Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C'mon Op...tell us the back story!!

The new dog sitter we hired invited her fiancé over, who went into my (closed door) toddler son's room, took a bath and flooded the house. They are surprised we are upset by this. They have our keys.

I read your post in Off Topic. So sorry. I can't even imagine....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just because a dog sitter takes advantage of you by going into a room you did not want them in and does not respect your home does not mean they will escalate to trespassing. If you want to get your locks rekeyed it is pretty easy and you can likely do it yourself, hire someone on task rabbit, or call a locksmith. You should also consider installing a smart lock on one door. Then there is no need to give out keys and it is easy to change the combo.

It also doesn't mean it won't either. I don't blame OP for not wanting to take the chance.

Seriously?? I would not take that chance. My spouse is a dog walker and when they end the contract for any reason, spouse returns their keys. There is however nothing to say they didn't have copiea made. If I was OP I would re-key the locks, no need to actually replace.

That's the best reason for a door with a changeable code. I have that, and preprogrammed a couple dozen codes to use for this sort of thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just because a dog sitter takes advantage of you by going into a room you did not want them in and does not respect your home does not mean they will escalate to trespassing. If you want to get your locks rekeyed it is pretty easy and you can likely do it yourself, hire someone on task rabbit, or call a locksmith. You should also consider installing a smart lock on one door. Then there is no need to give out keys and it is easy to change the combo.

It also doesn't mean it won't either. I don't blame OP for not wanting to take the chance.

Seriously?? I would not take that chance. My spouse is a dog walker and when they end the contract for any reason, spouse returns their keys. There is however nothing to say they didn't have copiea made. If I was OP I would re-key the locks, no need to actually replace.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C'mon Op...tell us the back story!!

The new dog sitter we hired invited her fiancé over, who went into my (closed door) toddler son's room, took a bath and flooded the house. They are surprised we are upset by this. They have our keys.

Was she just dog sitting, or was she house sitting too? If the latter, did you tell her that bathroom was off limits? Did you not talk about guests?

Or you can go to any hardware store and they will help you pick out what you need.

Consider installing cameras or doorbell cam which monitors your front door so you can see who enters and leaves, and when. Our doorbell lets us know when our cat sitter arrives and departs when we're on vacation.

We use this brand, which requires no subscription: https://us.eufy.com/

Anonymous wrote:Just because a dog sitter takes advantage of you by going into a room you did not want them in and does not respect your home does not mean they will escalate to trespassing. If you want to get your locks rekeyed it is pretty easy and you can likely do it yourself, hire someone on task rabbit, or call a locksmith. You should also consider installing a smart lock on one door. Then there is no need to give out keys and it is easy to change the combo.

It also doesn't mean it won't either. I don't blame OP for not wanting to take the chance.

Just because a dog sitter takes advantage of you by going into a room you did not want them in and does not respect your home does not mean they will escalate to trespassing. If you want to get your locks rekeyed it is pretty easy and you can likely do it yourself, hire someone on task rabbit, or call a locksmith. You should also consider installing a smart lock on one door. Then there is no need to give out keys and it is easy to change the combo.

We're in NW DC and used District Lock. They were fast and responsive. They have prices listed here: http://districtlock.com/what-we-do/.

I'd get atleast one door with a code lock. They can be programmed with several, some up to 10 codes, that you could assign to different people. Have a main code for your family, then create others that you can give out as needed. Like the dog sitter, then remove it the code when they no longer need it. The benefit of this, is you can always easily give someone access and easily take it away. There even be ones with apps that allow you to do so remotely.

Example, my mother fell in her home with the door locked, she was able to give EMS the door code. Unlike the previous time when they had to pry open the door resulting in significant damage to the door & frame. At our house, we had bathroom renovations done so gave the workmen a "spare" code then removed it when the work was finished.

Like these kind. https://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Door-Hardware-Door-Locks-Keyless-Door-Locks/N-5yc1vZc2bd

Anonymous wrote:Kwiklock allows you to rekey on your own. I’ve had to redo mine after a few arrangements (ironically with dog sitters) needed to end. You can pick up the locks at any hardware store and have them installed and keyed within an hour at most.

I changed out our knobs and deadbolts for our 4 outdoor doors so they all use the same key. Cheaper than calling in a locksmith and I can rekey them again later if I want to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call a locksmith and get a quote to re key 4 locks and specify you need them "keyed alike". When you call have the lock type written down. Do the doors have deadbolts or is this just the lock in the handle. If you can tell the locksmith the brand of locks that will help as well. Then when they give you the price you decide if the cost is worth it. Remember to factor in how quickly they will do this vs how long it will take you to figure it out as well as your skill level with doing this. Also, if you need to change your locks then factor in your peace of mind. There are some home repair tasks that are worth paying someone to get done quickly and correctly.

This is OP, thank you this is very helpful. I don't want to replace the whole lock, just the keys since I don't trust the people who have them. We also moved last year and this has been on my to-do list anyway. I don't mind paying a locksmith to do it I just wasn't sure what to ask for.

You don't need new locks, you need your existing locks rekeyed. I had it done in 2019 and at that time it cost me about $200 for 3 locks and a bunch of spare keys. Usually there is a service fee for coming out plus a relatively low cost per lock.

Kwiklock allows you to rekey on your own. I’ve had to redo mine after a few arrangements (ironically with dog sitters) needed to end. You can pick up the locks at any hardware store and have them installed and keyed within an hour at most.

I use these guys: https://liblock.com/

Long-run family business. Great service.

Locksmith or handyman can do it.