Your home is a sacred place. It’s where you get to relax and decompress after a long, hard day at work. It’s a place that you invest money, time, and effort into every single day to maintain. It’s where all your most prized possessions are.
It’s where you and your family live and make lifelong memories together every day. It’s a place that is truly yours and is truly not a house but a home.
That’s why the experts at Meyer’s Local Locksmith are so invested in ensuring that your home is as safe and secure as humanly possible. There is perhaps no worse feeling than the gnawing feeling that your home isn’t as safe as you know it could be; it leads to you second-guessing yourself and worrying about the safety of your home when you’re away.
With the often rapid pace of your day-to-day life, these worries and concerns can be outright detrimental. But with Meyer’s Local Locksmith, it is now easier, faster, and safer than ever before to put those concerns to bed by ensuring the safety and fortitude of your home.
Call a local locksmith to inspect all the locks!
Meyer’s Local Locksmith is a local, family-owned professional locksmith service located in McKinney, TX. With the team at Meyer’s open for business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, they are available to answer your call at any and all hours, whenever you need them most.
By simply calling (469) 922-9966, you can set up an appointment today at no cost to have one of the expert-trained locksmiths at Meyer’s Local Locksmith come out and expect your current locks.
As with any locking mechanism that is constantly in use, locks get worn down after years of use and become increasingly damaged. Not only does this often result in a lock that is difficult to manage, but it also makes your door lock exponentially more susceptible to tampering and external forces. Most locksmiths recommend changing your locks, on average, every seven years.
If your lock has become difficult to work with lately, seems worn-down, or if you’re just uncertain about it, give Meyer’s Local Locksmith a call and leave it to their team of experts to ensure your safety.
Better locks = Better home security
A lock is such a simple thing: just a relatively modest piece of machinery. And yet, it is often the only thing standing between the safety of your home and the forces of the outside world. Your home is your refuge away from the pressures of the external world, and the last thing you need is for anything to violate that sanctity.
That’s why inspecting your locks is so important, and Meyer’s Local Locksmith makes it easy for you. Whereas other larger franchise locksmith companies may sell out their business to any number of workers, Meyer’s Local Locksmith is a family-driven business that solely employs experts of their trade who genuinely care about you, your home, and your belongings.
Reinforcing your entry door strike plate
As important as the locks on your home are, the strike plate is arguably just as critical of a component to your home’s safety and is much more likely to be overlooked. The plate is the latch-tongue or deadbolt-tongue that sits against the door side jamb and holds the lock in place.
In other words, it is the receiving side of the locking equation, with the door plate being what keeps a locked door stationary and from being opened.
Thus, a plate that is worn down can often be just as devastatingly detrimental to a home’s safety as a worn-down lock. No matter how new your actual lock is, if the plate holding it in place isn’t up to par, then the door could just as easily give way. Your entry door plate must be secured to flush completely against the door side jamb.
While this may fall through the cracks with some other locksmiths, the team at Meyer’s Local Locksmith always makes sure to not only check but double-check the safety and security of not only your locks but also the plate.
Never keep the garage door opener in your car
As convenient as it is to have your garage door opener readily at your disposal in your car, it is also a glaring security risk. Regardless of if it is detached or clipped to your internal visor, if your opener is visible inside your car, it acts as an open invitation for someone to attempt breaking into your home.
We may not think of the garage as being an incredibly vulnerable place, but by simply pressing a button, someone could gain access not only to your garage but to your home-at-large by extension. This can be prevented by keeping the garage opener in the house and using a keypad.
Removing and replacing your door handle
Just as the strike plate is a crucial extension of the locking equation, so is the door handle itself. Like locks, these are mechanical devices that see near-constant use for entry doors and thus are even more susceptible to extraneous wear and tear.
The Meyer’s Local Locksmith team knows there are no cutting corners or easy shortcuts when it comes to ensuring the safety of your home. They will inspect your door handles alongside the locks and strike plates and are more than prepared to replace them if need be so that you can sleep soundly, knowing that your home is as safe as it can be.
Eliminating hiding places
Security experts stress that no matter the circumstance, it is never conducive to the safety of your home to leave a key outside, regardless of what hiding place you may be using. Often the first step on a potential burglar’s checklist will be to look in the most cliché of places in an attempt to gain even easier access to your home: under the mat, in a hide-a-key rock, etc.
Defeating bolt cutters
Meyer’s Local Locksmith knows that sometimes your locksmith needs extend beyond your home. If you are keeping any gear or materials outside the house, it is always best to secure them with a lock to prevent any potential theft.
In the event of such concerns, the team at Meyer’s Local Locksmith is more than happy to not only advise you on what kind of locks offer the highest level of security but also to install and ensure the safety of these locks. The most common tool used by petty thieves in situations such as these is bolt cutters, often used to quickly cut through such locks. However, the thicker a lock’s shackle is, the more impenetrable it will be, even to bolt cutters.
When it comes to the safety of your external belongings, such petty thievery is almost always being conducted in a rush. As a result, the best defense is to use a lock that immediately either thwarts or delays their rushed attempts.
Have the locks rekeyed before you move in
You should always have the locks rekeyed when you move into a new home. Regardless of any personal connections or how well you know the previous owners, you can never truly be certain who had access to those keys before you moved in. To ensure your safety, you always want to rekey the locks as quickly as you can once you’ve moved in.
You can set up a quick and easy appointment where one of our locksmiths will happily come out and rekey your locks at your convenience to ensure your peace of mind.
