You just bought a home. Or you just tossed your roommate. You fired your cleaning lady, or an employee at your business. It’s time to rekey your locks! How much is a rekey? This post will give you the information you need to understand the rekeying process, and the costs associated with it. Read more
Best DIY Home Security Systems With No Monthly Contracts
Home security and alarms have always been a consideration to protect your home, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Luckily, there are some very good DIY security systems in this category that promise to provide a complete security cover around your home and protect it around the clock.
If you are looking for a home security system, we’ve given our five best home security system recommendations here. All of them are superior quality products with a wide range of security features. You can go through the details and technical specifications of each product to see which is the one you that serves your needs best.
These products are easy to install and operate. They don’t require a technician to install them; you can do it yourself within minutes. If you are more comfortable with a professional installation, just call ACME Locksmith or your local locksmith shop. We are eager to assist. Read more
Installing a door lock can be rather complex, but with the right guidance, any homeowner can install a door lock. In this article we teach you how to prepare a door for a fresh installation of a new door lock (that is, how to drill the door). Read more
The security needs of home and commercial establishments have undergone tremendous change over the years. Today, companies and homeowners are confronted with complicated issues related to protecting door entry into their property by way of bypassing locks through picking, lock bumping, or forced entry.
Who Makes the Best Locks?
To put the user back in control of their property, leading global lock makers have developed and designed a wide range of high security, technology-intensive, and innovative products that address the evolving needs effectively. Besides, re-engineering door locks, superb designing and craftsmanship, and innovative solutions, today’s global lock-industry players have come through a series of mergers and acquisitions. There has been a consolidation of brands at the top level resulting in a few powerful and truly global lock brands.
If you are in the market to find the best door locking solution for your home or office, here is a list of 6 best door lock brands. This should give you a fair idea of the kind of products, which are available in the market, and what to expect from them. Read more
What to do after a Home Burglary – Locksmith Recommended
Even with the best home security setup, your home can still be robbed. Door locks and alarms are meant to deter burglars and encourage them to look at other houses instead of yours. Most often that’s enough to protect your home, but sometimes it is not. Read more
How to Reinforce an Entry Door, Affordably, in 6 Easy Steps
Your home protects some of the most important things in your life: your family and your possessions. But the main line of home defense, the door, can be bypassed in a number of ways and as quickly as 5 seconds when not reinforced.
To protect what’s inside of your home by reinforcing the door, address the main points of weakness in your exterior doors: the frame, the locks, and the door’s edge.
Outdoor Gate Locking Mechanisms – How Best to Lock a Gate
A Mechanical, Keyless Gate Lock Option
Residential, community and commercial gates can be secured in a variety of ways. Which is best depends on the type of gate you have, what you are trying to achieve by locking the gate and your budget. Your options to lock a gate are padlocks, standard door locks, keyless locks and keyed special gate locks.Read more
Padlocks come in different sizes, with different ways to open and with different levels of security. They can be priced from just a few dollars to several hundreds of dollars. But which is the best padlock for you? Over the course of 20 years as a locksmith business we definitely have an opinion on the subject.
For those wanting our top picks, our recommended best padlocks are:
Lock Tip #1 – Door Not Closing Correctly – Locks Work Better with Lipstick
Is your door not closing? Do you find you have to pull the door harder for it to latch? Or maybe lift up on the door so it latches? The problem is a misaligned strike.
DIY Home Security Products You Didn’t Know Existed but Will Love.
As a locksmith I see new home security products frequently, most of them don’t stand the test of time and fade away, but there are a few that I really like because home owners can realize their value immediately to help protect their homes and families. These DIY security products are of the do-it-yourself variety and easy for most homeowners to take care of. If you do need help, your local locksmith should be more than willing to assist.
We’ve published several blog posts in the past about why we like the locksmith versions of deadbolts over the big-box store locks. We are sticking by that article and maintain that the deadbolts sold by locksmiths are better in security and safety. Manufactures are just cutting too many corners to keep the big-box store prices down. But, we recognize some people want the most affordable lock solution, as opposed to the most secure. There is such a thing as “secure enough” for many, and lets face it, residential locks are easily available while the lock versions carried by locksmiths are not.
What are the best home deadbolts?
ACME Locksmith recommends the following, generally available deadbolts: Read more
As a professional locksmith company serving the Arizona market for over 20 years, we’ve seen product come and go. But we do really like the new home electronic, keyless deadbolts. Let’s cut to the chase. Which are the best electronic deadbolts?
Our recommended best home electronic deadbolts are:
There has always been a big hole in product offerings in the safe industry–small yet secure safes. So customers with small spaces have always had to choose between size or security. It’s just plain hard to build security into a small safe and keep the price point down. Anytime someone walked into our shop and said, “I want a small safe, but it has to be fire rated and burglary rated,” I knew I was in for trouble. We didn’t have any, no one did. But there is a big demand for a small yet secure safe, especially for jewelry.
