Nobody should have to nod along while a stranger works on their front door. We show you the worn pins, the misaligned strike or the failed spring, describe the choices in ordinary words, and let you decide what happens next.

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Same fees day or night · 12 years in business

The fix, explained · St. Catharines

What is the door doing?

EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceThe moving truck has left, half the boxes are inside, and the single key the previous owner handed over turns the knob but not the deadbolt.

The fix

Different locks call for different openings, and a lockout visit starts by reading the hardware on your door. A spring latch in a knob or lever behaves differently from a deadbolt, a mortise lock in an older home has its own internals, and a high-security cylinder resists shortcuts that work on builder-grade hardware.

Call (289) 432-1115 Request a visit Home Lockout Service

EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceA cook stepped into the alley with the recycling and the rear door swung shut behind him.

The fix

Authority for a business is a question about the company, not just the individual at the door. An owner shows identification and something connecting them to the premises, such as the lease or the business registration.

Call (289) 432-1115 Request a visit Business Lockout Service

EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionThe padlock on the shed has been stiff all summer.

The fix

If a key has just snapped in your lock, the most helpful thing you can do is nothing further to the lock. Keep the half in your hand, note whether the door is locked, and resist the tweezers and the glue, both of which push the piece deeper and add material the locksmith must clear first.

Call (289) 432-1115 Request a visit Broken Key Extraction

EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairThey did not get in.

The fix

There are really two jobs inside one call. The first is tonight: make the door close and lock so the household can sleep.

Call (289) 432-1115 Request a visit Break-In Damage Lock Repair

EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningThe lock works, but only if you lean on the door with your hip while turning the key.

The fix

When the cylinder is the part that has seized, the work is about cleaning rather than force. Keyways collect dust, salt spray, metal filings and residue from sprays never meant for locks, and over time the pins stop lifting cleanly.

Call (289) 432-1115 Request a visit Seized & Jammed Lock Opening

EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyYou let a part-time employee go on Friday.

The fix

The first useful move after losing a key is to think about where it worked rather than where it went. A house key commonly opens more than the front door: the back door, a side entrance, the door from the garage into the house, a shed, a gate padlock, sometimes a storage room or a mailbox.

Call (289) 432-1115 Request a visit Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey

12years in business
24/7open, every day
Same feesday, night or weekend
On siteassessment preferred

A small shop that takes doors seriously

We are wary of the word upgrade. Sometimes the most useful thing you can do for a door is replace four short strike screws with long ones that reach the framing, a small change that transforms how the door behaves under a kick. We start with the simple improvements and work up from there only if the door, the neighbourhood and your own comfort call for more.

Facer, Glenridge, Marsdale, Martindale Heights, Merritton, Montebello, Niagara Gardens, Old Glenridge, Pelham, Ridley Heights, Shipman and Western Hill

A straight assessment. If the lock is fine and the door just needs adjusting, we say so. If it has reached the end of its life, we say that too, and show you why.
Options laid out side by side. Repair, rekey, replace or upgrade, with what each involves and what it changes. You pick; we do not steer you toward the biggest job.
Finished, not nearly finished. Every key tested in every lock, every screw tight, every strike aligned, and the packaging in our van rather than your bin.

Call to discuss your business's keys: (289) 432-1115

Locksmith services

Locks, keys and doors

Every service here is something we do week in, week out, not a line added to look thorough. If you would rather talk than read, the phone number at the top goes straight to someone who can tell you whether the job is a small fix or a planned visit.

LockoutsLockout ServicesLockouts at night, keys snapped in the cold, a rental unit where the tenant left and the lock was changed without a key for the owner.Services

Lockouts at night, keys snapped in the cold, a rental unit where the tenant left and the lock was changed without a key for the owner. These pages explain how we handle each, what proof we ask for and what you walk away with.

Lockout Services

Change or rekeyChange or Rekey LocksA mailbox lock that will not turn is a small thing until your mail is inside it.Services

A mailbox lock that will not turn is a small thing until your mail is inside it. We replace mailbox and parcel-box locks, along with the other minor locks around a home: sheds, gates, cabinets and the door to the basement suite.

Change or Rekey Locks

High securityHigh Security LocksUpgrading to high security often does not mean new locks.Services

Upgrading to high security often does not mean new locks. Many quality cylinders retrofit into the deadbolt or lever you already have, so the door keeps its look and gains a mechanism that resists picking, bumping and drilling.

High Security Locks

CommercialCommercial LocksCommercial rekeying is planned around your trading hours and your staff list.Services

Commercial rekeying is planned around your trading hours and your staff list. We come with the cylinders and the pins, change every lock that matters in one visit, and hand over a numbered set of keys with a note of who received each.

Commercial Locks

Car keysCar KeysA working spare key is the simplest protection a driver can have.Services

A working spare key is the simplest protection a driver can have. If yours is lost, damaged or never existed, the spare key duplication page explains how we make one from the key you have or from the vehicle itself.

Bigger photo, sooner job: Emergency Book soon Plan ahead

Car Keys

Sound familiar?

Small things. Big difference.

1 / 3

You stepped out to grab the recycling bin and the door swung shut behind you. Through the glass you can see your keys hanging on the hook by the stairs, exactly where they always are, and the latch has caught.

Home Lockout Service

2 / 3

A cook stepped into the alley with the recycling and the rear door swung shut behind him. The push bar works from inside, but the outside handle has a keyed cylinder and the key is hanging in the kitchen office. The front door is locked too.

