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Whether customers are looking for a mobile locksmith for help with lockouts, broken locks, missing keys, faulty locks, or new smart lock installations, they can call on us. We hope you will call on us.
One place where good security is always needed is at home; your home to be exact. Think about it – you live there, and so do your loved ones. You keep your belongings there, and you return there to rest, relax and recharge. What kind of place would it be if there were strangers coming and going, and rifling through your things at all hours? Not a nice thought is it? Locks and security do their part in keeping your home safe and private. With good residential security you can feel good about returning home for a nice dinner and a good night’s sleep at the end of the day. You can also raise your family, relax with your friends, and even provide a safe haven to raise your pets.
Good security for your Birmingham, AL home gives you privacy as well as security. Even if your belongings are of little monetary value, they are yours and should be protected. For those with more worldly assets this especially applies. Even the most basic homes shelter belongings like furniture, books, jewelry, mementos, electronics, clothing, appliances, cars and other household items of value. You paid good money for these things or they were gifts that you don’t want to part with. Having good residential lock protection can be hugely instrumental in keeping your valuables safe from theft and vandalism. The thought of your personal items being pawned for drug money is nauseating to some and it should be! While no home or building is 100% burglar proof, there are steps that you can take to greatly bolster your home security without spending a lot of money or time in the process.
It’s true; there was a time when many people didn’t lock their doors. Here at Birmingham Locksmith we often hear of how in the “good ole days” folks went into each other’s homes on a regular basis to visit or help run errands or to stay overnight. In today’s reality, this is very rare due to the rise in neighborhood crime like burglaries, home invasions, and drug use. Fortunately, there are affordable and simple ways to make your home more secure and all it takes is a couple of phone calls along with minimal effort on your part. Start with your locks
Most people feel safe with locks on the front and back doors. What they might not realize is that those locks were not installed for better home protection; they are there to fulfill a minimum building requirement. In most cases, these basic locks are easy to bump, pick or smash open. While it’s true that home builders can install better quality locks on their new construction, they consider these an upgrade, much like granite counters, stainless steel appliances and window treatments. While many assume that “a lock is a lock” and they all provide adequate protection, this is simply not the case. Lock bumping is becoming increasingly popular as a simple and fast way to break into residential homes. There are even bump keys that are easy to make and buy over the web, as well as bumping instructions that are sold for “informational purposes only” to anyone with a few dollars that show how to access 90% of door locks in less than 20 seconds. To add insult to injury, lock bumping leaves no trace of forced entry! This makes it doubly difficult to file a police report or insurance claim.
Yes, it’s a good idea to upgrade your locks. Now, don’t freak out; you don’t have to go overboard and pay exorbitant prices for better quality hardware. Call our shop or your favorite Birmingham, AL locksmith and have high security locks installed. These cannot be bumped open, or for that matter, picked, pried or smashed open either! Unlike “regular” locks that are hollow and usually made of tin, high security locks are made with solid brass and steel parts and best of all, they are quite affordable.
If your home doesn’t have a quality deadbolt lock on the door, you need to add one! A solidly installed, good quality deadbolt can frustrate a home intruder or burglar to the point of giving up! Getting past your first lock is one thing, but having to now bypass your deadbolt is often too much of a risk for the crook. In the time it takes to do this, the homeowner has time to call police or even arm themselves!
Rekeying your locks can make a huge difference in your home security. While a rekey does not guarantee crime prevention at your Birmingham, AL home, it does “up” your chances of being safer and better secured. You keep the same locks in a rekey. Only the inside springs and pins are replaced. This act alone renders all previous keys useless, and only the newly issued ones will work. Why is this important? Think of all the key holders that are out there now. These can include you, your family, realtors, property managers, builders, contractors, dog sitters, neighbors and many more. Do you trust all of these people to NOT make a copy of your key or lose it by accident?
Also, rekeying your locks eliminates another possible threat to your residential security; the interior master pins. These pins were part of the original lock installation and were there to benefit the builder and his contractors and vendors who also had copies of the key. Now, they are no longer needed but they do tend to weaken the lock and make it easier to pick or bump open by crooks.
Another good reason to rekey is that your locksmith can service your lock and inspect it while doing the rekey. If it needs service or if the lock itself is not in the best of shape, he can recommend a suitable replacement of equal or greater security value. What better time to inspect the lock than when it’s taken apart?
