Commercial locksmith
Commercial Locksmith in Bournemouth
Call with your postcode for a current arrival estimate.
- 24-hour emergency cover
- No call-out charge
- Price agreed before work starts
When a Business Cannot Open, Every Hour Counts
At home a failed lock is a security problem; for a business it is a trading problem. HD Locksmiths Bournemouth works on business premises across Bournemouth, from a shop that cannot open in the morning to a planned lock change after hours.
A shop that cannot open loses its takings, and an office that cannot be secured cannot be left, so the work is scheduled around trading rather than through it. Calls are taken 24 hours a day, with no call-out charge.
What Businesses Call About
Across Bournemouth, commercial callers usually describe one of five problems. We have linked each to a page explaining the work, so you can find out what to expect before you call.
A member of staff left with keys
It is a problem households simply do not have. When someone leaves and their keys cannot be accounted for, certainty only comes from changing the cylinders on every door they had access to. A key that worked yesterday will keep working tomorrow, whoever is holding it. The lock cases and handles normally remain, so this is quicker than replacing complete locks.
The premises have been broken into
Forced shutters, an entrance door that has been damaged, a unit that cannot be locked up until the police are finished. First we get the premises secure, then what can be fixed is fixed and what cannot is boarded.
The door at the entrance has failed
The entrance will not lock, the handle has gone loose or the mechanism has given out after heavy daily use. Frequently the door itself is sound and just one part has failed.
You are locked out of the premises
First thing in the morning a key snaps in the lock, the only keyholder cannot be contacted, or there is simply no one to open up. Opening these doors usually causes no damage, allowing the existing lock to remain in use.
A lock upgrade is required by insurance or a lease
A commercial insurance policy or a lease may specify the lock standard for your entrance. Usually this is simple once it is clear exactly what the document requires.
A Commercial Lock Is Not a Domestic Lock: Why
A house door might be used a dozen times a day. The entrance to a shop or office can be opened several hundred times, and that workload is the main thing that separates a commercial lock from a domestic one. Fittings that are entirely adequate at home wear out fast on a trading door, so commercial entrances are specified with heavier-duty cylinders, handles and closers.
There is also more variety in the doors themselves. Businesses often have:
- Escape doors fitted with push pads or panic bars, which have to let people out from the inside without a key.
- Aluminium shopfronts, taking lock cases and cylinders that differ from those in timber or uPVC doors.
- A suite of doors keyed to a plan, so one key works several of them and another works only one.
- Roller shutters with their own locks, guarding the frontage when you are closed.
Choosing hardware for the traffic rather than the price is what saves money, because a worn-out part brings a repeat visit and another interruption to trade. Specify it properly once and the entrance just keeps working. If you can, tell us the door material and the hardware currently on it.
Premises We Work On
If you run a business from any of the premises below, this page is for you.
- Offices and professional premises
- Shops and retail units, shopfronts and shutters among them
- Cafés, restaurants, pubs and bars
- Storage, workshops and industrial units
- Community buildings, salons, surgeries and schools
- Commercial units to let, for the landlords and managing agents who own or run them
Homes and residential lets have their own pages; this one is about doors that trade, serve the public or protect stock.
Work Is Scheduled Around Your Trading Hours
Round-the-clock cover is usually sold as an emergency promise, but for a business it is just as useful for planning. That might be a cylinder change, a new lock for a stockroom door or a replacement shutter lock, done while the shop floor is empty so no customer sees a locksmith at the entrance. When you call, let us know when you open and close so we can consider appointment times outside those hours. Bookings outside Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, carry a higher labour rate; the call-out is still free, and the price is given on the call before anything is booked.
Key Control When Staff Change
Businesses lose track of keys more easily than households, and it is not carelessness. With a dozen staff and only a handful of keys, keys are lent, duplicated and sometimes kept. If a member of staff walks out on bad terms, or just does not hand their key back, the honest truth is that you can no longer say who is able to open your door.
What fixes it. Change the cylinder on each door that key opened. Every existing key stops working at once, and that is the point, because an old key works for anyone who has it. The lock case and handles usually stay, which is why the job is quicker and cheaper than most businesses assume.
Keeping it fixed. Doors that need to stay on a single key can be given cylinders keyed alike. Mention keyed-alike options during your call if you want to reduce the number of keys in circulation; we will advise which arrangements are practical for your doors. A basic keyholder record costs nothing and stops the question arising again.
Invoicing and the Paperwork
For a business, the invoice matters almost as much as the job. Yours will be an itemised VAT invoice describing what was done, at which premises, and any hardware that went in. That level of detail is what an accounts department expects, and it is the record an insurer will want to see if you are making a claim. Where you have more than one site, the work can be invoiced however your accounts department prefers: one invoice per job, one per site, or another split that suits you. Just tell us how you want it arranged.
