Quality and Workmanship

      It is very common for a locksmith to replace a good quality lock with a cheaper one when re-keying a bank-owned property.  After all, these are usually only "temporary locks" anyway.  One expects that the new homeowner will replace those temporary locks with good quality ones again.  And, after all, the banks won't pay for an expensive lock. 
      However there are times when it is important to re-tumble existing locks in order to maintain a high level of quality - particularly in upscale homes - rather than replace them.  In such cases, in my opinion, it is unacceptable to replace expensive locks with cheap ones for expediency, especially if the door needs to be modified in order to make the cheaper lock fit. 
     The worst case of this I have encountered was a situation where I was called out to re-key a custom-built home that had VERY expensive doors and locks installed. 

 Unfortunately, someone else had been out there before me and replaced two of those expensive locks with $5 locks made in China.  To make matters worse, the "locksmith" who did this also butchered the two doors to make these cheap locks fit.  And, as it turned out they did not fit well enough to even lock the doors.  These were hand carved doors with special European mortise locks, each costing over $1000 and were now trashed and the house was still not secure. 

     What can I say?  If you know that you have a situation like this where the doors and hardware are special and expensive; make sure you have an understanding with your locksmith before he goes out to change the locks about how you expect the work to be done and the level of quality workmanship you expect of him.  If he cannot re-key the existing locks and save those expensive doors, FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN.

     It might also be possible to secure this door another way so as to not destroy it; and then gain access to the property through a different door with a less critical entry (such as a side door to the garage).  That may not be as convenient perhaps; but it could save a few thousand dollars in repair bills later.