When you’re purchasing door hardware, you’re not pigeonholed to just one way of receiving your keys. Whether you’re installing a few new locks or keyed fixtures for your home or you’re replacing the locks for an entire apartment complex, there are a few different keying options:

• Keyed alike
• Keyed different
• Master keying
• Builder keying

Keyed alike: If you’re replacing keyed locks throughout your home and want to avoid the potential mother lode of key piles, consider this: Getting your locks keyed alike is the easiest way to cut down on extra keys.

Build.com offers this service free to up to two locks. For security purposes, we only ship two keys per order when keyed alike, but additional keys can be purchased. In order to be keyed alike, the items must have the same keyway manufacturer.

And if you thought being eco-friendly was only for plumbing and lighting fixtures, think again. Keying all of your locks alike minimizes the amount of materials used to manufacture additional door hardware.

Keyed different: This is the most common keying option. It ensures that each lock in your home requires a separate key and won’t match another lock in your order. You probably won’t have to do anything special when ordering them.

Master keying: We’ve all heard about the “Master Key.” From the apartment super and school janitor to hotel and resort housekeeping, commercial applications are going to have a master key. The idea behind this is that multiple locks are keyed differently, while a master set of keys will operate all of the locks.

Builder keying: If you’re looking for a set of keys that will work only temporarily in a certain lock, then this is what you’re looking for.

Key storage: So what do you do when you have a lot of keys? For larger complexes and businesses that manage lots of keys, locking key cabinets can be a simple and secure way to store multiple sets of keys. For those in the real-estate business, combination key-safes are a great way to securely store keys while giving access to multiple users.

So whether you’re ready to replace two locks or several dozen, or you’re just curious about the keying options available, that’s the skinny on keying services. And if you’re ready to order some keyed door hardware, you can always call on Build.com to help at (800) 375-3403.

Until next time, Happy Home Improving!

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