Commercial Locksmith in Virginia Beach, VA

Town Center

Virginia Beach Town Center opened in 2003, and the 1,200-seat Sandler Center for the Performing Arts opened there in 2007. In a district of suites and venues, a tenant usually controls its own suite door while the landlord controls shared corridors, stair doors and the building entry. Before changing a suite lock, read the lease: the landlord may need a key to the new cylinder, or may require that it stay on the building's master key system.

A venue or large workplace has a different problem: many doors and many roles. A master key system lets each person open only what the job needs, while a manager's key opens all of them.

The Oceanfront

The Oceanfront has hundreds of hotels, motels and restaurants. Guest rooms are only part of the picture. A hotel, motel or restaurant also has managers' rooms, linen and storage rooms, service entries and other back-of-house doors that often use mechanical locks. Restaurants add rear delivery doors, liquor storage and cash rooms.

Paid parking at the Oceanfront runs April through October. A business that takes on seasonal staff hands out extra keys, and each one not returned is a cylinder to rekey.

Turnover and keys

• When a key is not returned, rekey the cylinders it opened; on a master key system, only the affected level needs to change.
• Keep a written key log: who holds which key, and when it was issued and returned.
• Restricted keyways limit who can cut copies, which keeps the log accurate.
• Stamp keys with a code rather than the door name.

Request details

• The business name, street address and suite or door
• Which doors are involved: front, rear service, storage or gate
• The hardware, if you know it: a storefront deadbolt on an aluminum and glass door, a lever lock, an exit device or a padlock; photos help
• Whether a master key system exists and who manages it
• Whether the landlord or property manager must approve the work, and who will let the locksmith in

More on commercial locksmith services and the Virginia Beach page.