Security is not only the front door. We replace mailbox locks for homeowners and condo boards, fit weather-resistant hardware on gates and outbuildings, and make sure the side door everyone actually uses is at least as sound as the one facing the street.
From the shop
Good locksmithing is mostly measuring. Backset, bore, door thickness, the gap at the strike, the swing of the hinge: get those right and the hardware fits and turns without a struggle. Get them wrong and a new lock is worse than the old one.
— Birchwood Lock & Key Specialists
Hours
Locksmith services
The list below is long because doors are varied, not because we want to sell you more than you need. Most calls end with one service. Read the one that fits, note what the page asks you to have ready, and get in touch when it suits you.
Lockouts
When you phone about an emergency we want three things: where the door is, what it is doing, and whether anyone is inside or at risk. From those answers we can say what tools to bring and roughly what the visit will involve.
Change or rekey
Rather than guess at what a house needs, we walk it with you. Front, side, back, garage, basement, gate.
High security
The high security page is for homeowners who want to stop thinking about who has a key, and for businesses that need to know exactly. Both get the same honest walk-through of cylinders, strikes, key control and safes, and a recommendation sized to the door.
Commercial
A commercial key plan should survive the person who set it up. We leave a written schedule of which key opens which door and who holds what, so a new manager inherits a system rather than a mystery.
Mississauga
Deadbolt Installation
The door from the garage into the kitchen closes on a passage knob with no lock at all. Anyone who opens the garage is one turn of a handle from the house, and the insurance renewal form has a question about exactly that.
Deadbolt InstallationUsuallyRekey every exterior door to one new key.
WhyThe seller, their agent and any tradesperson who held a copy are now locked out, and you carry a single key.
UsuallyAsk the landlord to have the locks rekeyed.
WhyTenants generally need the owner's agreement, and most landlords are glad to do it when asked plainly.
UsuallyRekey before the next tenant arrives.
WhyIt keeps the same hardware and closes the gap before viewings start.
UsuallyCommercial Rekeying
WhyA business hands out keys as people join and rarely gets every one back as people leave.
UsuallyMaster Key System Design
WhyA property that expects to add doors, departments or locations benefits from a master key system built with room to grow.
UsuallyAccess Control Installation
WhyAccess control installation swaps a shared metal key for an electronic one: a card, a fob, a code, or a phone tap that a controller checks against a list the business manages.
Open 24/7
Commercial rekeying changes the pins inside a business's existing lock cylinders so that a new key operates them and every earlier key stops working, while the hardware itself stays on the door. The locksmith works from a list of the openings the business controls and the people who need to pass…
1 of 3
Outdoor locks live a harder life. We check the gate alignment, the exposure to rain and freezing, and how it is used before recommending hardware.
2 of 3
We install hardware built for the outdoors, align it with the latch and treat the mechanism so it keeps turning through winter.
3 of 3
You get a short rundown on lubricating and checking the lock as the seasons change, so it keeps working year after year.
Peel, Ontario
2021 census · what it means at the door
38%Homes of every age
About 38% of homes in Mississauga were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
A mix of eras means a mix of bores and backsets. Standard modern sizes on one door, older dimensions on the door across the street. Carrying adapter plates and cylinders in both ranges lets a locksmith fit upgrades cleanly to either.
37%
Single-detached houses make up about 37% of homes in Mississauga (2021 Census).
In a building, a lockout happens in a hallway rather than a porch, and the neighbours notice. A locksmith confirms you belong to the suite, opens the door with the least fuss the lock allows, and leaves the door and cylinder intact for the night.
Yes. Gate, cage and shutter padlocks that accept repinning can share the back-door key, and the locks on filing cabinets, drawers and display cases can be grouped so the people who work at them carry a single key while the manager holds a separate one. Mailbox cylinders are small and are usually swapped for new rather than repinned. Everything is entered on the chart, so one document covers the whole premises.
Not reliably. The stamp is a request, and any key on a standard blank can be copied by anyone with the blank and a machine. What does work is controlling the blank itself through a restricted keyway, or controlling access to the lock through interchangeable cores and a tight register. Stamping still has a place: a serial code on each key, instead of the business name, lets you track it without telling a finder where it fits.
A restricted keyway uses blanks that only the locksmith or authorized source can obtain, released against whatever that key-control program requires, a signed letter, card, signature record or factory authorization naming who may order keys. Hardware stores and kiosks have no blanks, so copies are far harder to get without your say-so. It costs more per key than a standard keyway and is most valuable where keys pass through many hands, such as retail with part-time staff, shared premises or anywhere the count of copies has drifted before.
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.
On-site assessment preferred
Call to discuss your business's keys. Call us about stronger locks.
Open 24/7 · same fees any hour
On-site assessment preferred · (289) 805-6881 · open 24/7
