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You run a home office with client files and equipment, and your insurer has asked what kind of lock is on the door. The honest answer is the builder's knob lock and a light deadbolt from when the house was new.
Locksmith in Fort Erie, OntarioYour door,properly secured.
Call now · open 24/7(365) 607-0483What's happening right now?
Locked out
Safely, right now
- Wait somewhere safe and warm: a neighbour's, your car, a coffee shop.
- Don't force a window or the door; it only adds a repair.
- Have a photo ID with your address ready if you can.
Key broke in the lock
Safely, right now
- Leave the lock alone: pushing the piece further in makes it harder to get out.
- Keep the piece you still have. It helps cut a new key.
Lock won't turn
Safely, right now
- Stop turning hard: a key that bends or snaps makes the job bigger.
- Skip the oil, the glue and the hot water. They make it worse.
Lost keys
Safely, right now
- If your address was with the keys, treat the lock as known to whoever finds them.
- Don't leave a spare key anywhere outside while you wait, under the mat or elsewhere.
Good security starts with the hardware you touch every day: the deadbolt, the strike plate, the hinges, the frame. We look at the whole door, not just the cylinder, and recommend upgrades that suit an older house as well as a new build.
Request a visit
Same fees day or night · 26 years in business
The fix, explained · Fort Erie
What is the door doing?
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceYou stepped out to grab the recycling bin and the door swung shut behind you.
The fix
Being locked out is uncomfortable, but it is also the moment most households finally sort out their keys. Once the door is open, the same visit can rekey the locks so a lost key stops mattering, cut properly coded spares to replace worn copies, key the front and back doors alike so one key runs the house, or set up a small…
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceIt is ten to nine, three staff are on the sidewalk with their coffees, and the key that has opened the glass front door for six years will not turn.
The fix
Commercial doors carry hardware that most homes never see, and reading it correctly is the first skill of a business lockout. An aluminium storefront door usually has a narrow mortise cylinder driving a hookbolt deadlock or a paddle-operated deadlatch.
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionYou were locking up on the way out when the key broke in the lock.
The fix
Freezing is one of the bigger seasonal causes of broken keys here. Meltwater runs into the keyway during a thaw and freezes overnight, so the plug is locked in ice, and most people respond by turning harder.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairSomeone smashed the little window beside the door, reached in and turned the thumb-turn.
The fix
A break-in repair happens alongside a police file and an insurance claim, and a good locksmith keeps both in mind. Before any hardware is moved the damage is photographed as found: door face, edge, strike, jamb, hinges and glass.
Call (365) 607-0483Request a visit Break-In Damage Lock Repair
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe key turns a full circle without any resistance and the deadbolt stays exactly where it is.
The fix
A lock rarely seizes without warning. It asks for a wiggle, then a firmer wiggle, then it needs the door pulled toward you, and one morning it stops.
Call (365) 607-0483Request a visit Seized & Jammed Lock Opening
EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyYour purse was taken from the back of a chair at a restaurant.
The fix
A key ring rarely holds only house keys, so a same-visit rekey looks at everything that was on it. The mechanical house keys are handled by repinning the cylinders.
Call (365) 607-0483Request a visit Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey
- 26years in business
- 24/7open, every day
- Same feesday, night or weekend
- On siteassessment preferred
A trade learned door by door
A locksmith's most useful tool is often a notebook. Which unit takes which key, what the master looks like, which cylinders were pinned in what order: keeping that straight means the next change is a small job instead of an afternoon of guesswork. We keep those records for the buildings we look after and share them with the owner, because it is their system, not ours.
Amigari Downs, Bay Beach, Erie Beach, Fort Erie Beach, Fort Erie North, Old Fort Erie, Ridgeway, Thunder Bay, Wavecrest, Waverly Beach, Buffalo Heights, Crescent Park, Edgewood Park, Oakhill Forest, Ridgewood, Rose Hill Estates and Stevensville
Identity checked, politely. For openings and key work we confirm you have the right to be there. We explain why we ask, and we ask everyone.
