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 Foster City
Rekeying a lock in Foster City typically costs $35 – $65 per cylinder, and most single-family home jobs run $95 – $180 total when we come to you. That’s a written price, confirmed on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and it’s the same number on the invoice. No arrival fee added at the door. We serve every Foster City neighborhood, from Isle Cove to the Shores to the townhome clusters off Edgewater Boulevard, usually within 45 to 60 minutes. Call (409) 405-4485 and a live person answers, 24/7.
If you’ve just moved into a house on Pilgrim Drive, had a roommate move out of a condo near Leo J. Ryan Park, or realized a neighbor’s key still turns your deadbolt on Marlin Avenue, rekeying is the fix. We swap the internal pins inside your existing lock cylinder so the old keys stop working. No new hardware needed, usually done in under an hour per door. Kevin Yoon runs our Foster City operations, and every tech who rolls up is background-checked and in uniform, with a live-trackable arrival time sent to your phone.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Foster City’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Foster City residents tend to call us after they’ve already been burned once: a phone quote of $19, then a bill for $300 at the door. That bait-and-switch pattern is common in this trade, and it’s exactly what our written-price system was built to kill. We put the number in writing before the tools come out. If the job needs more work than expected, we stop and call you with a revised written price before doing it. You approve it or you don’t. Either way, there’s no pressure and no surprise.
Our Rekey Locks team has serviced hundreds of Foster City homes, and the common thread in the feedback is the same: the tech showed up when promised, looked like a professional, and the bill matched the quote. Foster City’s HOA-heavy neighborhoods, including the gated communities and condo associations around Bay Trail, require a certain level of accountability. A background-checked technician with a badge, a uniform, and a documented work history is not optional here. It’s the baseline.
Being local also means we know what Foster City doors actually look like. A lot of the hardware we service dates back to the original 1960s through 1980s construction boom, which means older Kwikset and Schlage cylinders, worn keyways, and sometimes subdivision master-keying that’s been in place for decades. A shop that doesn’t know that will try to sell you new hardware. We rekey what’s already there when it’s serviceable, because that’s what the job actually calls for.
Rekey Service in Foster City
Rekey Service in Foster City means removing the lock cylinder, swapping the internal pins and springs to a new key code, and reinstalling everything so the old keys no longer work. For a standard single-cylinder deadbolt or knob, we charge $35 – $65 per cylinder. Most Foster City homes we visit need two to four cylinders done, so a typical job lands between $95 and $180. The written price covers the labor, the pins, and the new keys, all confirmed before dispatch.
What the Job Actually Involves
We take the lock cylinder out of the knob or deadbolt without removing the exterior hardware, dump the old pins, fit new pins matched to a freshly cut key, and put it all back. Your locks stay in place. The door frame, strike plate, and finish are untouched. If you’re in a Foster City rental, this matters because there’s no visible change to the hardware, and the landlord’s original locks are preserved.
When Foster City Homeowners Call Us
The most common triggers: a new house purchase or lease, a roommate or tenant who moved out, a divorce or breakup where keys can’t be reliably collected, or a lost set of keys with no idea who might have found them. One specific Foster City scenario we see repeatedly: a homeowner realizes a neighbor’s key opens their front door because the original builder master-keyed an entire row of homes on the same subdivision key. Rekeying the cylinder fixes that permanently.
Keyed Alike in Foster City
Keyed Alike in Foster City means we set all your locks to the same key, so one key works the front door, the back slider, the garage entry, and the side gate. For a multi lock setup, the first cylinder costs the standard $35 – $65, and each additional cylinder keyed to match usually lands between $25 and $45. A full keyed alike job for a Foster City single family home with three to four entry points typically runs $130 – $210.
One Key, Every Door
We pin each cylinder to match one master key code, then verify every lock turns smoothly with the new key and that old keys no longer work. If you have a mix of brands, that’s fine. A Kwikset and a Schlage can be keyed alike as long as both cylinders are serviceable. We confirm this on the phone before dispatching, because it changes nothing about our price but it does affect how long the tech is on site.
Why Foster City Makes It Worthwhile
Foster City’s planned community layout means a lot of homes have multiple entry points: the front door, the garage side door, the back patio slider, and often a side gate. If you’re carrying three keys for four doors, a keyed alike job cuts the clutter and the confusion. We’ll rekey all of them to a single key and hand you as many copies as you want, each one cut on site.
Trusted Brands We Service in Foster City
We work on the hardware already installed in Foster City homes, which is a lot of Kwikset and Schlage, plus plenty of Yale and Baldwin on newer or upgraded builds. Higher security options like Medeco are common in condo association entry systems and commercial spaces around the city. We stock pins, springs, and common parts for all of them in our service vans, so there’s no “we’ll have to order that” delay for standard rekey jobs. If your Baldwin keyway is worn or your Kwikset cylinder is original to a 1970s build, we’ll rekey it rather than push you into replacement hardware you don’t need.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Foster City Homes
- Builder master keying from the 1960s through 1980s: many Foster City subdivisions were built with a single master key that opened every home along a street or block. We see this constantly in the townhome rows off Shell Boulevard and the single family clusters near Sea Cloud Park. The fix is rekeying your cylinders to a unique key code that cuts out the master key entirely, which we do in about 15 minutes per lock.
