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It is ten to nine, three staff are on the sidewalk with their coffees, and the key that has opened the glass front door for six years will not turn. The cylinder feels gritty, the door is locked, and the first customer is already parking.
Locksmith in Chestnut HillsCalm handson your door
Call now · open 24/7(289) 804-7704What's happening right now?
Locked out
Safely, right now
- Wait somewhere safe and warm: a neighbour's, your car, a coffee shop.
- Don't break a window or pry the door. It adds damage without getting you in sooner.
- Have a photo ID with your address ready if you can.
Key broke in the lock
Safely, right now
- Don't push the broken piece back in or try the lock again.
- Keep the piece you still have. It helps cut a new key.
Lock won't turn
Safely, right now
- Stop turning hard: a key that bends or snaps makes the job bigger.
- Don't spray oil or glue into it, and don't pour hot water on it in the cold.
Lost keys
Safely, right now
- If your address was with the keys, treat the lock as known to whoever finds them.
- Don't leave a spare key anywhere outside while you wait, under the mat or elsewhere.
A lock problem is rarely only a lock problem. It is a door that swells shut in a damp week, a key that snapped on a cold morning, a tenant who left without handing anything back. In Chestnut Hills we listen first, explain the options, and do tidy work you can see before we drive off.
Request a visit
Same fees day or night · 16 years in business
The fix, explained · Chestnut Hills
What is the door doing?
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceThe key slides in and turns all the way round, but the bolt stays put.
The fix
A home lockout service is a visit whose whole purpose is to get you back inside your own home when the door is locked against you. The locksmith first confirms you have the right to be there, usually by matching photo identification to the address or seeing a lease, deed or property-management record.
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceIt is ten to nine, three staff are on the sidewalk with their coffees, and the key that has opened the glass front door for six years will not turn.
The fix
A business lockout service reopens commercial premises when the door is locked and nobody on site can open it. The locksmith begins by confirming that the person asking for entry has authority to act for the business, through identification and a document or a phone call that ties them to the premises.
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionYou were locking up on the way out when the key broke in the lock.
The fix
Keys break for a reason, and finding that reason is half the visit. A brass key wears thinnest at its deepest cut, and after years of turning it fatigues there until a cold morning or a stiff bolt finishes it.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairThe shop's aluminum door has a bent meeting stile and the hookbolt is jammed half out.
The fix
In a rental or condo the repair involves more than one set of hands. A tenant reports the break-in to the landlord or property manager, who normally arranges the work, because landlords are responsible for repairs and both sides have rules about changing locks and sharing keys.
Call (289) 804-7704Request a visit Break-In Damage Lock Repair
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningYou are inside, the deadbolt is thrown, and the thumb-turn will not budge.
The fix
Many jammed locks are not lock problems at all. Wood doors swell in humid weather and shrink in dry winter air, hinges loosen and let the door drop, and a strike plate that was fine in spring is a few millimetres out by autumn.
Call (289) 804-7704Request a visit Seized & Jammed Lock Opening
EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyThe spare under the planter by the side door is gone.
The fix
How much a lost key matters depends on what was lost with it. A ring that dropped into a lake on a canoe trip tells nobody where it fits, so the rekey is a tidy precaution.
Call (289) 804-7704Request a visit Lost Keys — Same-Visit Rekey
- 16years in business
- 24/7open, every day
- Same feesday, night or weekend
- On siteassessment preferred
Request a security walkthrough in Chestnut Hills
Lock work makes brass shavings, sawdust and small parts that roll under furniture. In Chestnut Hills homes we lay a drop sheet, catch what falls, and vacuum before we go. The door gets wiped down, the old keys are handed back or taken away as you prefer, and the only sign we were there is a lock that turns without complaint.
Toronto, Baby Point, Humber Bay, Humber Valley, Humberside, Lambton Mills, Old Mill, Six Points and The Kingsway
Identity checked, politely. For openings and key work we confirm you have the right to be there. We explain why we ask, and we ask everyone.
Work you can watch. There is nothing hidden about what we do. Stand beside us, ask questions, and we will show you what the lock looks like inside.
Clean hands, clean floor. We put down a mat where there is drilling, wipe the hardware down and leave the area as we found it, only with a working lock.
Call to discuss your business's keys: (289) 804-7704
Chestnut Hills
Locksmith services · Chestnut Hills
For people in Chestnut Hills who like to know before they call: these pages describe each lock service in detail, from the routine rekey to the less common safe opening or master key design. They explain the steps, the parts involved and the decisions you may be asked to make on the day.
Bigger photo, sooner job: Emergency Book soon Plan ahead
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceIt is ten to nine, three staff are on the sidewalk with their coffees, and the key that has opened the glass front door for six…
EmergencyBroken Key ExtractionYou were locking up on the way out when the key broke in the lock.
