Non-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Fast, Reliable Rekey Locks Across Chowchilla
Rekeying a lock in Chowchilla typically runs $85 – $160 per cylinder, and in most cases we can be at your door the same day you call. The work itself means swapping the internal pins and springs inside the lock body so your old keys stop working and a new key takes over. No new hardware, no full lock replacement, just a mechanical change that kills every previous key in about 15 minutes per lock.
If you’ve just closed on a house off Robertson Boulevard, taken over a rental unit near the correctional facilities, or had a roommate move out near Golden Valley High School, you need old keys dead and new keys working before the day is over. We get it. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll give you a written price before anyone is dispatched to Chowchilla.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Chowchilla’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Chowchilla is a specific kind of town. You have the substantial staff and tenant population tied to Valley State Prison and Central California Women’s Facility, which means a constant turnover of rental units that need keys changed on the same day a lease is signed. You also have older neighborhoods with homes built decades apart, which means mixed lock hardware on a single property is common. We know this because we work here regularly, and our pricing reflects the jobs we actually do in Chowchilla, not a generic national average.
Founded in 2008, Preston Locksmith & Security is a member of the Relay Home Co. family, with each location independently owned and operated. Every technician who arrives in Chowchilla is background-checked and uniformed. You know who is coming before they knock. Kevin Yoon leads our team, and the standard he set from the beginning is simple: a written price before any work starts, a live trackable arrival time, and before-and-after photos of every job. That’s the Relay Visibility Guarantee, and it applies to every rekey we do in Chowchilla.
Rekey Door Lock in Chowchilla
A rekey door lock job in Chowchilla means changing the pin and tumbler configuration inside the lock cylinder so that a new key operates the deadbolt or knob, and every previous key is rendered useless. Homeowners here ask for this after buying a home, after losing a key, after a tenant moves out, or after a relationship ends and someone still has a copy. The lock stays exactly where it is. The hardware doesn’t change. What changes is the key that turns it.
In Chowchilla, a standard rekey door lock on a Schlage or Kwikset entry set runs $85 – $120 per cylinder. If you have a higher-security lock like a Medeco or Abloy, plan on $120 – $160 per cylinder because those cylinders take specialized pins and tighter tolerances. The written price is confirmed on the phone before we dispatch to Chowchilla.
Same-Day Turnover Rekeys for Rentals
When a tenant at a property near the correctional facilities moves out, the landlord needs every lock changed before the next tenant moves in. We prioritize these calls because we know the turnaround is measured in hours, not days. One call to (409) 405-4485, a quick description of how many locks you have, and we’ll give you a firm number and an arrival window you can track live.
After Losing a Key in Chowchilla
A lost key isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a question of who might have found it. Rekeying the lock means the lost key stops working the moment we finish. For most Chowchilla homes with two or three entry locks, we can complete the full rekey in under an hour once we’re on site.
Rekey Service in Chowchilla
A full rekey service in Chowchilla covers every lock on the property, re-pinned so that one new key operates all of them, or a tailored keying scheme if you need something different. Some homeowners want one key for everything. Some landlords want a master key that works across multiple rental units. Some businesses want separate keys for office doors, storage rooms, and supply closets. We build the keying plan with you before we touch a single cylinder.
Rekey service pricing in Chowchilla starts at $85 for the first cylinder and drops to $65 – $85 for each additional cylinder when we’re already on site. A three-lock home, typical for many houses here, usually lands between $215 and $330 total. You get the exact figure on the phone before we dispatch, and that’s the figure on your invoice. No dispatch surcharge added on arrival, no hidden trip fee tucked into the line items.
One Key for a Whole House
Many Chowchilla homes have accumulated mixed hardware over the years: a Kwikset front door, a Schlage back door, maybe a Yale side door into the garage. We can rekey all of them to a single key as long as the cylinders are compatible or can be swapped to match. This is one of the most common requests we get from homeowners near Orange Avenue and the residential streets east of Highway 99.
Master Key Systems for Landlords
If you own multiple units in Chowchilla, a master key system lets you carry one key for all your buildings while each tenant’s key only opens their own unit. We lay this out in writing before cutting anything, and we can match Medeco or Schlage Primus cylinders if you want the higher security rating.
Trusted Brands We Service in Chowchilla
We rekey and service Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, Abloy, Yale, Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, and Sargent hardware. For Chowchilla specifically, we carry a full stock of Schlage and Kwikset pin kits on every truck, because those two brands account for maybe 85% of the locks we see on local homes. If you have a Medeco or Abloy high-security cylinder, we’ll confirm the keyway on the phone and bring the correct pins with us so we’re not making a second trip to finish the job.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Chowchilla Homes
- Mixed hardware on one property: A newer Kwikset keypad on the front door paired with an older Schlage deadbolt in back is a pattern we see constantly in Chowchilla, especially on rentals that have had multiple tenants over the years. Both can be rekeyed to one key, but it takes someone who knows both pin systems.
