Can I have all my locks on the same key?

The usual version of this question is a household carrying five keys for a front door, back door, side gate, shed and garage. Keying alike is a genuine convenience and it is not expensive if it is done when locks are being replaced anyway. It is worth understanding what it can and cannot do before ordering.

Step by step

1. Group the locks by type.Euro cylinders on uPVC and composite doors. Rim cylinders on nightlatches. Mortice locks with lever keys. Padlocks. Window locks. Keying alike works within a group, and only sometimes across two groups, because the keys are physically different objects.
2. Understand what does cross over.Many manufacturers make euro cylinders, rim cylinders and padlocks in the same key profile, so a set from one maker can genuinely all take one key. That is the realistic route to a single key for a front door, a back door, a side gate padlock and a shed.
3. Accept what does not.A five-lever mortice deadlock uses a completely different key from a pin cylinder and cannot be brought onto the same key. If a timber front door has a mortice lock and a nightlatch, that door will always need two keys unless the mortice lock is changed for a euro-profile one.
4. Order as a set, not one at a time.Cylinders are keyed alike when they are made or when a locksmith re-pins them. Buying five separate locks and hoping is not a plan. Specify keyed alike at the point of order and state how many keys you want.
5. Buy enough keys at the outset.Extra keys for a keyed-alike set are cut to the same code and are cheap when ordered with the set. Getting more later can mean a restricted-key request or, on some systems, re-pinning everything.
6. Weigh the security cost honestly.One key that opens everything is one key that loses everything. If it goes missing, every lock in the set has to be changed or re-keyed at once. Households with children, lodgers or frequent tradespeople should think carefully.
7. Consider the middle ground.Most people end up with the house doors keyed alike and the outbuildings on a separate common key. It keeps the everyday convenience, keeps a shed key you are happy to leave with a neighbour, and means a lost outbuilding key does not touch the house.
8. Do not compromise the standard to get it.Keyed-alike cylinders are available at every security grade. There is no reason to accept a lower-rated cylinder on a front door in order to get a matching key — check the marking before ordering.

Alternatives

• Master keyed: Each lock has its own key, plus one master that opens all of them. Common in shared buildings and holiday lets. More expensive and normally set up by a locksmith rather than bought off the shelf.
• Restricted key systems: Keys that can only be copied by the manufacturer against a card. Worth it where keys are held by other people, and normally ordered through a locksmith.
• Rekeying instead of replacing: A locksmith can often re-pin existing cylinders to a common key, which keeps the hardware you have. Sensible where the cylinders are recent and well rated.

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