Commercial Locksmith in Allentown, PA

Hamilton Street and Center City buildings

Along Hamilton Street, the major thoroughfare through Center City, the Zollinger-Harned Company Building (1925–26) and the 13-story Americus Hotel (1926–27) are among the older buildings, and the 24-story PPL Building is the tallest in both Allentown and the Lehigh Valley. Buildings of that age can mix an original wooden door with a newer cylinder, an aluminum and glass storefront door with a narrow-stile lock, and a rear service door with exit hardware. Each takes different parts, so photos of the door edge and both faces of the lock help plan the work.

Who controls which door

In a multi-tenant building, the owner, a management company and the tenant may each control a different door: the street entrance, the lobby or a suite. Check your lease for who may change locks and who must hold a key, and get the building manager's approval before any work on a shared entrance. That also avoids fitting a lock the owner's master key no longer opens.

Mountainville, on the South Side at the base of South Mountain, has homes, businesses and industry side by side. Where a shop or workshop shares a building or lot with living space, keep the business doors on a separate key from the residential ones so that residents cannot open the business.

Turnover and key control

Every departing employee or outgoing tenant is a key you may not get back. Practical steps:

• Keep a written list of who holds which key, and collect keys when people leave.
• Rekey the affected locks when a key goes missing rather than waiting for the next change; see lock rekeying.
• Consider a master key system, so managers carry one key while staff keys open only their own areas.
• Use a restricted keyway, whose blanks are controlled by the lock maker, on doors where unauthorized copies are a concern.

Pennsylvania Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Allentown. For a business, include the building and floor, the type of door, and who approved the work. See commercial locksmith and the Allentown page.