- Worn cylinders from the valley heat: Chowchilla sees long stretches of 100-degree summer days, and dust from the agricultural land around town gets into everything. Lock cylinders that have never been lubricated get gritty, and a rekey on a worn cylinder sometimes reveals the core is too far gone to hold new pins reliably. In those cases we tell you honestly and quote a replacement cylinder before doing anything.
- Landlord handoffs without a rekey: A surprising number of rental turnovers in Chowchilla happen with the same keys that three previous tenants used. A rekey the day the lease is signed closes that gap. It takes about 15 minutes per lock.
- Previous DIY attempts with mismatched pins: We occasionally open up a cylinder in a Chowchilla home and find that someone re-pinned it themselves using whatever pins were in a kit, which often leaves the lock vulnerable to keys that almost fit. Our rekey restores the cylinder to factory pin tolerances so only your key works.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Chowchilla, CA
Here’s what a rekey actually costs in Chowchilla. The first cylinder on a standard Schlage or Kwikset lock runs $85 – $120. Each additional cylinder on the same visit is $65 – $85. A standard three-lock home lands between $215 and $330 total. High-security hardware like Medeco, Abloy, or Mul-T-Lock runs $120 – $160 per cylinder because the pins are proprietary and the tolerances are tighter.
The price we quote on the phone is the price on your invoice. That’s the whole point. We don’t send a technician to Chowchilla with a vague hourly rate and hope. You tell us how many locks you have, what brands they are, and whether you want one key or a master system. We give you a number. If the job reveals something unexpected, like a cylinder too worn to rekey, we stop and give you a new written price before doing anything. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote; estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Chowchilla
From our Fresno, Central Valley office, we dispatch to Chowchilla and the surrounding communities. We serve Rekey Locks in Chowchilla plus Firebaugh, Madera, Mendota, and Kerman. If you’re right on the edge of town, we’ll tell you straight whether you’re in our standard response zone or if there’s any delay. Everything we do under the Rekey Locks service carries the same Relay Visibility Guarantee.
Serving Chowchilla, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Chowchilla area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Rekey Locks in Chowchilla
No. If we show up and you decide not to proceed, you owe nothing. We would rather walk away clean than make you pay for a service you didn’t want. If you want to avoid the situation entirely, we’ll talk through your locks on the phone before anyone is dispatched to Chowchilla, so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll walk through it with you before a truck ever moves.
Yes, in almost every case. The Kwikset keypad entry has a standard cylinder underneath that we can rekey to match a new Schlage key, or we can rekey both to a single Kwikset key. The keypad code gets reset at the same time. This exact combination is one of the most common setups we see on Chowchilla rental properties, and it’s a routine job for us.
About 15 minutes per lock cylinder once we’re on site. A standard three-lock house takes under an hour from arrival to handing you the new keys. If we’re doing a master key system across multiple units, that takes longer, and we’ll give you a realistic time estimate when we quote the job.
No. ANSI Grade 1 refers to the lock’s build quality, not the pin configuration inside. Rekeying a Grade 1 deadbolt does not weaken the housing, the bolt, or the strike plate. It only changes which key operates the cylinder. If you have a manufacturer’s warranty on the locks, rekeying by a professional doesn’t void it.
You’ll get a live trackable arrival link when we dispatch, so you can see the truck coming. The technician arrives in uniform, and they’ll introduce themselves by name. You can also verify through the Relay Visibility Guarantee: before-and-after photos of every job are provided as standard. If anything doesn’t match, don’t open the door. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll confirm immediately.
We got a call from a rental near Robertson Boulevard where a new tenant had just picked up the keys and wanted every lock rekeyed before moving boxes in. The front door was a Kwikset keypad entry, the back was an older Schlage deadbolt, and a previous tenant had clearly swapped the lock cylinder without matching pins – the old key still turned it. We rekeyed both to one new key, reset the keypad code, and left the tenant with a master key system for the unit. Whole job took under an hour, price agreed on the phone before we dispatched.
If you need a rekey in Chowchilla today, call (409) 405-4485. We answer live, 24/7. You’ll get a written price before any work starts, a live arrival time you can track, and a written guarantee on every repair. That’s how we’ve done it since 2008, and that’s how we do it in Chowchilla.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security.