Work you can watch. There is nothing hidden about what we do. Stand beside us, ask questions, and we will show you what the lock looks like inside.
Clean hands, clean floor. We put down a mat where there is drilling, wipe the hardware down and leave the area as we found it, only with a working lock.
Start with a phone call: (365) 607-0483
Locksmith services
Where to start
Every job on this list starts the same way: with a look at the actual door and a conversation about what you need from it. The service is what follows. Browse the groups below to see how we approach lockouts, rekeys, replacements, vehicle keys, safes and access systems.
LockoutsLockout ServicesDoors that have been kicked, pried or drilled rarely lock cleanly afterwards.Services
Doors that have been kicked, pried or drilled rarely lock cleanly afterwards. The repair pages explain how we straighten or replace the strike, rebuild the frame edge, swap the damaged cylinder and, when the door itself is beyond saving, secure the opening until a replacement arrives.
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceYou stepped out to grab the recycling bin and the door swung shut behind you.
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceIt is ten to nine, three staff are on the sidewalk with their coffees, and the key that has opened the glass front door for six…
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionYou were locking up on the way out when the key broke in the lock.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairSomeone smashed the little window beside the door, reached in and turned the thumb-turn.
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe key turns a full circle without any resistance and the deadbolt stays exactly where it is.
EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyYour purse was taken from the back of a chair at a restaurant.
Change or rekeyChange or Rekey LocksLock replacement and lock rekeying solve different problems.Services
Lock replacement and lock rekeying solve different problems. Replacement is for hardware that is worn, damaged or simply inadequate. Rekeying is for hardware that works fine but opens for the wrong people.
High securityHigh Security LocksGetting past an ordinary lock is a skill many people have.Services
Getting past an ordinary lock is a skill many people have. Getting past a high security lock is loud, slow and uncertain, which is exactly the point. The services here make your door the one an intruder decides is not worth it.
CommercialCommercial LocksAccess control does not have to mean a control room.Services
Access control does not have to mean a control room. For a small office it can be a single keypad on the staff door with a code that changes whenever a staff member moves on. These pages start small and scale up with the building.
Car keysCar KeysBefore any key is cut or programmed for a vehicle we check that the person asking has a claim to it.Services
Before any key is cut or programmed for a vehicle we check that the person asking has a claim to it. Registration or ownership paper and matching photo identification are what we ask for. It is the same check every honest locksmith makes.
Bigger photo, sooner job: Emergency Book soon Plan ahead
EmergencyCar Lockout ServiceThe trunk is full of groceries, the cart is back in its corral, and the keys are sitting in the cup holder in plain view.
EmergencyCar Key ReplacementThe engine cranks, catches for a second and dies, and a small key-shaped light keeps blinking on the dash.
Spare Car Key Duplication
Key Fob Programming
Transponder Key Programming
Ignition Lock Repair
Vehicle Lock Repair
Motorcycle & Scooter Keys
Sound familiar?
Small things. Big difference.
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You let a part-time employee go on Friday. The shop key is on a ring in their apartment, or their car, or a friend's kitchen, and on Monday morning the register and the stock room open with it.
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One key for the front door, another for the back, a third for the side door into the garage, and a fourth for the shed. You stand on the step every evening flipping through them in the dark, trying each one until something turns.
Which fix fits?
IfSomeone forced the door and the frame is split.
ThenFrame repair, a new strike and a fresh cylinder.
The wood is rebuilt before new hardware goes in, so the door locks tonight.
IfThey came in through a window, but your spare keys were on the hook.
ThenRekey every lock those keys operate.
Anything those keys open needs new pins: house, garage and shed, and a taken car key should be deprogrammed.
IfThere are fresh tool marks around the lock but nobody got in.
ThenA security check of that door and the others.
We look at what held and suggest reinforcements that make a second attempt pointless.
IfPolice have come and gone, the occurrence number is on a sticky note, and you are standing in a cold hallway looking at a splintered frame, wondering how the…
ThenBreak-In Damage Lock Repair.
