Answers to the questions Rockhampton locals ask us most. If yours isn’t here, call (07) 4887 4117.
Get somewhere safe and well lit, then call for an ETA and a price. If you feel unsafe, or anyone is at risk, call 000 first.
Almost never. Replacing glass, especially safety glass or a sliding door panel, usually costs more than a lockout, and the house can’t be locked until it’s fixed.
Leave it. Digging at it with a pin or screwdriver usually pushes it further in or damages the lock. A locksmith can extract it and cut a new key, often from the broken pieces.
Rekeying changes the pins inside your existing lock so it takes a new key and old keys stop working. Replacing swaps the whole lock. Rekeying is cheaper when the lock is in good condition.
A key system where copies can only be cut by the locksmith who supplied it, with written authority from the owner. It stops staff or tenants getting copies cut at a kiosk.
A deadlock’s bolt can’t be pushed back without a key, unlike a spring latch. Most insurers recommend them on external doors, and they make forced entry much harder.
Fine for a shed or internal door. On external doors, a better quality lock is harder to pick or force and lasts longer in heat, dust and humidity.
Make, model and year, the rego, and proof you own the vehicle, such as your licence and registration papers.
Most car keys have a transponder chip or remote that has to be programmed to the car’s immobiliser, which takes specialist equipment. A house key is only cut.
Normally only with the owner’s agreement, in an emergency, or with a tribunal order. Tenants experiencing domestic and family violence can change the locks without permission. The Residential Tenancies Authority website has the full rules.
Since 1 September 2024, Queensland’s minimum housing standards require working locks or latches on external windows and doors that can be reached without a ladder.
Ask for their licence number when you book and when they arrive, then check it on the Office of Fair Trading licence register. Queensland locksmiths are licensed as security equipment installers.
Some operators quote only the call-out fee on the phone, then add labour and parts on site. Ask for the call-out fee and the likely total before they come, and agree the final price before work starts.
Call (07) 4887 4117 for answers and a quote. Locked out right now? Calling is faster than the form.
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