Commercial Locksmith in Columbia, MO

Downtown buildings

Downtown Columbia is roughly a square mile that sits between the University of Missouri, Stephens College and Columbia College. It serves as the city's financial and business district, counts as one of its nine National Register historic districts, and includes the 10-story Tiger Hotel and the 15-story Paquin Tower.

That mix shapes the work. An older storefront may need hardware chosen to fit the existing door and frame rather than a new standard cutout. A multi-story building has layers: a street entry, stair and service doors, and individual offices or suites, each with its own keys. In a tower, the number of people who hold a key grows with every tenant and suite, which makes a key log more useful.

The highway and arterial corridors

The commercial corridors outside downtown run along Interstate 70, U.S. Route 63, Stadium Boulevard and Grindstone Parkway. A glass storefront entry and a steel back door for deliveries and staff take different hardware, so name both when you describe the job.

Keys when people change

A business that hires from a city with nearly 40,000 college students may see staff change with the semester. Each departure raises the same question: who still has a key?

• Keep a written key log: who holds which key, when it was issued and when it came back.
• Rekey when a key is not returned, rather than waiting for the next turnover.
• Consider a master key system when managers need several doors and staff need only one.
• Use a restricted keyway for keys that should not be copied at a hardware counter.

What to include in a request

The business name, street and building, and for downtown the floor and suite; the door types (glass storefront, steel service door, interior office door); how many locks; and whether the landlord or property manager must approve changes. Missouri Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Columbia.