Lock Re-Keying Kits Illegal in Florida?!

I was in Florida this past week and a half for an unhappy event, and we needed to re-key the locks in my late-mother's house. My sister was calling a locksmith and I said that I could do it for about 1/10th the cost, and it would only take me an hour or so to do eight cylinders. I went to Home Depot to buy lock re-keying kits like I've done many times in California. I couldn't find them on the shelf and when I asked someone they told me that they could only sell me one if I was "licensed." It was too late to have someone send me some kits from another state so we had to have a locksmith re-key the locks.

Is this very common? Was it even true? Is the locksmith lobby so strong that they are able to prevent the sale of re-keying kits? What is the risk in selling such a kit?

Reply to
SMS
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On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:00:57 -0800, SMS wrote Re Lock Re-Keying Kits Illegal in Florida?! :

It cuts into the income of locksmiths. The locksmiths have a powerful lobby in Florida.

Reply to
Caesar Romano

It is the same thing that you can't buy your own casket for burial in some states. Or that only licensed tradesmen can apply for certain building permits in some states.

This is the way things work in this country. A group of people form an organization and pool their money, then pay off the politicians to pass laws which benefit their cause.

If you don't like the law, form a group of consumers, gather up plenty of money, then pay off the politicians to repeal the law.

Should be cheaper at a state level. I read it costs about $165 million to get a law passed with the federal government. But if you are a big oil company or a foreign government, that is chump change...

Reply to
Bill

I would not necessarily take everything you hear from a home depot guy as gospel. It is more likely that they just don't sell them in hopes of selling you a new lock set.

Reply to
gfretwell

First, condolences on your loss.

Would you have been able to buy complete replacement locks? That's what I usually do anyway.

David

Reply to
hibb

It isn't practical or sensible. First, it's very expensive, second, you can't buy eight keyed-alike locks from Home Depot or any other hardware store (you can order on-line). We just needed to secure the house from all the people that had been given keys over the years, not change the lock fixtures for any other reason.

Home Depot will re-key the locks for $5 each which isn't bad, though it's about 3x the cost of doing it yourself and you have to remove all the locks and take them into the store. I would have done this if I had had time, but I had to return home so my sister had a locksmith come do it.

It was actually pretty funny when I got the quotes. One wanted $60 for a service call plus $10 per cylinder. One wanted $25 per cylinder with no charge for the service call.

Since there were eight cylinders we opted for the one with the service call charge. The second locksmith kept calling us back arguing about the cost (next time use caller-ID blocking!), insisting that the fact that he didn't charge for a service call made him cheaper, claiming that no one could do the job for only $10 per cylinder, and warning us to use a qualified company (which is why we went with the one that's been around for 50 years).

Reply to
SMS

Maybe I'm dense, but I don't see what the danger is in selling re-keying kits. A rekeying kit doesn't gain you access to anything, it's just new keys and some pins that you use in the cylinders.

Reply to
SMS

We went to the SmartKey locks by Kwikset. They cost initially, but you can rekey them in ten seconds. We have rentals, so it makes it very nice to be so simple.

Online, you can get anything you want, including pick lock kits, bump key sets, and just about anything any criminal needs. Of course, you as an honest consumer, should be able to find what you need.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

First, condolences on your loss.

Would you have been able to buy complete replacement locks? That's what I usually do anyway.

David

Look at KwikSet SmartKey locks before you buy anything. I'm not usually impressed by anything at HD, but these and the SharkBite copper tubing connectors are the cat's meow.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Aren't Kwikset locks basically just "keep honest people honest" locks? I've heard that they're pretty easy to defeat. They certainly

*feel* less sturdy than Schlage or Medeco, although that's obviously subjective and not really worth anything at all when evaluating...

nate

Reply to
N8N

A few years back, I went to HD in Wyoming to get some 1/2" PEX (~40ft) and the connections to add a hose bibb to a friends home. Where I'm from, HD has all the fittings AND will rent you the "crimper" for $ 10/day.

The staff at HD said that PEX wasn't approved for sale in WY and that they doubted whether I could find any in Cheyenne.

Huh !

Reply to
Rudy

I would like to see the law on this. Maybe it is a local ordinance?..

I cannot stand an HD associate telling me "this is what you need", when I know it is wrong.

Walk in one day and say:

I need to break a door down, really fast.

HD: Sure this 12 lb sledge hammer will work. It even has a Hickory handle.

Reply to
Oren

I'm trying to think of a plausible justification for such a law, and all that comes to mind is burglary tools. There is no definition of "burglary tools" in Florida law, and the prohibition of possessing burglary tools specifically requires intent to commit burglary.

Anyway, I couldn't find any such law by searching the 2009 Florida Statutes for "lock", "locksmith", "rekey".

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Perhaps there is such a rule promulgated by the Florida Division of Corporations. It could be a limit on what a licensed corporation can sell, rather that what a citizen may purchase and possess.

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I recommend that you try to find what you want online.

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Reply to
Smartass

High rate of property turnovers from all the snowbirds that die off, and all the vacation-house repos and walk-aways?

Once the initial round of tradesman visits was over, after I bought this place, I changed all the locks. Schlage from the big-box. Didn't have any problem at all getting 3 deadbolts and doorknobs, 6 cylinders all together, keyed alike. Just look at the little tags on the boxes. Could have gotten several more matching ones if I had wanted. A little scary to see how few different keyings they actually use. For a couple hundred bucks, I could have assembled a key ring that would probably open multiple houses in any recent subdivision around here.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

Most all locks are just to keep honest people honest. A good kick will open many doors. Then the windows are not all that secure.

The main things to look for in a door lock is how well they will hold up over the years and what they look like.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

PEX was just recently approved in California (August 1st). It's possible the HD guy was a straight-shooter - as most people in Wyoming are.

Reply to
HeyBub

For now, those are unproven technology. See what happens in a few years when the locks start to age. I would not trust them.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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I tried that too with the same result. Then I looked at business an professional licensing and couldn't find a requirement for locksmith licenses.

Along the same line after I retired from my real job and being a little bored I ended up peddling at Radio Shlock. A women came and wanted to buy a line cord with a plug at each end. As I tried to explain why it was not a good idea, she said that the guy at HD insisted we had them.

Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

"Ralph Mowery" wrote in news:R5ydncQvxtn54ZHWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

One of the first things I did when I moved into my apartment was to install a reinforcement plate for the door jamb,with screws deep into the doorframe studs.The door itself is steel.

2nd floor,I don't have to worry about windows,but they are aluminum frame and have good latches.
Reply to
Jim Yanik

The one and only time I locked myself out of the house I had access to the garage (attached - but the door to the house was locked). It took me less than 3 minutes to drill the core and open the door. It was an easy decision as I knew I had an extra core and pins that would fit the lock.

Many years before I was locked out of my condo. I called my wife from work (only 3 minutes from where I lived)and had her fax me a copy of the key. I used a pair of nail clippers and a credit card to clone the key in plastic. I inserted the plastic key and turned the lock with a pocket knife to gain access...

My middle name is Macgyver.

Reply to
Ned Flanders

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