Grand Opening: Up to 20% Off. Valid for the grand opening period through December 31, 2026. One offer per job. Offers cannot be combined. No discount on emergency, lockout, or after-hours service, car keys / automotive, or service calls.
A small house system: one master, a few change keys, the garage included
A residential master system stays small. One master, change keys, the deadbolts, and a pin kit are enough for a house, a guest suite, or a few rentals. The tree is kept short. The garage is rekeyed into the plan if it shared the old key. Keys are labeled. You are told, in plain words, what the master opens. A master that opens a tenant's private room by mistake, unlabeled keys, a forgotten garage, and a tenant who copied an unrestricted key are the usual regrets.
Use it when a household or a handful of rentals needs a landlord key that does not match every resident's key. A commercial tree for an office is the other master-key service. Sketch who lives behind which door.
Labels, tenant copies, and a master that opens too much of the house
A short chart, labeled keys, the garage if it was on the old key, and a spoken explanation of the master are included. A restricted patent keyway is optional and quoted apart. The chart and the key count are the record. We do not hide a master that also opens a bedroom you meant to keep private.
English basements and backyard cottages in DC are the doors that get left off family master systems. We ask about them. A rental in Maryland or Virginia with an unrestricted keyway can still be copied at a kiosk. If that matters, the conversation shifts to a restricted cylinder instead of a bigger pile of brass keys.
Frequent questions
How small is small enough for a house master?
A master and a change key per unit or per suite, plus the openings you listed. If the chart needs a legend nobody will read, it has become a commercial system and should be drawn that way.
Why pull the garage into the same job?
Because it usually carries the old key. Leaving it means the person you just locked out of the house still opens the garage and the door inside it.
What does a label need to say?
Which door, not a color code only you remember. 'Basement tenant' beats a dot of nail polish. Unlabeled keys get copied and handed to the wrong person.
Can the resident copy their change key at a hardware store?
On an open keyway, yes. If that is a problem for the rental, say so before we pin it. The fix is a restricted keyway, not a promise that people will not copy brass.