Business Lockout Service

3 / 3

The renovation wrapped up in the spring. The crew was good, the kitchen looks right, and the key you handed the foreman on day one was never handed back. Nobody kept track of who on the crew carried it.

Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey

Which fix fits?

IfYou inherited a safe and nobody wrote down the combination.

ThenManipulation or a precise drill-and-repair opening.

Once open, the lock is reset to a combination of your choosing and the safe goes back into service.

IfThe electronic keypad on your safe beeps but will not open.

ThenDiagnose the lock before anything drastic.

A flat battery, a loose cable or a lockout timer are common; a failed lock body is replaced with a matching unit.

IfYou are bringing a safe home and want it anchored.

ThenBolt it to the floor and set the combination.

Anchoring plus a fresh code makes it properly yours.

IfYou pressed the fob at the office door and nothing happened.

ThenCar Lockout Service.

Safety and authorisation frame every car lockout, and both are on your side.

IfAfter fifteen years the blade has worn to a smooth sliver.

ThenCar Key Replacement.

There are two starting points, and the first question on the phone is which one you are in.

IfYou stepped out to grab the recycling bin and the door swung shut behind you.

ThenHome Lockout Service.

Different locks call for different openings, and a lockout visit starts by reading the hardware on your door.

Answering 24/7 in St. Catharines

How a visit goes

Facer Locksmith Specialists

Job ticket · open 24/7

1 Call
Call to discuss your business's keys.
Describe the property, the hardware and what has changed, and the visit starts from what you have seen.
(289) 432-1115 · open 24/7
2 Questions
Listening to the door's history
Has it been forced, does it drag, who has had keys? Those answers tell us whether the frame, the cylinder or the key list needs attention first.
3 On the way
In the van
St. Catharines to Facer, Glenridge, Marsdale, Martindale Heights, Merritton, Montebello, Niagara Gardens, Old Glenridge, Pelham, Ridley Heights, Shipman and Western Hill.
- Cylinder decoder
- Dry graphite or PTFE lubricant
- Key blanks and key cutter
- Broken key extractors
- Lock de-icer
4 Fixed
Testing every key in every lock
Reinforcing what takes the blow. A box strike and three-inch screws into the studs, long hinge screws, and filled holes where the wood has split, before any cylinder is changed.
Testing every key in every lock. Doors open, doors closed, both sides, then a push on the locked door to feel for play. We finish by writing down what was fitted.

Same fees day, night or weekend · on-site assessment preferred

Niagara, Ontario

St. Catharines information

Town: St. Catharines, Niagara, Ontario
In business: 12 years
Hours: Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
Phone: (289) 432-1115
Work: lockouts, change or rekey, high security, commercial
Visits: On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.

What the census means at the door

71%

Older homes. About 71% of homes in St. Catharines were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.

Basement and side entries on older homes were often fitted long after the house was built, with whatever lock was on hand. Bringing those doors up to the standard of the front entry, and onto the same key, is a common and satisfying job.

56%

A mix of homes. Single-detached houses make up about 56% of homes in St. Catharines (2021 Census).

Mixed housing means a locksmith sees a bungalow in the morning and a condo tower in the afternoon. The stocked van has house-door deadbolts, suite-door cylinders and the finishes for each, so neither kind of customer waits for a second visit.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population

Nearby

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Curious about the process?

Advice · (289) 432-1115

Can a frozen lock be opened, and how do I stop it freezing again?

Frozen cylinders open well with patience: lock de-icer or gentle warming melts the ice so the plug turns, and the cylinder is then dried and treated with a dry lubricant that sheds moisture. Hot water is avoided because it refreezes and can crack cold metal. To prevent a repeat, keep a storm door closed over the main lock, fit a keyhole cover on exposed side doors, and carry a small de-icer in your coat or car through the freeze-thaw months.

Can you also open a storm door, garage side door or backyard gate?

Yes. The same skills apply to any residential lock: a storm door that self-latched on the porch, the man-door into the garage, a shed, a gate with a padlock or a keyed latch, and a mailbox or storage locker in a condo building. Tell the locksmith about every opening involved so the right tools are in the van. Several small locks opened in one visit is common, especially after a move when keys were never handed over.

What if the door is stuck rather than the lock?

This is more common than people expect, especially in older houses and at the change of seasons. A door that has swollen, sagged on its hinges or been pushed out of square by thick weatherstripping can pin the bolt against the strike so it will not draw back even with the right key. The locksmith relieves the pressure to free the bolt, then adjusts the strike, hinges or seal so the door closes and locks without a shoulder.

Will the new cylinder fit my existing locks?

Usually. High security cylinders are made in the common formats: key-in-knob and lever, rim, mortise and interchangeable core, and many are designed to drop into popular residential and commercial locks. The locksmith identifies your format and confirms fit before ordering. Where a lock is an odd size or in poor shape, a matching lock body is fitted instead, and the door preparation is reused wherever it is standard.

Open 24/7

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Call us about stronger locks.

Call now · open 24/7(289) 432-1115

On-site assessment preferred
Same fees day, night or weekend
12 years in business

Locksmith in St. Catharines, OntarioA locksmithwho explains things.

What's happening right now?

A small shop that takes doors seriously

Call to discuss your business's keys.

Listening to the door's history

In the van

Testing every key in every lock

What the census means at the door

Nearby

Request a visit