Looking at reviews online... it seems that Kwikset and Schlage (the big 2 I guess?) have tons of 5* and then a ton of 1* reviews, really divided.

Wife and I are replacing all door knobs in the house and I wanted y'alls opinion... what do you think? Are there just some duds from the big manufactures? Is there a better place to buy them than Lowes/HD?

Thoughts...

Wife and I have been using Kwikset. We've had the indoor knobs for about a year and have no complaints. They work fine and have stayed tight. We replaced all keyed locks last weekend and haven't had any problems. Changing all the locks to work with one key is easy as well.

BO,

how would I go about making all "keyed" locks capable of taking the same key?

front door, back door, garage door, and one closet?

quote:

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BO,

how would I go about making all "keyed" locks capable of taking the same key?

front door, back door, garage door, and one closet?

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If you buy all new lock sets home depot/lowes will key them all the same for you.

I believe kwikset has a system where you can rekey them yourself as often as you need to.

What 87 said. Kwikset locks come with a tool that allow you to change the key.

There is residential hardware and then there's quality hardware. Just about anything you can buy in a big box store would be fine for most people, if you're looking for higher end, you'll have to shop direct with a hardware supplier or order online.

I'm typically a fan of most of the Sargent brands, but I currently have Trimco hardware in my home that I haven't been especially happy with.

Kwikset and Schlage both have about three different levels of door hardware. It just depends on how much you want to spend. When you go and buy them at Lowes or Home Depot, there will be a code somewhere on the packaging. If you buy all your hardware with matching codes, they will have the same key. You can get them to re-key any more if you need them.

I used to work in the Hardware Department at Lowes, so I re-keyed a bunch of locks. I found the Kwikset to be easier to re-key than Schlage, so if I were buying them, I would go with Kwikset.

[This message has been edited by jamesf (edited 8/2/2012 2:56p).]

If you go with Kwikset, buy the SmartKey loacks for all keyed hardware (levers, knobs, handlesets, deadbolts, etc.). As someone mentioned earlier, you can re-key them anytime as long as you still have a copy of the key they're currently keyed to. Go with the anti-bump, 6-pin hardware. There's no reason you'd need higher quality. If you don't like the design options, that's an altogether different problem.

Edit: Do some research on Lock Bumping...you'll be shocked at how easy it is to break into homes with standard harware. There are some alarming viseos on YouTube as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_bumping

[This message has been edited by Bird93 (edited 8/2/2012 5:47p).]