Now, we have an solution we can be proud of. The first affordable, small home safe we carry that has a 3/8 inch solid steel plate in the door, inner locking bolts, anti-punch bolt work, and more. Though small, this safe is burglary rated and is built as tough as the larger safes. The security features are incredible! Read more
Keyless entry has made it’s why to the residential market. There are a number of good home electronic locks out there, our favorite is from Yale (shown below). The Yale lock is sleek, has a beautiful look, secure, and Read more
I’m the first to admit it, our company can be a pain. It’s true. But this, my friends, is a good thing.
When you call us for a car unlock or a house unlock, we WILL ask you to prove that you have rights to be in the property. Is the title available and in your name? Does the registration match your drivers license? Does your drivers license show the home’s address? Etc…
If you don’t have something that confirms you have rights to the property you’re asking us to open, we’ll ask Read more
This is an update of a previously posted article. We are continuing to see newest versions of locks bought at the big box stores coming with plastic parts. Remember, to be sold cheap, cheap locks need to be made cheap.
A few months back ACME Locksmith discovered that the new Schlage SecureKey lock contained plastic parts. Being a Phoenix Locksmith service, this disturbed us greatly. This lock is no longer manufactured, but that hasn’t stopped Schlage from putting plastic arts in their newer models. The locks we buy and the locks the big box stores sell have the same part number, but as you can see, they’re not made the same. Read more
When your arcadia, sliding glass door gets old one of the things that often fails in the door lock. While you could simply replace what you have with the identical item, this is the time to upgrade your door and strengthen the security of your slider by installing a Cal Double Bolt Lock. Why?
This sliding door lock easily retrofits above the existing lock and is often less expensive.
Its double bolt locking mechanism prevents the door from being open by lifting it off its tracks.
It has the added benefit of child protection. Because it requires both bolts to be open and can be mounted higher than the existing lock, little ones struggle to reach the lock and open the mechanism. For even more protection, a small key will lock the double bolt into place preventing it from being open at all.
It supports two sliding glass door that come together in the middle (instead of the frame).
Cal Lock Double Bolt LockCal Lock InstalledChild Safety Mechanism
We started installing these locks when they first arrived on the market about 5 years ago. Up until that time, we were installing charlie bars on arcadia doors. Charlie bars were a great step above throwing a wood dowel in the window track. The secured to the slider and then folded down and locked into place on the frame of the sliding glass door so the slider could not be opened. But, they were not ideal. While the door was firmly held shut by a charlie bar, the door could still be lifted out of its tracks with a screw driver. This lock prevents that by securing the door with two bolts. One from the top of the latch and one from the bottom. This is one of the best ways to secure that sliding glass door.
The SkyBell Home Monitoring System Captures Video and More Whenever Someone is at Your Door.
Before we recommend a protect, we try it. When this little video door bell monitoring system came out, it went up on my house asap. The verdict, love it.
Several features make this a great little security device.
It auto captures video/screen shots each time your door bell is rung. Burglars will scope out a house to see if a house is empty during the day before they break in by seeing if anyone answers the door. This little device videos them when they do this and notifies you on your Smart Phone every time your doorbell is rung. Should you then be broken into, you’ve got the evidence.
Bonus: As soon as my kids walk home from school, they ring the doorbell before coming inside. I get a notification on my phone and know they are home safe and sound.
Hear & Speak. Listen to what they are saying at your door from any location and talk to whomever is ringing the bell. I had just hired a landscaper to plant some trees. When he came to the door we had an entire conversation about where to plant them and what was needed–while I wasn’t even home.
Activity history. Review the day’s events at your door.
Live monitoring. Check your home at any time. The photo below is a pic of what’s going on in my front yard.
Screenshot of the video Installed on My Home.
Theft guarantee. If it is stolen, SkyBell will replace it for free.
Night vision. Capture images up to 15 ft away in full color.
Quiet mode. Baby sleeping? Temporarily turn off your door bell.
I my opinion, there are two types of home robberies: what I call smash and grabbers and then the smart ones.
Though devastating, smash and grab robberies are usually done by kids. They quickly take what they can, and they’re out. Your insurance fixes the damage and replaces the property. It impacts your life but the impact is temporary. As the name implies, there’s clear evidence that you’ve been robbed. Broken glass, smashed locks, kicked-in doors; these things can’t be missed.
But the the smart burglar is much harder to detect. They get into your home unnoticed using techniques like lock bumping or picking. These techniques are easily learned online and the tools bought to do them cost less than a couple of dollars. When someone gains access to your house using these techniques, you’ll probably never even know they were there. Your key will still work, and the locks show no damage. But one day you discover you can’t find that expensive piece of family jewelry you had hidden in the closet (did you just misplace it?), or there’s unauthorized charges on your credit card, or worse, there are new credit cards under your name because you’re identity has been taken. Smart robbers leave no trace they’ve been in the home, target items such as mail or a few pieces of jewelry, and the results aren’t found until long after they’ve left.
