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 Claremont
Rekeying a lock in Claremont typically costs $25 to $45 per cylinder for standard Schlage or Kwikset hardware, and most homes are finished in under 90 minutes. If you’ve got a vintage mortise lock in a Claremont Village bungalow, the price lands closer to $65 to $95 per lock because there are two cylinders and more labor involved. Either way, you’ll get a written price before our tech touches a single tool. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll sort out what you have on your doors.
We work across Claremont, from the tree-lined streets off Indian Hill Boulevard up to the 1980s tract homes north of Base Line Road. Our techs carry Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin cylinder kits on every van, so a mixed-era door isn’t a second trip. It’s a normal Tuesday.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Claremont’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
We’ve been doing this since 2008, which means we’ve rekeyed enough Claremont doors to know the city is two different lock worlds. Claremont Village homes built before 1930 still run original mortise lock bodies. North Claremont tract homes run a single ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt and a matching knob. A rekey quote has to start with which one you have, or the number changes mid-job and you feel baited. We won’t do that to you.
Every Preston tech arrives in a uniform, is background-checked, and your live arrival time is trackable on your phone. Before work starts, you get The Relay Visibility Guarantee: a written price, before-and-after photos of the job, and a written guarantee that includes a free second visit if the repair fails within 365 days. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s stamped on every rekey we do in Claremont.
Claremont customers call us because the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. No arrival surcharge. No “we found something else” upcharge. And a live person answers our phone 24/7. No voicemail tree. That’s the standard our Rekey Locks customers expect.
Rekey House in Claremont
Rekey house work in Claremont is what we do most, and it means resetting the internal pins inside your existing locks so the old keys stop working entirely. For a standard home with Schlage or Kwikset hardware, expect $25 to $45 per cylinder. We rekey every exterior door to one key, so your front, back, and garage entries all work off a single key, and we hand you two copies before we leave. It’s not illegal to keep spare keys under a planter, but after a rekey you won’t need to.
A Claremont house rekey typically takes 45 to 90 minutes depending on how many doors you have. We schedule around your day and you track the tech’s arrival live. No four-hour windows. If you just closed on a house, changed roommates, or fired a contractor who still has a key, this is the job that makes your locks yours again.
When a Rekey Beats New Hardware
Good locks don’t need replacing just because a key went missing. If your deadbolts are in solid shape, rekeying is the cheaper and cleaner fix. We only recommend new hardware when the lock is worn, damaged, or you want to upgrade to something like a Medeco high-security cylinder.
Key Control Tags, Done Right
We attach a key control tag with tracking information and the number of key copies issued. That means you always know how many keys exist for your Claremont home, and if you ever need more, you can call and request that exact key code. It’s a small thing that prevents a big headache later.
Lock Rekey in Claremont
Lock rekey in Claremont is the individual-cylinder version of the same job, and it’s what we recommend when only one door is the problem. A single deadbolt rekey runs $25 to $45 on modern hardware. A Kwikset smart-lock cylinder, a Baldwin mortise cylinder, or a Medeco high-security cylinder lands on the higher end of the range because the cylinder design is more involved and sometimes proprietary.
This is also the go-to when you’ve replaced one lock but not the others, or when a garage entry door has its own key and you want it folded into the same system. We’ll key multiple locks alike in one visit if that’s the goal. One key, every door. No extra trip.
Mixed-Era Hardware on One Door
We see this constantly in Claremont Village: a freshly installed Kwikset deadbolt married to a 1927 mortise lock below it. Rekeying both to the same key takes a bit more effort, but we stock the pins and cylinders to do it in one visit. The trick is knowing what’s on the door before quoting a flat price.
Smart Lock Cylinders
If you’ve got a keypad deadbolt on a north Claremont home, the cylinder often isn’t a standard rekey. Some are proprietary and the correct answer is a factory cylinder swap, not a pin swap. We carry compatible Schlage and Kwikset smart-lock cylinders on the van so this doesn’t become a two-appointment job.
Trusted Brands We Service in Claremont
We’re trained and equipped to rekey Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, Yale, Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, Sargent, and Abloy hardware. For Claremont specifically, we keep Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin cylinder kits stocked on every van because those three brands cover the overwhelming majority of doors here, from Galway Court townhomes to the craftsman bungalows off Harvard Avenue. Medeco and Mul-T-Lock jobs are ordered and scheduled, and we’ll give you an exact per-cylinder price in writing before anything is touched. If you’re unsure what brand is on your door, call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll help you identify it from a photo.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Claremont Homes
- Mortise locks with worn pin tumblers. Claremont Village homes built in the 1920s and early 30s often still have original mortise lock bodies. The pin and tumbler stack gets sloppy after 90 years, and a standard rekey kit doesn’t always seat the pins cleanly. We use a fresh Schlage-compatible keyway when the old one is past saving.