Commercial Locksmith Work Across Bournemouth
We work on shops, offices, industrial units and managed premises across Bournemouth.
Jobs cover Boscombe, Pokesdown, Winton, Springbourne, Charminster and Moordown, and every postcode in the BH1 to BH11 districts and the parts of BH13 around Bournemouth. After a break-in at the premises, report it to Dorset Police on 101 or at dorset.police.uk first. See all areas we cover.
Locksmith pricing
Escape Routes and Fire Doors
Commercial premises carry duties around escape routes that a home does not. A final exit door has to let people leave without a key, so the inside carries a keyless release, usually a thumbturn, push pad or panic bar, and the outside stays locked. For lock assemblies with keyless egress the relevant British Standard is BS 8621, built around a thumbturn on the inside instead of a key both sides. Panic hardware is a separate matter with its own standards. The right answer for your door comes from your fire risk assessment and the way the building is used, so read that before anything on an escape route is changed. We are locksmiths, not fire assessors, and we do not certify a building's fire compliance.
What affects the cost?
Service required, time of attendance, lock and door type, labour and parts.
Locksmith pricing
What Does a Commercial Locksmith Cost?
No commercial price is published on this page, and that is deliberate: a shopfront, a shutter and a stockroom door are different jobs. The price is worked out on the call and explained before attendance, with no call-out charge. Four factors do most of the work:
You pay for the work carried out, any parts needed, and VAT. Rates outside Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, are higher, but the call-out itself is never charged.
Cannot open up? Entrance will not secure? Planning a repair, a replacement or an upgrade? For an emergency, available 24 hours a day, call with your business postcode and a brief description. A discussion of planned work and available appointment options starts with details of the affected door or lock and your operating hours.
Door type
– aluminium shopfronts, shutters and composite doors need parts that a timber door does not.
Quantity
– the more doors and cylinders, the bigger the job; a full key change across a unit is the obvious example.
Standard
– your insurer or lease may require a particular lock standard.
Timing
– urgent jobs and jobs booked outside trading hours.
Emergency and planned locksmith services
Call HD Locksmiths Bournemouth
Ring for urgent attendance when you cannot open, or to book work outside trading hours when it can wait. There is no call-out charge, the price is agreed before work starts, and invoices itemise the VAT.
- Phone: 01202 935089
01202 935089
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you come out before we open?
Yes, an urgent entrance problem before opening is covered by our all-day, all-night emergency service throughout the year. Pass on the times your business trades when booking. Work outside trading can avoid having it take place in front of customers.
A member of staff has left and not returned their keys. What now?
The safe move is new cylinders on each door that member of staff could open. Until then their key still works, and it would work just as well for anyone they passed it to; mechanical keys cannot be disabled. Most of the lock stays in place, as the cases and handles are usually kept, so the job is quicker than full replacement. One key for several doors is usually possible by keying the new cylinders alike.
Are commercial locks different from the ones on a house?
In how much use they get, above all. Where a household door sees a dozen openings a day, a shop entrance may see hundreds, so its cylinders, handles and closers are specified for heavier use. Domestic-grade hardware on a trading entrance tends to fail early, and the cost lies in the repeat call-outs. Escape doors, shutters and shopfronts also need hardware a house never needs.
Do you work on aluminium shopfront doors?
Yes. Aluminium doors are frequent on commercial entrances, and their lock cases and cylinders are not the same as those in uPVC or timber doors. The single most useful thing you can do is tell us the door type when you call. It means the right parts come with us and gives a better idea of the time needed on site.
Our insurance says we need a particular lock standard. Can you help?
Yes. Insurers and landlords of Bournemouth business premises often write a lock standard for the entrance into the policy or lease. Once you know precisely what the document names, it is usually a straightforward job. Send the wording over if you can: "insurance approved" varies between policies, and fitting the right lock once is better than fitting twice.
Can you do work across more than one of our sites?
Yes. If your business runs several premises, the work can be carried out across all of them and invoiced in whatever form suits your accounts. Mention how many sites there are when you call and tell us how you would like the job arranged. That lets it be planned as one piece of work instead of a string of separate visits.
Will we get a proper invoice for our accounts?
You will. The invoice is an itemised VAT invoice that sets out what was done, where, and which hardware went in, so your accounts team can file it without queries. If the work follows a break-in or other insured event, it also serves as the record for the claim.
Our fire exit door needs a new lock. What do we need?
A lock that lets people out without a key. For keyless egress, BS 8621 is the standard, using a thumbturn on the inside instead of a key on each side, while panic bars and push pads are covered by separate standards. Your fire risk assessment and the way the building is used decide which is right for that door, so read it before anything changes and share it with us on the call.
Still have a question or need urgent assistance? Call 01202 935089, tell us what has happened and receive a current arrival estimate.