How do you stop this type of robbery when even the new locks that were specifically designed to stop lock bumping and picking are vulnerable to simple, undetectable attacks? That’s were a lock and security professional comes in.
At ACME Locksmith, we evaluate your home’s entire security and identify weak areas and possible points of entry – even the ways someone can get in undetected. We recommend solutions that you can implement yourself or, if you prefer, we’d be happy to help. Our security evaluations will tell you how to:
Stop someone from getting in through weak security points such as garage doors, french doors, and sliding glass doors
Prevent your locks from being bumped or picked
Stop someone from getting your mail
Properly beef up and secure your entry doors
All home evaluations are Free if we’re onsite performing any other service.
Love that new house you purchased but wish it had some better door security?
No problem. ACME Locksmith can fresh install deadbolts in your existing house doors. We prep the door, provide the locks that match your existing style, brand and finish, and key them up to match your existing house keys. All at an affordable price. Here’s a photo of a door we just did a deadbolt installation on in Gilbert. We put on a Schlage commercial grade product that is far better than those locks you get at a home warehouse store.
Door without deadbolt.Door with Deadbolt Installation
Don’t forget, we can fresh install deadbolts (or keyless locks) to your side gates as well, and electronic deadbolts or the front door so you’ll never get locked out.
Looking for an affordable touch screen deadbolt for your home? Look no further than the lock specifically designed for and sold by locksmiths.
4-8 digit entry codes
25 user codes
Satin Nickel finish
All programming done from the touchscreen – no need to take apart the back of the lock
Vacation mode – temporarily disable all codes
Auto-lock – auto lock the door from 10 – 99 seconds after opening
Single entry code – set a code that can only be used once then it is deleted from memory
Our favorite electronic deadbolt for the home remains this deadbolt, but only because the style is a bit more modern. But for the price, this touchscreen electronic lock becomes very attractive.
Bluetooth Locks are Being Released by Many Lock Manufactures. Are They Needed?
Locks just keep getting smarter and smarter. But what is needed vs what is too much?
For the past year, lock manufactures have been releasing deadbolts that can be opened via Bluetooth devices. And Master Lock has just released a padlock that can be opened via Bluetooth.
But are these devices worth it or are they just looking to jump on a technology that is currently a hot buzzword with consumers? Here’s ACME Locksmith’s thoughts.
Bluetooth locking devices tout the following benefits:
No need for keys
Share electronic access (via electronic key codes) with someone needing access right away
Some offer access history and tamper alerts
I acknowledge, I like these benefits. But with a list price over $400 is it worth it? Especially when you consider that electronic deadbolts are less than half that price and offer the SAME benefits as the Bluetooth devices. Electronic deadbolts offer Keyless entry, temporary pin codes or pin codes that can be easily removed, and in some cases (depending on the lock manufacture) tamper alerts and access history.
Our main concern with the Bluetooth home deadbolts lie within the technology itself. Bluetooth is a proximity based technology. That is, when your Bluetooth device is near the Bluetooth lock, the lock can be opened by anyone. So, if you just got home, entered the home and locked the door behind you, it is technically possible that someone behind you can then simply open the door because your Bluetooth device is near the lock. Thus the lock will offer NO PROTECTION. The home deadbolt manufactures are implementing technology that allows the lock to sense whether the Bluetooth device is outside or inside the home, but just how good this technology is has yet to be tested. Does the Bluetooth device need to be several feet inside the home??? Or is 2 feet sufficient??? Many of the deadbolts offer a calibration feature to improve the sensing of the device. How much at risk are you if you skip the calibration step? As a locksmith and security professional,these are our concerns, and we’ll wait until the technology has demonstrated itself secure before recommending it.
The new Master Lock Bluetooth padlock is more reasonably priced at around $70 (list price), and doesn’t have the same proximity security risk that the deadbolts do since they will typically be used on gates and noticing someone is possible since no door restricts your view causing a false sense of security. But, they too can be as much as 3X a good combination padlock offering many of the same benefits.
If the proximity technology proves safe, I like the idea of Bluetooth locks once the price comes down, but currently the additional benefits to justify such a large price increase (over a more proven electronic deadbolt or simply a combination padlock) just isn’t there in ACME Locksmith’s opinion. Save your money. With time, pricing will come down, the technology improved, and the Bluetooth locks will be more attractive.
Home security and alarms have always been a consideration to protect your home, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Luckily, there are some very good 
Your home protects some of the most important things in your life: your family and your possessions. But the main line of home defense, the door, can be bypassed in a number of ways and as quickly as 5 seconds when not reinforced.
– Best Basic Electronic Lock Solution
When you call us for a car unlock or a house unlock, we WILL ask you to prove that you have rights to be in the property. Is the title available and in your name? Does the registration match your drivers license? Does your drivers license show the home’s address? Etc…
