Keyed alike locks

[champ222]

Hi All

I'm in the process of choosing some new locks for the house. i want to replace the three, front, back, and patio door. Ive seen lots of comments about having the locks all keyed alike, so you only have one key for everything. While this sounds convenient. If you lose a key, would you then have to replace all the locks in the house?

I get that you could just get a replacement key and not worry about it, but it is possible someone could figure out where you live if they saw you drop it in a local pub for example.

I'm probably over thinking it, but the kids will want a key one day... what did you do?

thanks

 

[ci_newman]

Front seperate, back and patio doors the same?

 

[champ222]

yeah i did wonder that... rarely use the patio door anyway, so maybe i could just leave the key off my keys which would help reduce the number i have to carry around...

 

[Simon42]

I have 11 Avocet ABS cylinders all keyed alike so a significant cost and have used the same key for several homes (refitting original cylinders before moving of course)

Simple plan - never lose a key and in 35 years we haven't

However if we did ever lose a key then I would replace all cylinders, but the day to day advantage of one key is worth it.

 

[gc123]

i went keyed alike for the rear french doors and seperate for the front door...having now just fitted a enclosed porch with french doors that was supplied with seperate keys it now is starting to get annoying faffing around finding which one works which always get the wrong one first. so they will be keyed the same soon i guess

 

[LuckyBenski]

Are you likely to lose one key? Or lose your keyring with all 3 keys on anyway?

Seems like you'd end up replacing all 3 either way.

FWIW I discovered my back door (down locked side alley) opens with my front door key. Was renting here for at least a couple of years before I found out, before that I just didn't have a key! So yep, just the one key is dead handy...

 

[samcat]

For house keys, put a round dog tag on it with just your (mobile) phone number. This has got my lost keys back to me when I lost them once many moons ago!

We are doing keyed alike, as currently I feel like a jailer if I take the house keys out (5 big keys!)
We put the patio on ABS Avocet, with a finger twist lock on the inside. This is so good and has saved us leaving a key in the inside of that door, would happily do this again.

 

[the-evaluator]

We've got the front door, patio doors, bifold doors and shed padlock all keyed alike. It's extremely convenient.

 

[Dandle]

We have keyed alike locks. My inlaws lost the key once in the park so I had to get all six locks reyed coded with new keys, you just send the locks in though and they can use the existing housings and repin them. Just make sure you keep the locks you remove in case you need to refit them in such a case.

 

[samcat]

We've got the front door, patio doors, bifold doors and shed padlock all keyed alike. It's extremely convenient.

My goal is 1 key for all doors into the house and garage.

1 key to rule them all.

 

[Werewolf]

I went with keyed alike a few years back (Avocet ABS) as I got fed up with 4 keys and having to fumble for the right one every time I went to the garage or the patio door etc.
I was actually mildly disappointed I couldn't get a lock for the shed, or main garage door that used the same key*.

IIRC it actually worked out slightly cheaper than non keyed alike as I only needed 7 keys rather than ~20 (one to remain in/near each house lock, one each for the adults, and one spare).

I've never managed to lose a house key in the last 30 odd years I've had one, although if I gave my sister one I'd half expect it to be lost within a week


*So I only went from 6 keys to 3, but at least they're all obviously different in look and feel.

 

[Abyss]

I went keyed-alike on the basis that the benefit day-to-day far outweighed the likelihood of losing a key and having to replace them all.

Ironically within a month of doing so my sister's house was broken into and they took all the keys including one for our house. Whilst it's unlikely they'd ever be able to associated the key with the house I changed them anyway as my wife felt uncomfortable knowing there was a key to our house unaccounted for.

Personally I think the best option is one key for the front door that you can give to family / neighbours if required and keyed-alike for everything else.