- Mixed deadbolts and knobs from different brands on the same door. A previous owner replaced one part and left the other. That means two different keys for one door. We key all cylinders alike in a single visit so your front door stops feeling like a two-key safe deposit box.
- Smart lock keypads with proprietary cylinders. North Claremont tract homes increasingly have smart locks on the front door. The lock body takes a normal rekey, but the cylinder sometimes can’t take a pin swap at all. The honest answer is a factory cylinder replacement, and we’ll tell you that before we start.
- Garage entry doors skipped during the original rekey. Homeowners rekey the front and back but forget the interior garage door. That door’s key is often the one that was floating around in a previous tenant’s cupholder. We check every door with a keyhole when we rekey your Claremont house.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Claremont, CA
Standard rekeying in Claremont runs $25 to $45 per cylinder for Schlage, Kwikset, and Yale hardware. Vintage mortise locks, especially on pre-1930 Claremont Village homes, run $65 to $95 per lock because there are two cylinders and more labor. Smart lock cylinders and Medeco or Mul-T-Lock high-security cylinders start around $45 and go up based on the exact cylinder type. There’s no call-out surcharge added when the tech arrives. The price quoted over the phone is the price on your invoice, and you’ll have it in writing before we begin. A service call to Claremont is included in the job price. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate, and we’ll confirm the number based on exactly what’s on your doors.
| Service | Claremont Price Range | What It Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard deadbolt or knob rekey (Schlage/Kwikset) | $25 – $45 per cylinder | Pin reset, one key control tag, written guarantee |
| Vintage mortise lock rekey (pre-1930 Claremont Village) | $65 – $95 per lock | Two cylinders, fresh Schlage keyway, written guarantee |
| Smart lock cylinder rekey or factory swap | $45 – $85 per cylinder | Cylinder-specific solution, one key control tag |
| High-security cylinder rekey (Medeco/Mul-T-Lock) | $55 – $110 per cylinder | Factory-spec pins, key control documentation |
We Also Serve Cities Near Claremont
Our Claremont team also covers Montclair, La Verne, Upland, and Ontario for the same written-price rekey service. If you’re just over the border in any of these cities, same deal: live arrival time, before-and-after photos, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise on every rekey. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll get you scheduled.
Serving Claremont, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Claremont 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 Claremont
Yes, and the honest reason is labor. A mortise lock has two cylinders plus the lock body, so it takes more time to remove, rekey, and reinstall correctly. Expect $65 to $95 per mortise lock in Claremont, compared to $25 to $45 for a single modern deadbolt. We’ll tell you which lock you have before we quote the price, not after we arrive. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact number.
Yes. We carry pin kits and cylinder kits for both brands on every van, so we can key mismatched Kwikset and Schlage locks alike in the same appointment. That works for knob cylinders, deadbolts, and most lever locks. If one lock is too worn to hold the new pin configuration, we’ll say so and quote a cylinder replacement instead. Call (409) 405-4485 to book the visit.
No. We remove the cylinder from the lock body, swap the internal pins and springs, and reassemble it so the old key stops working and a new key works instead. The lock doesn’t change. The process takes 10 to 20 minutes per cylinder on standard hardware. You keep your existing deadbolts and knobs, and old keys become junk. Call (409) 405-4485 if you want a written quote before we start.
You track their arrival live on your phone using The Relay Visibility Guarantee, and they show up in a Preston uniform with a photo ID. Before any work starts, you get a written price and a live arrival time you can watch. If a tech can’t produce that, they’re not ours. Our techs also photograph every job, before and after, so the whole thing is documented. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll confirm the tech’s name and ETA while they’re en route.
Rarely, and never by default. Most locks can be rekeyed without drilling, even the 1920s mortise bodies in Claremont Village. We only drill when a lock is frozen, stripped, or broken beyond repair, and we’ll show you exactly what’s happened and quote the replacement before we do it. You’ll never come home to a drilled-out door you didn’t authorize. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate on your specific locks.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Claremont since 2008.