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.
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.
Not sure what you mean, but when a lock is rekeyed, the internal pins are removed and replaced with different pins to match the new set of keys. No other hardware or parts of the lock are usually replaced.
Sorry that really doesn’t give me the info I would need. Those sound like internal codes. If you’re able to send me photos on twitter, I could probably help you. @ATXJoshL
It sounds like an older mortise lock. Most modern mortise locks are 8” x 1-1/4”. You’re not going to find something that easily retrofits into the door prep you have. You could have a locksmith fresh install a deadbolt above your mortise lock if your condo will allow it. Otherwise, there just aren’t very many options for the residential mortise lock platform. Look up Yale Nextouch. They make a smart locks with a mortise prep, but it won’t fit in your door as is. You’ll have to have it modified. Also check with your bldg Mgmt before you do anything, I have seen some of them have strict rules what they will let tenants do to maintain uniformity.
School Bus Driver
Radio program/music director
Claims Adjuster
As a tech, I would have said the easiest thing to do is residential rekey jobs, the hardest and thing I hated the most was automotive work. Having your arm buried in a door panel in 100 degrees sitting in the sun trying to dig a door lock out; or laying on a customers dirty floorboard working on their ignition. It was the worst.
Love the most, probably all the amazing different places I have been and people I’ve had the opportunity to meet.
Yea it’s possible it’s a different lock. Management might know something about it, or it’s always possible you have the wrong key, or someone open & replaced it with another padlock. Lots of possibilities really. Mgmt might have a way to cut the padlocks off, or you can hire a locksmith to pick the lock or cut/drill it off.
I wish I knew what brand it was. You probably put it together wrong. Could be why you can’t get it apart too.
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