Quick answer:
- Keying alike puts every compatible lock on one key, in a single visit.
- If different people need different access, a small master plan is better.
- Mismatched brands are the usual obstacle, and the fix is matching cylinders.
Why Multi-Building Properties End Up Like This
This is a particularly Albuquerque problem. Older homes in the North Valley, Los Ranchos, and the South Valley often sit on larger lots where a casita, a shop, or a second garage got added years apart, each with whatever hardware was cheapest that year. Add a courtyard gate and a shed and you are carrying five keys and guessing at three of them.
Nobody planned it. It accumulated. And it usually gets worse at the moment you buy the place, because the previous owner hands over a coffee can of keys and no idea which is which.
What Keying Alike Actually Means
Keying alike means re-pinning several different lock cylinders so that one single key operates all of them. The hardware stays on the doors. We are changing the pin configuration inside each cylinder so they all answer to the same key.
It is the same rekeying process used on a single door, just applied across the property in one visit, and it is considerably cheaper than buying matched hardware for every building. For most homeowners with a handful of outbuildings, this is the right answer and the end of the story.
When You Want a Master Plan Instead
One key for everything is convenient, but it is the wrong choice if different people need different access. The common cases here:
- The casita is rented out, so the tenant should reach the casita and the gate but not your house or shop
- A gardener or pool service needs the gate only
- Family stays in the guest house seasonally and you would rather not reissue house keys
- The workshop holds tools you do not want casually accessible
That is a small master key system: you carry one key that opens everything, while each other key opens only what that person needs. It is the same idea businesses use, scaled down to a residential property. The master key systems guide explains the hierarchy in more detail.
The Obstacle Is Usually Brand Mix
The one thing that stops a clean keyed-alike job is incompatible keyways. A Kwikset entry, a Schlage deadbolt, and an unbranded gate cylinder cannot all take the same key as they stand, because the key blank itself is a different shape.
When that happens there are two honest options: replace the odd cylinders with ones matching the rest, which is usually a small part cost rather than a whole new lock, or group the property into two keys instead of one. We will tell you which applies to your property before starting, not after.
Worth doing at move-in. If you have just bought the place, keying alike and a full exterior rekey are the same visit. Doing both at once costs less than doing them separately, and it retires every key the previous owner handed around. See the new home security checklist.
What a Visit Looks Like
We walk the property first and list every lock, including the ones people forget: the gate, the shed, the garage side door, the pedestrian gate behind the carport. Then we tell you what can be keyed alike as it stands, what needs a matching cylinder, and what it comes to.
Most residential properties are finished in a single visit, and you leave with one or two keys that work everything. Call (505) 818-0720 or request service online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can every lock on my property be keyed to one key?
Every lock with a compatible keyway can. Where brands are mixed, some cylinders may need swapping for matching ones first. We check what you have and tell you before any work starts.
Is one key for everything less secure?
Not in itself, because each lock is as secure as it was before. The real consideration is who holds that key. If different people need different access, a small master plan is the better fit.
Can you include the gate and the shed?
Yes, and they are worth including. Gates and sheds are the locks most often left on a separate forgotten key, and gate hardware has its own quirks covered in our gate and courtyard locks guide.
Do you have to replace the locks to do this?
Usually not. Keying alike re-pins the cylinders you already have. Replacement only comes up when a lock is worn out or its keyway cannot match the rest.
Need a locksmith in Albuquerque? Call Just In Time Locksmith at (505) 818-0720 for fast, local, upfront-priced service, or request service online. 24/7 across the metro.