You have no idea how many keys to your new home are out there. Previous owners, their family, agents, cleaners, contractors, the last set of tenants. Here's the order we'd tackle it in.
1. Rekey every exterior lock on day one
Rekeying is the fastest way to invalidate every key in circulation. Ask to have them keyed alike so one key opens the front, side and back doors — fewer keys means fewer copies floating around later.
2. Check what grade of hardware you inherited
Builder packages often use the lowest grade available. A deadbolt with a full one-inch throw and a hardened insert is a meaningful upgrade on any door that faces the street or a side yard.
3. Upgrade the strike plates
Most forced entries defeat the frame, not the lock. Long screws into the framing behind the jamb, plus a reinforced strike, change the amount of force required dramatically. It is the cheapest security improvement in the house.
4. Don't forget the garage and the interior door to it
The door between the garage and the house is an exterior door in security terms. It should have a deadbolt, and the garage side door should be keyed on the new key too.
5. Secure the sliders and basement windows
- Add a secondary foot bolt or a track blocker to patio doors
- Check that sliding panels can't be lifted out of the track
- Make sure basement window latches actually engage
If it's a condo
Check your declaration or with management before changing a suite lock — many buildings require a specific cylinder or that management holds a key for emergency access. Rekeying to the building's system is usually still possible.
