Locksmith Services in Seattle, WA

Seattle homes, from bungalows to towers

Wallingford is a classic streetcar suburb, with trolley tracks laid as early as 1907 and many 1920s box houses and bungalows. In 2013 survey figures, about 60% of its housing units were apartments, condos and townhomes. In an older house, lock rekeying retires earlier owners' keys while keeping period hardware that still works.

Belltown sits on the downtown waterfront, on land flattened by a regrading project, and is Seattle's most densely populated neighborhood, with high-rise residential buildings alongside warehouses. Where building management controls the lobby door or garage gate, say whether you are stuck at the street, in the garage or at your unit door.

Older commercial blocks

After a June 6, 1889 fire destroyed 25 blocks of mostly wood buildings, the Seattle City Council required fire-resistant brick and stone construction. Pioneer Square keeps late 19th-century brick and stone buildings and one of the country's finest surviving collections of Romanesque Revival urban architecture. In 1970 it became Seattle's first preservation district.

The Ballard Avenue Landmark District, created in 1976, preserves modest commercial buildings from the 1890s through the 1940s, with retail at street level and residences above. In a building laid out that way, name the door involved: the shop entrance or the one serving the upper floors.

Both districts require a Certificate of Approval before certain changes. On Ballard Avenue that covers any change to the outside of a building and interior changes that affect the exterior. Rekeying works inside the existing cylinder; replacing a storefront door is worth checking with the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods first. See commercial locksmith.

Parking and car keys in Seattle

Seattle Municipal Code 11.72.440 bars parking a vehicle on the same block of a city street for more than 72 consecutive hours, whether or not a sign is posted. The city can also post temporary no-parking signs with at least 24 hours' notice for emergency utility work, cleaning or special events; vehicles not moved in time can be cited, towed and impounded.

That clock keeps running while you sort out a lost key. When you request car key replacement for a street-parked car, note how long it has been there and whether temporary signs have gone up.

Seattle rental lock rules

Seattle's Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.214) is applied through the RRIO Checklist, drawn from the city's Housing and Building Maintenance Code. Items marked as significant must be fixed to register an occupied unit or before renting a vacant one. Lock, door and window items marked that way include:

• Every entrance door to a unit or house, sliding doors included, must resist forcible entry and have a working deadbolt or deadlatch that opens from inside without a key.
• The main entrance door needs a peephole 54 to 66 inches above the floor, a window in the door, or a side light within 31 inches.
• Openable windows within 10 feet of the ground, or above a deck, balcony or porch, need a working latch.
• In buildings with three or more units, exterior entrance doors that do not open directly into one unit must be self-closing and self-locking.

Where a checklist item differs from what a valid building permit allowed, the permit standard applies, but deadbolts and deadlatches on entry doors must meet current code regardless. This is general information, not legal advice.

Requesting service in Seattle

Washington Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Seattle. Give the neighborhood or cross streets and say which door is involved. See house lockout, Washington or Tacoma.