Commercial Locksmith in Raleigh, NC

Raleigh's business districts and their doors

Downtown and Midtown hold very different commercial buildings, and the door work follows the building.

• Warehouse District. Six blocks of red-brick buildings near the rail lines, mostly former warehouses, factories and depots, now holding galleries, restaurants and offices. In a converted building, list every entrance, including rear and loading doors, and the lock on each.
• Glenwood South. The entertainment district, lined with restaurants, clubs and cafes. For a restaurant or club, count staff and back doors as well as the front.
• Midtown. North Hills and Crabtree Valley Mall lie between the Beltline and Millbrook Road. Where a high-rise's management runs the lobby and garage, a tenant's lock work may stop at the suite door.

Storefronts near Moore Square

Moore Square is one of Raleigh's eight Historic Overlay Districts, and Capitol Square is another. A storefront door change there may need a Certificate of Appropriateness first, because the minor-work list in the Unified Development Ordinance, at Section 10.2.15, names doors and door openings. Rekeying works inside the existing cylinder and leaves the storefront as it is; a new door, or hardware seen from the street, is where the city may want a look. The city's preservation staff can say which side of that line a job falls on. This is general information, not legal advice.

Staff turnover and keys

Wherever staff come and go, every departure with a key is a key the business no longer controls. Rekeying after turnover, or a master key system in which managers and staff carry different keys, limits what one unreturned key can open. When a tenant leaves an office or storefront, the lease may say whether landlord or tenant handles lock changes, so read it before booking.

Details for a business request

• the district, building and suite
• door types: glass storefront, metal rear or service door, interior office doors
• how many locks, and roughly how many keys are out
• your role (owner, tenant or manager) and who approves the work

Staff turnover is one reason to consider lock rekeying; the Raleigh page lists all eight historic districts.