Consider the convenience of smart locks
When replacing locks, one should always consider upgrading to smart locks. In today’s world, one can never be too precautious when it comes to the safety of your home. Modern threats demand a modern response, which is why a smart lock that feeds directly into technologically-advanced security systems can often serve as the best possible defense against burglary and external forces.
At Meyer’s Local Locksmith, they have tons of experience with utilizing a smart lock and setting up a home security system, putting your safety in the best hands possible. We can even integrate a master key system.
Measure the size of your existing cylinder
Identifying the size and diameters of the existing cylinder within your home’s locks is easier than you might think and can help the team at Meyer’s Local Locksmith serve you even more efficiently. When it comes to measuring your cylinder, there are three essential diameters you’re going to want to measure:
Dimension A: External size to center (a measurement of the length between the left-hand edge of the cylinder to the screw-hole in the middle)
Dimension B: Internal size to center (a measurement of the length between the screw-hole in the middle and the right-hand edge of the cylinder)
Dimension C: The overall length (a measurement of the length of the cylinder in its entirety)
Change locks if your keys have been lost or stolen
Whether you think you just dropped your keys somewhere, left them on a desk at work, or fear they may have been stolen, changing the locks may be your best bet if your keys go missing.
Much like when moving into a new house, a lost key means that any number of people could have potentially had access to your keys, even if they are eventually returned. This means that anyone could have made a copy of your key in the meantime, meaning that you can no longer be sure of your home’s safety.
It is always best to be safe rather than sorry! Changing locks is not expensive and will add extra security. With Meyer’s Local Locksmith, it’s an easy, effortless process now that could save you from immense troubles and hardships down the road.
Remove the cylinder fixing screw
To remove the cylinder, you must first remove (or at least loosen) the fixing screw, which is designed to keep the cylinder locked in place. You can easily do this yourself in just a handful of steps.
Simply begin by removing the armored front where the lock sits against the strike plate by unscrewing the Phillips head screws. This will give you access to the inner workings of the mechanism, where one can clearly see the cylinder fixing screw. Here, simply unscrew the fixing screw with a flathead screwdriver until the cylinder is easily removed.
Know the difference between replacing and rekeying
When it comes to changing out your locks, you essentially have two primary options. The first is replacing, which is to have the experts at Meyer’s Local Locksmith completely change your lock in its entirety for a brand new lock. The second is rekeying, which maintains the vast majority of the already-installed lock, and simply sees the locksmith altering the shape of the key that will fit the lock.
If you’re looking to change locks out of specific, pressing safety interests such as having lost your keys or moving into a new home, rekeying should get the job done. However, if the lock is worn down altogether, replacing it is the only thing that will ensure your safety.
Install door reinforcement hardware in the front door
Your front door is the entrance to your home. It is what bids you farewell each morning and what welcomes you home each night. It is also one of the primary targets for external forces. This is why it’s always best to reinforce your front door.
There are larger security systems, such as the professional installation of a smart lock, that Meyer’s Local Locksmith is proud to offer, but there are also more modest touches that go a long way toward fortifying your home.
Something as simple as installing a reinforcing plate, which strengthens the strike plate and ensures that the door is not easily forced open, does a tremendous amount to help keep your front door secure.
Add a security anchor on sliding doors
Sliding glass doors are delightful in that they double as both windows and doors, offering up scenic views of the floral external world to help keep your home feeling homey.
By their very nature, sliding doors lessen the division between your internal and external worlds, which is wonderful but requires added security measures to ensure this is not taken advantage of. Security anchors that act as added measures to keep a sliding door locked and secure go a long way toward keeping your home safe.
Replace broken locks
Just as when your keys are lost or when you move into a new home, you want to replace any locks that are broken as quickly as possible. Not only is a broken lock an outright inconvenience for you, but it’s also dangerous and much more easily susceptible to external forces.
Replacing such broken locks is quick and easy with Meyer’s Local Locksmith.
Pick-proof your deadbolt door lock
A deadbolt lock is already the top of the line in safety, but if you’re looking even further to ensure that your door is resilient against external forces, Meyer’s Local Locksmith is thrilled to offer you options that pick-proof your deadbolt.
Whether that be through adding on internal latches that lock the thumb-turn of the lock, further fortifying it from within the house, or adding on additional reinforcing hardware around the strike plate, Meyer’s Local Locksmith has you and your deadbolt needs covered.
Choose the correct door locks
If all of these options sound a bit overwhelming, do not worry. The experts at Meyer’s Local Locksmith are experts for a reason. They are here to help you make informed choices by accounting for various factors and guiding you to the safety measures that are right for you.
Suggestion: Add a security camera or two
In tandem with the installation of keypad locks (a great way to upgrade front door security), another technologically-advanced and efficient safety measure that Meyer’s Local Locksmith offers is the installation of security cameras.
Security cameras provide the added benefits of allowing you to check on your home security even when you’re not there and document any would-be intruders in high-definition.
Hiding your house keys
The best method to ensure that your house key is not stolen is to always hide it on your person in a safe, non-exposed space. This prevents your key from being taken or lost and lets you personally keep track of it throughout the day, ensuring that you always have in on your person. These small precautionary steps can prevent you from worrying about changing your locks because you lost your key in the first place.
Consider installing new locks on all the doors
If you have overt security concerns for any reason, the best way that Meyer’s Local Locksmith can provide you peace of mind is to replace the locks on all of the doors in your house. In updating the security of your entire home, you can put your mind at ease and no longer worry about safety concerns.
