We’re in Hilliard most weeks. It’s close enough to our West Columbus side that it’s a short run for us, and we know the roads well enough to get around the traffic rather than sit in it.
Car keys and lockouts around Hilliard-Rome Road
Most of our automotive calls in Hilliard come from the shopping centers along Hilliard-Rome Road. The Walmart, Kohl’s and Sam’s Club plazas and the retail lots around them. We made a key at Kohl’s recently. It’s the same story most times: keys locked in the car, or the only key gone and no spare.
We cut and program at the vehicle, so the car doesn’t move and you don’t pay for a tow. Lost every key, down to your last one, or a fob that stopped working, all of it happens in the parking lot.
We also get plenty of car key calls at people’s houses in Hilliard, not just the retail lots. And a fair number of motorcycle key jobs, which is worth saying because most locksmiths won’t touch them.
Houses and condos
Home lockouts come from all over Hilliard, mostly private homes and condos. Fewer from the big rental complexes, and usually only after hours when the maintenance team tells the resident to call a locksmith themselves.
Rekeys are the job we do most here. Houses and condos both. If you’ve just taken the keys to a place, you have no idea how many copies exist or who has them, and a rekey makes every one of them stop working using the hardware already on your door.
The newer developments like Hill Farm and Davidson Towns bring a lot of this work. People move into a new build and want the locks changed over to their own key, and often want a keypad or a smart lock put on at the same time so there’s nothing to hand out or hide under a rock.
Hilliard doesn’t have the stock of very old houses you find in Bexley or Clintonville. Most of it is 1970s and newer, standard doors, standard lock sizes, mostly Schlage and Kwikset. That means most jobs here are straightforward and we’re in and out.
One thing worth knowing before you buy locks online
We’ve been seeing more of this lately, usually with newer homeowners who’ve picked a lock online because the finish looked right. The cheap off-brand hardware often can’t be rekeyed properly. The parts inside aren’t built to come apart and go back together, and a standard key doesn’t always fit the way it should.
If that’s what’s on your door, we’ll tell you straight: sometimes forcing a rekey on one of those creates a problem six months later, and swapping it for a brand that’s built to be serviced is the better spend. If it’s good hardware, we’ll rekey it and leave it where it is.
Ask us before you buy if you’re choosing new locks. It’s a two-minute phone call and it saves buying twice.
Businesses in Hilliard
Commercial work here is mostly the stores and businesses along Hilliard-Rome Road, Main Street and Cemetery Road, with larger facilities out on Roberts Road.
Rekeys after a staff change are the common one. A manager leaves, a key doesn’t come back, and nobody can say for certain who still has one. New restaurant owners call us when they take over a building, which is the right moment to do it, before anything else gets unpacked.
We also do the hardware side: panic bars, Adams Rite hardware, and the indicator type that shows whether a door is locked from the outside. If an inspection is coming or a door isn’t latching the way it should, that’s worth a call before it becomes the door that won’t lock at all.
We work with rental and commercial properties around Cemetery Road and Roberts Road on an ongoing basis, so if you manage several buildings, call and we’ll work out something that fits.
How long it takes us to get there
Usually 15 to 25 minutes, depending on where we are when you call and what traffic is doing.
We know Hilliard well enough not to follow the first route the GPS offers. Afternoon and evening traffic on I-70 can turn a short run into a long one, so depending on where you are we’ll come in on 270, or cut across on Wilson Road or Roberts Road instead. That’s usually the difference between twenty minutes and forty.
Common questions
Do you come to me, or do I come to you?
We come to you. Your driveway, a parking lot on Hilliard-Rome Road, your office on Roberts Road. If you’d rather bring a key to us, our West Columbus location on W Broad St takes appointments for quick car key work.
I just bought a house in Hilliard. Rekey or new locks?
Rekey, almost always. If the locks work properly, rekeying changes which key opens them and costs less than replacing hardware that’s fine. New locks make sense when something is worn out, when you want a keypad, or when what’s on the door isn’t worth servicing.
Can you make a car key if I’ve lost every one?
Yes, at the car. We cut and program a new key to the vehicle. Tell us the year, make and model when you call and we’ll give you the price on the phone.
Do you do motorcycle keys?
Yes. A lot of locksmiths don’t.
How do I pay?
Card, tap to pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cash, Venmo, Zelle or Cash App. Payment is due when the work is finished. Businesses with an account can be invoiced if we agree that in advance.
Need someone in Hilliard? Call 844-644-6539 and tell us where you are.