Vintage Mortise Lock Service
Gate & Building Entry Locks
Safe Opening & Combination Change
Plan aheadSafe Installation & Servicing
Commercial-Grade Lock Replacement
Spare Car Key Duplication
Ignition Lock Repair
Sound familiar?
Chestnut Hills
2 / 9
The padlock on the shed has been stiff all summer. Today the key twisted, cracked at the tip, and left the end buried deep in the keyway. The rest came out in your hand, and the padlock is still closed.
3 / 9
The old skeleton key still fits the keyhole, but it now needs a jiggle, a lean on the door and a little luck before the bolt moves. Last week it took three tries. You have one key and no idea where a second could come from.
4 / 9
Between the front gate, the side gate and the one behind the shed, there are three different padlocks, three different keys, and a growing pile of duplicates in a kitchen drawer that nobody can match to the right lock anymore.
5 / 9
The new manager took over the shop last month and only now needs the back-office safe open, but the combination the previous owner was supposed to leave in writing never turned up anywhere in the handover file.
6 / 9
A community group counts the weekend's raffle and bake-sale cash on a kitchen table, then carries it home in a tote bag until the bank opens Monday, because there has never been anywhere safer to leave it.
7 / 9
Head office wants every branch keyed alike under one system, and half the locations are still running whatever lockset the original contractor happened to install years ago.
8 / 9
A lockout last month ended with a locksmith opening the door and going home, and the same single key has been carried ever since with nothing behind it. The relief of getting back in faded within a week into the same exposure.
9 / 9
The key turned the engine off in the driveway and now refuses to come back out. Wiggling it, pushing the shifter through every gear again, even leaning gently on the wheel; the barrel keeps holding on to it regardless.
Toronto, Ontario
Chestnut Hills information
Vintage Mortise Lock Service, Business Lockout Service, Spare Car Key Duplication, Broken Key Extraction, Gate & Building Entry Locks, Safe Installation & Servicing, Safe Opening & Combination Change, Commercial-Grade Lock Replacement and Ignition Lock Repair
- Town
- Chestnut Hills, Toronto, Ontario
- In business
- 16 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 804-7704
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
58%
Older homes. About 58% of homes in Toronto were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Where housing is mostly older, many entries still have only a knob lock and no deadbolt at all. Adding one is a straightforward job on a solid wood door, and it is the single upgrade that changes most for a house of this kind.
23%
Single-detached houses make up about 23% of homes in Toronto (2021 Census).
In buildings, the suite door often has a closer and a heavy frame, and the deadbolt sits in a metal or metal-clad door. A locksmith fitting or rekeying one brings the tools and cylinders that suit that construction rather than a wooden house door.
Ask us anything about locks
What is a restricted keyway and is it worth having for a business?
A restricted or patented keyway is one whose blanks are supplied only through the manufacturer's authorised channels, so duplication is controlled rather than available at an ordinary counter, though the exact authorisation step varies by program and is not always a signed letter. For a company with staff turnover, cleaners and contractors, it means the keys in circulation are far easier to track. It can be introduced during a rekey, on the exterior doors only or across the whole premises, and works alongside a key register.
Will extracting the piece damage my lock?
Extractor tools grip the key, not the lock, and are meant to leave the pins, springs and plug as they were: hooks and spirals ride in the keyway grooves beside the fragment and draw it out the way the key travels. It is not certain, though; a deeply lodged fragment or a prior failure can still leave a lock, especially a vehicle cylinder, needing further work. Damage most often comes from what happens before the locksmith arrives, mainly tweezers, screwdrivers and glue, which is why leaving the keyway alone matters.
Can the work be done with the lock left in the door?
Rarely, and it is not the better route. Almost everything that fails is inside the case, and the case only opens once it is out of the pocket, which takes a few minutes and leaves no mark. Working through the keyhole with an unapproved or over-applied spray tends to wash out what little lubricant should stay and gums the levers later. Removing the case, cleaning it properly and refitting it is the repair that lasts.
What actually happens during a gate or building entry lock visit?
The locksmith first watches the gate or door move and checks the hardware fitted to it, then works out whether the issue sits in the lock, the closer, the hinges or the alignment of the frame itself. Whatever combination is found, the relevant piece is adjusted, rekeyed or replaced, and the whole assembly is cycled repeatedly afterward to confirm it closes, latches and locks the same way every time. Any keys involved are cut and tested before the visit is considered complete.
Open 24/7
Request a visit
Request a security walkthrough in Chestnut Hills
Call now · open 24/7(289) 804-7704- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 16 years in business