A break-in repair happens alongside a police file and an insurance claim, and a good locksmith keeps both in mind.
IfThe old mortise lock on the front door of the house turns the key halfway and stops with a dull clunk.
ThenSeized & Jammed Lock Opening.
A lock rarely seizes without warning.
IfYou let a part-time employee go on Friday.
ThenLost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey.
A key ring rarely holds only house keys, so a same-visit rekey looks at everything that was on it.
Answering 24/7 in Fort Erie
How a visit goes
Amigari Downs Lock Experts
Job ticket · open 24/7
1 Call
Start with a phone call.
Describe the property, the hardware and what has changed, and the visit starts from what you have seen.
(365) 607-0483 · open 24/7
2 Questions
Walking the building together
We visit each door on the plan and talk about who uses it, how often and at what hours. Wiring routes and power are checked at the same time.
3 On the way
In the van
Fort Erie to Amigari Downs, Bay Beach, Erie Beach, Fort Erie Beach, Fort Erie North, Old Fort Erie, Ridgeway, Thunder Bay, Wavecrest, Waverly Beach, Buffalo Heights, Crescent Park, Edgewood Park, Oakhill Forest, Ridgewood, Rose Hill Estates and Stevensville.
- Plug spinner
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
- Strike plate and long hinge screws
- Pick and tension tools
- Cylinder decoder
4 Fixed
Setting up users and handover
Installing readers and locks. Readers, electric strikes or maglocks and the controller go in with cables hidden where the building allows. Every door is tested for release and re-locking.
Setting up users and handover. We add the first users, show your administrator how to add and remove people, and leave written notes so the system is yours to run.
Same fees day, night or weekend · on-site assessment preferred
Niagara, Ontario
Fort Erie information
- Town
- Fort Erie, Niagara, Ontario
- In business
- 26 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (365) 607-0483
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
62%
Older homes. About 62% of homes in Fort Erie were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Decades of seasons move a frame, and an older house often has a front door that locks easily in summer and fights in winter. Setting the strike with the seasons in mind, and choosing a lubricant that stays fluid in the cold, keeps it working year round.
83%
Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 83% of homes in Fort Erie (2021 Census).
A detached house gives a locksmith room to work: full access to both sides of every door, hinges and frames included. Repairs and upgrades can be thorough, from the front deadbolt to the gate latch, with nothing off limits.
Nearby
Your questions, our answers
How high above the knob does the deadbolt go?
The usual position is 140 to 150 mm above the centre of the knob, which lines the two locks up and keeps both within one reach. Manufacturers' templates assume that spacing, which helps a later keypad or handleset line up, though many handlesets still need their own lower hole drilled to that model's template. The height is nudged if it would land on glass, a decorative panel or a hollow spot inside an insulated door, and to make sure the frame behind it is solid.
Can the new deadbolt use the same key as my other doors?
Usually, yes. If the new lock shares a keyway with your existing cylinders, the locksmith repins it on the bench so your current key operates it, and nothing changes on anyone's ring. If the keyways differ, the other doors can be brought onto the new key instead. Say which key you want to keep before the hardware is chosen, because keyway is part of picking the lock.
How do I look after a deadbolt once it is installed?
Very little is needed. Each spring and autumn, lock the door from inside and feel whether the bolt still goes home without the door being pulled; if it hesitates, the door has moved with the season and a small strike adjustment restores it. Whatever lubricant the lock's own maker specifies keeps it smooth, often a dry PTFE or graphite type in the keyway and along the bolt, though some cylinders are meant to be serviced with oil. In winter, wipe road salt off the outside trim to protect the finish.
What does key control mean in practice?
It means your key can only be copied through the locksmith who manages your system, after checking that the person asking is on your list of authorised names. Blanks for the keyway are not sold to hardware stores or kiosks while the patent lasts. Each key is numbered and recorded, so you know how many exist. For a home that ends the worry about old copies; for a business it turns a lost staff key into a known, manageable event.
Open 24/7
Request a visit
Let's fix that lock.
Call now · open 24/7(365) 607-0483- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 26 years in business