Went to the small place across from Veterans Bank. p25 per key, no waiting, no muss, no fuss, no problem, both keys work fine.
yep, the place on perdicies opposite lee plaza, certificate on the wall says Armando, wife and two kids make keys under his supervision. Did a padlock key copy and housekey.. Handyman at Robinson's, the right key blank is forever "out of stock." We head for Armando first.
One set of my keys were lost (stolen) for my motorcycle, so I took it to this guy and they "re-keyed" everything including the gas tank key. Every thing worked the first time and still does 3 years later.
I have used the guy on Perdices street and he is good and affordable. In addition to making keys he can also reconfigure your locks. He made all my outdoor padlocks work with one key and all my house doors operate from another key. It sure lightened my key ring.
I have used this business for key duplicates before and have been very satisfied. Are they a full locksmith service, i.e. will they come and install deadbolts in house doors (and do a nice job of it?) A separate question: Is there a locksmith in Valencia that would install those deadbolts for me?
Don't do it....just don't. They will come with a hammer and a chisel to cut the holes. Installing locks isn't all that difficult if you have the tools. Might be worth going an buying the required tools and doing it yourself (any local who says they know how to install a lock the proper way is probably lying). You will do a better job than most locals would and an added benefit of having the tools will be that they will get used for other jobs around the house, especially a drill with drill bits (make sure you get wood and concrete bits). You will also sleep easier at night knowing that you were the only person to have handled the keys to your locks. I'm bringing back a few cipher locks to put on my bathroom and bedroom doors: No more drains clogged with long black hair and expensive items stay safe in my room when I'm not at home (and certainly no more "tampo" women locking themselves in the bedroom to sulk). Certainly won't be having a local install and code those.
You points, certainly. I have the tools now...my drill and bits just arrived in the balikbayan box. Now I just need to remember not to fry it with the 240 volts. Is Utmatiao a good place to buy the hardware and other tools I might need? Or is there somewhere local that is better. I'm not too impressed with Handyman....I guess if I needed a cheap karaoke machine that would be the place. Otherwise, Handyman constantly chants the national motto: "Sorry, sir. No stock."
I've found that all tools in the Philippines are pretty much junk or rusts rather quickly. I go to Tops and Bottoms to by the cheapest Chinese crap I can. If it breaks or gets too rusted I just throw it in the trash and buy another. BTW: I've found that Handyman has 4 perceived quality levels of tools that they try to use as a selling point: From best to worst (in their minds): "Sir, this one is made in the US. Very good!" "Sir, this one is made in Japan! Better than China made." "Sir, this one is made in China. No good." "Sir, this one is made in the Philippines. One time use, sir." However, the "US" tools they carry are usually a brand names I've never heard of and actually made in China......but I was just looking for some channel locks and a screw driver set. "How do you screw up channel locks and a screw driver set?" you may ask yourself....well, buy the Philippine made stuff and you'll figure it out.
