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.
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.
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.
If you’re in an apartment, shouldn’t the management company be responsible for fixing your locks if someone is vandalizing it? Usually apartment buildings have strict rules for what they will let you do with your locks. If they will let you, you can get an electronic keypad deadbolt without a key hole. They’re made by Schlage, model # BE375.
We don’t offer that service at our company.
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Yes, companies make special extended latch kits. You can usually get any knob you want as long as that company makes a compatible latch. Take a measuring tape and hook it to the edge of your door (where the latch comes out of the edge of the door). Measure over to the center of your door knob. That is what size latch you need.
You might be able to reuse the current latch and just replace the knob itself. If you read the latch face, there should be a brand written on it.
I’m not a lawyer, and locksmiths don’t request tax forms when they unlock doors. They usually have you sign a waiver of some kind stating that you have the legal right to have them perform that service, and they collect a drivers license. At that point it’s between you and whoever else may legally have the right to be there. However, I know there are laws pertaining to when a property OWNER can and can not enter a rental unit, and the law is usually on the renters side, not the owners side due to privacy concerns.
Certain locksmiths can remake the fob & keys; as well as the dealer.
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