Master Key Systems for Buildings and Businesses
A master key system lets each person open only the doors they need, while one key, held by the owner or manager, opens all of them. No more fifty keys on a ring in the office drawer.
Who it helps
Small apartment buildings and fourplexes, of which the Valley has thousands. Office suites with a few tenants. Shops with a back room, an office and a storeroom. A church or school with classrooms and a supply closet. A house split into rooms for rent.
If you are carrying a separate key for every door you manage, or you hand out a master key to staff because there is no other way, a proper system fixes that.
It also saves time on the worst days. When a water heater leaks in unit 3 at night, the manager opens it with the key already on their ring, instead of digging through a drawer of unlabeled keys while the floor floods.
How it is laid out
Think of it in levels. Each door has its own key that opens only that door. A master key opens a group of them, like all units or all offices. For larger places, a grand master opens everything, and sub-masters cover one floor or one department. A maintenance person might get a key for the boiler room and laundry and nothing else.
We sit down with you, list the doors and the people, and draw up who opens what before we touch a lock.
Setting it up
In many cases your existing locks can stay. We rekey their cylinders to the new system, so the cost is in the pins and keys, not new hardware. Locks that are worn or mismatched get replaced as part of the job. Every key gets stamped so you can tell them apart, and you get a key chart that shows which key opens which door.
Keep that chart somewhere safe. It is the map to your building. When you add a door later, the chart tells us exactly how to fit it in without disturbing anyone's key.
Keeping control of it
A master key that walks out the door is a problem for every lock in the system. For buildings where that matters, we can build the system on restricted key blanks that cannot be copied at a hardware store. When a tenant leaves, we rekey just their unit without disturbing anyone else's key. Text (657) 478-8248 to start planning.
What to list before we plan your system
Often needed with this
Common questions
Do I need to replace all my locks?
Usually not. If the existing locks are in good shape and from compatible brands, we rekey them into the system. Worn or mismatched locks get replaced. We will tell you which is which before we start.
What happens when a tenant moves out?
We rekey only that unit's cylinder. The new tenant gets a new key, and your master key keeps working on it. No other tenant is affected, and nobody else needs new keys. It is a short visit, often done between move-out and the cleaning crew.
Can the gate and mail room be on the same system?
Common doors like the gate, laundry and mail room can usually be set so every tenant key opens them. Mailboxes are a special case for USPS-serviced boxes, but the tenant's own box lock can often be included.
Can someone copy the master key?
On a standard system, a determined person can get it copied. That is why we offer restricted keyways for master systems, where blanks are only cut for the owner. For any building with more than a few units, we recommend it.