- Worn cylinders from decades of Bay salt air: Foster City sits right on the bay, and salty air corrodes brass pins and springs faster than inland areas. Rekeying an old Kwikset cylinder often means replacing the springs while we’re in there, which we include in the quoted price rather than billing it as a surprise add on.
- Mixed hardware on one door: a front door with an old Schlage knob and a newer Kwikset deadbolt, or vice versa, is common when a prior owner replaced one piece but not the other. We rekey both to the same key so your old key set becomes irrelevant.
- New homeowner uncertainty after a sale: we see a lot of calls within the first week after closing. The sellers’ agent, the staging company, a contractor, pet sitters, cleaners, half the neighborhood. Rekeying every exterior cylinder the first week is the easiest way to reset all of that at once. For a standard two door Foster City home, it’s usually under $180 and takes less than an hour.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Foster City, CA
Rekeying a standard pin and tumbler cylinder in Foster City runs $35 – $65 per cylinder. A two door rekey with a deadbolt and knob on each typically costs $95 – $180. Keyed alike jobs across three to four entry points generally run $130 – $210. High security cylinders like Medeco or Mul T Lock cost more, usually $55 – $90 per cylinder, because the pins and key blanks are proprietary and we stock them specifically for Foster City’s condo and commercial clients. The written price you get on the phone before dispatch is the price on your invoice. If we get there and find something outside the scope, a corroded cylinder that needs spring replacement, a lock that’s physically broken, we stop, show you what we found, and give you a new written price before touching anything. No prices change silently, ever.
We also offer a Rekey Locks in Foster City free estimate by phone. Call (409) 405-4485, tell us the door count and lock brands, and we’ll give you an exact number in about five minutes.
We Also Serve Cities Near Foster City
Our rekey techs cover Foster City and the surrounding Bay Area, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. If you have a rental unit or office in a neighboring city, we can often bundle trips. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll confirm coverage for your address.
Serving Foster City, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Foster City 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 Foster City
Yes. Every rekey quote is written and confirmed on the phone before a tech is dispatched, and the number we give you is the number on the invoice. We ask about your door count, lock brands, and whether you want the locks keyed alike, then we give you a fixed range or exact figure depending on the answers. No arrival surcharge, no “minimum trip fee” added after the fact. If we arrive and find something outside the scope, we stop and issue a revised written price before any additional work happens. Call (409) 405-4485 for a quote; it takes about five minutes.
For a standard home with two doors and three or four cylinders, plan on 45 to 75 minutes on site. A single deadbolt rekey is usually a 20 minute job. Keyed alike on three entry points takes around an hour. We’ll tell you the expected window when you book, and our dispatch gives you a live trackable arrival time so you’re not sitting around waiting. If the tech finds worn pins or a sticking cylinder, that can add 10 to 15 minutes, and we’ll tell you before doing any extra work.
Before dispatch, you receive the tech’s first name, photo, and a live tracked arrival time through our system. When the tech arrives, they’ll be in uniform with Preston identification, and they’ll show you a digital work order with the written price you already approved. If you’re in a gated Foster City HOA or condo community, we’ll coordinate with your gate or front desk before arrival. Any tech who can’t produce identification or a written order is not ours. You can verify by calling (409) 405-4485 while they’re at the door, and we’ll confirm the tech’s name and job number in real time.
Yes, and that’s the majority of what we do in Foster City. Original builder grade Kwikset and Schlage cylinders from the 1960s through 1980s are serviceable if they still turn smoothly and the keyway isn’t damaged. We stock the pins, springs, and key blanks to rekey them on site. If the cylinder is too worn to be reliable, we’ll show you what’s wrong and give you a written price for a new lock before doing anything. We don’t pressure you into new hardware just because the old one is old. Call (409) 405-4485 and describe the lock; we’ll tell you if it’s rekeyable before anyone comes out.
That’s builder master keying, and it’s more common in Foster City than people realize. Many of the city’s planned subdivisions from the 1960s through 1980s were originally master keyed so a project superintendent or association manager could open every unit with one key. If your door still turns with a neighbor’s key, rekeying the cylinder to a fresh, unique key code removes the master key from the equation entirely. We’ll show you the old pins and the new key working before we leave. You keep the new keys, the old ones stop working, and the neighbor’s key won’t turn your lock again. Call (409) 405-4485 for a same day appointment.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Foster City and the surrounding Bay Area.