolts, look at the Specifications section on the product page. It should tell you the door thickness range. If it’s any thinner than 1-3/8”, it won’t work. You would need some kind of spacer to space out the lock on both sides of the door. I personally think Schlage makes a better lock than Kwikset.
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