Residential Mailbox Change

Moving to a new place can be scary and exciting, and there are many possible safety concerns to keep in mind. If you just moved into a new house or apartment, you may need a mailbox change. Someone you do not know may still have keys to this mailbox lock. You may have compromised security and not even realized it.

On top of all of that, mailboxes, as outdoor items, get worn down very easily. Over the years, the air is not great for the metal mechanisms inside. Humidity creates rust, and salt wears down the metal. Extreme heat can warp keyholes, and extreme cold is not healthy for metal either. Whatever environment you’re in, locks do not last forever, and you need to maintain your locks.

This unfortunate truth is why it is a good idea to get a residential mailbox change once you suspect that your locks may not be as functional as they once were. If you do not take proper care of your locks, you may end up locked out of your mailbox. Losing access to your mail is potentially disastrous, and you should make sure that it does not happen to you.

Our locksmiths can help with a residential mailbox change. If you have a new mailbox, we can expertly change the locks. If you have a problem with your locks, our locksmiths will examine your mailbox and then deduce if a lock change is necessary.

When You Should Change Your Mailbox Locks

There are a few indications that you need a residential mailbox change. If you have just moved into a new house or apartment or are evicting a former tenant, this is an appropriate time to get all of your locks replaced. Someone might be out there with the mailbox key and can access your mail at any time.

Sometimes keys change hands and are forgotten. You may not know where all of the old mailbox keys are and who has them, even if you think you do. It’s better to be safe than sorry, after all.

There are also some physical signs to watch out for to know if you need a residential mailbox change.

Pay attention to how the locks are acting. Every step of the locking and unlocking process should be smooth and unhampered. Generally, having any issues indicates a problem that will eventually escalate until a locksmith solves it.

How smoothly is the key entering the keyhole? If the process is rough or sticky, there may be a problem with either the hole or the key itself. Maybe salt in the air wore the metal down, or heat warped the key or the keyhole until they were no longer the same shape. It is also possible that something inside is jamming the lock.

You may have trouble turning the lock, which indicates an issue with the inner mechanisms. Maybe the cylinder is worn down or rusty on the inside. It could be that one of the pins is blocking the way due to no longer fitting snugly in the key. The pins or cylinder may also be caked with dust, preventing movement.

Another indicator of lock health is how easy the key is to take out of the keyhole. If it is sliding in easily but getting stuck on the way out, it could be one of several problems. Maybe the mechanism is full of dust, the metal is warped, or any one of the other previous problems.

New Mailbox Lock Installation

The complication of the mailbox lock installation process depends on whether or not you have the key or if the lock is still capable of being opened at all.

The installation will be much easier if you can still open the mailbox. Mailboxes are designed for easy lock removal and replacement if the mailbox is opened legitimately with the correct key. The ease of lock replacement poses no security risk.

The installation will be more complicated if you do not have your key or if the lock is broken. Rest assured, however, that this increase in complication is minimal. No matter the circumstances, a residential mailbox change will not be difficult for a locksmith.

If the locksmith cannot open the mailbox, they must drill the lock currently in place. This only damages the first lock, nothing else.

A lock change will never damage your mailbox. This process is something that a competent locksmith can accomplish quite easily.

Mailbox Lock Change Process

The process of a residential mailbox change is simple.

First, the locksmith examines the lock already in place. If it is not working, they determine what could be causing the problem. After figuring out the cause, the locksmith must decide if they can solve the problem with a replacement or if the solution is something simpler.

The next step depends on whether or not you can still unlock the mailbox. If the lock is still functioning, the locksmith will open the mailbox to remove the first lock. If the lock is nonfunctional or the mailbox key is lost, the locksmith will drill into the lock. This drilling destroys the mechanism of the original lock so that the locksmith can open the mailbox.

The process of a residential mailbox change does not harm your mailbox in any way and, at most, only destroys the original lock that you are replacing. Rest assured that, despite the drilling, this is not a damaging process.

After the original lock is gone, the locksmith will install the new lock. This process involves putting it into the lock’s hole in the mailbox and using a wrench to screw it on from the inside. The exact details will vary from lock to lock.

After all of this is done, the locksmith will test the lock to ensure it works properly. If it does, the locksmith will be on their way. A residential mailbox change is simple and easy.

Types Of Mailboxes And Locks

There are different types of mailboxes that you may need to change. Your residential mailbox change will probably not be made difficult by the type of mailbox you have. Regardless, here is an overview of mailbox varieties.

Your mailbox may be a free-standing mailbox on the side of the road. It may be mounted on a post, column, or pedestal. These mailboxes are common in rural communities and other places where you can go out on the street for your mail without a high risk of getting hit by a car.

Maybe your mailbox is wall-mounted to the front of your house. The mail carrier must physically walk up to your porch to deliver mail. These are common in suburban or urban areas where streets may be too busy for a free-standing mailbox.

Maybe you have a cluster mailbox or a mailbox attached to other mailboxes. You can find them in apartment complexes, gated communities, and other areas where many people will be living close together.

Whatever mailbox type you have, the locks across all of them are very similar. There is not much variation to be found here. Mailboxes usually use standard pin tumbler locks. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but these are rare.

The most common exception is the padlock. These can be specially installed on your mailbox. United Locksmith can provide this service. Whatever your residential mailbox change needs are, United Locksmith is here to help.