Commercial Locksmith Guide for Lidcombe Businesses

A lock on a business works far harder than a lock on a house. A shopfront door on a busy strip may be opened hundreds of times a day. An office door may be used by dozens of staff, contractors and cleaners. A warehouse roller door may be the only thing between the street and a full stock room. When these locks fail, they rarely fail politely. They fail at closing time, on a Friday night, or on the morning of a big delivery.

This guide is written for owners and managers of shops, offices, warehouses and small commercial buildings around Lidcombe, Auburn, Homebush and Strathfield. It covers the locks you are likely to have, the warning signs before they fail, how to keep control of keys, and how to plan lock work so it does not interrupt trading.

The locks most businesses rely on

Shopfront and aluminium door locks

Most shopfronts use narrow aluminium doors with glass panels. Because the frame is thin, they use narrow-stile locks: a slim lock body inside the door frame, a cylinder outside, and often a thumb turn or second cylinder inside. These locks are compact and work hard, so their internal parts wear faster than residential hardware.

Mortice locks and commercial latches

Solid office doors, back doors and older shopfronts often have mortice locks. Commercial-grade mortice locks are designed for heavy use, but they still need adjustment as doors and frames move.

Door closers

A door closer is the arm at the top of the door that pulls it shut. A closer that is badly adjusted either slams the door, which damages the lock and frame, or fails to pull it fully shut, so the latch never catches.

Roller door and garage locks

Roller doors on warehouses and loading docks are usually secured by a lock on the door itself, a keyswitch for a motorised door, or padlocks on slide bolts. Keyswitches are exposed to weather and are a common failure point.

Padlocks and cabinets

Gates, cages, cabinets and bins often rely on padlocks and cam locks. They are easy to forget until a key goes missing.

Warning signs before a commercial lock fails

Most commercial locks give warning. Look out for:

• staff having to lift, push or pull the door to lock it;
• a key that is stiff or needs jiggling;
• a latch that sometimes fails to catch when the door closes;
• a door that slams loudly, or closes slowly and stops short;
• a visible gap between the door and frame at the lock;
• a roller door keyswitch that only works on the second or third try.

Every one of these is cheaper to fix during a quiet hour than after the lock has failed with the shop unsecured. See lock repair.

Key control: the problem most businesses ignore

Over a few years, keys to a business tend to multiply. Staff come and go, contractors borrow keys, cleaners are given a set, and copies are made at the key kiosk down the road. Before long, nobody knows exactly who can get in.

Rekey after staff leave

When someone who held keys leaves, rekeying the locks they had access to is the simplest response. It retires their keys without replacing the hardware. See lock rekeying.

Keep a key register

A simple list of every key, its number, which doors it opens and who holds it makes it easy to know when rekeying is needed. Ask staff to sign for keys and return them when they leave.

Consider a restricted key system

Standard keys can be copied by anyone. A restricted key system uses a key profile that can only be copied with the business's authorisation, usually through a nominated locksmith. It costs more than standard cylinders up front, but it gives the business real control. See security locksmith.

Key one door for each level of access

Many small businesses benefit from a simple arrangement: one key for the front door, one for the stockroom or office, and the owner holding both. This limits what a lost key exposes.

Planning lock work around trading

Commercial lock work is easiest when it fits around your hours. Because we are open 7 days until midnight, much of our commercial work happens after a shop closes, so customers are not disturbed and the business can open as normal next day.

A few tips:

• Book planned work rather than waiting for a failure.
• Tell us about access, such as loading zones, car parks and security guards.
• Have someone with authority available. We need to confirm the owner, leaseholder or an authorised manager approved the work.
• Let us know about alarms, so they can be set or unset while we work.

Lease responsibilities

If you lease your premises, the lease may say who is responsible for doors and locks. Some leases make the tenant responsible for maintenance; others leave major items with the landlord. Check before arranging work, and keep the landlord informed if you change locks, as many leases require them to hold a key.

Fire exits and safe egress

Many commercial doors are exit doors as well as entry doors. Building and fire safety rules generally require that people can get out quickly without a key. That affects which locks can be fitted to exit doors. We will not fit hardware that stops people getting out of a building safely, and if a door is part of a fire safety system we recommend involving whoever manages the building's fire safety.

After a break-in

If your business has been broken into, call the police first and follow their instructions. Once the scene is released, the priority is securing the premises. We can repair or replace forced locks and, where keys may have been taken, rekey other doors. Our after a break-in guide covers the steps.

What we do and do not do

We work on mechanical locks, keys, cylinders, door closers, roller door keyswitches and padlocks. We do not install alarms, CCTV or electronic access control systems, and we will tell you so if that is what you need.

Examples from around Lidcombe

A café near the station might have an aluminium shopfront door whose latch has started to stick, with staff pulling the door hard every night to lock it. Replacing the narrow-stile lock and adjusting the closer one evening after close stops the problem before it becomes a late-night lockout.

An office above the shops might have had keys handed out for years. Rekeying the entry and moving to a key register gives the owner a clean start.

A warehouse on the industrial side of the suburb might have a roller door keyswitch that has corroded. Replacing it and keying it to match the side door simplifies the key ring.

Tax invoices and records

Every commercial job we do comes with an itemised tax invoice showing the business name, the address, the work done and the parts supplied. Keep these with your key register; they make insurance claims and lease handovers much simpler.

A quick checklist for business owners

• Do all your external doors lock without force?
• Does every door closer shut the door fully without slamming?
• Do you know who holds every key?
• Have you rekeyed since the last person with keys left?
• Can everyone get out quickly in an emergency?
• Do you have a locksmith's number saved before you need it?

Talk to us

We work with shops, offices and warehouses across Lidcombe, Auburn, Berala, Regents Park, Homebush and Strathfield. Call 02 4503 6922 to describe your premises, or request a quote. We are open 7 days, 7:00 AM to 12:00 AM. Read more about our commercial locksmith service and our lock replacement work.