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 Lafayette
Rekeying a lock in Lafayette typically runs $18 – $30 per cylinder for standard Kwikset or Schlage hardware, and the whole job is usually finished in under two hours. If you’ve just moved into a house off Mt. Diablo Boulevard, had a contractor finish up work near Moraga Road, or lost track of who has a spare key to your home in Happy Valley, a rekey is the fast fix. We swap the internal pins so old keys stop working, no new hardware needed. Call (409) 405-4485 and you’ll get a written price before anyone heads your way.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Lafayette’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Lafayette homeowners reach out to us because we do two things most locksmiths won’t. First, we put the price in writing before a tech is dispatched, and that written price is the invoice price, period. Second, our techs are background-checked, uniformed, and you get a live arrival time you can track from your phone. No four-hour windows. No anonymous contractor knocking on your door.
Kevin Yoon, who leads our team, set the standard when Preston Locksmith & Security was founded in 2008: every job gets a written guarantee, and if a repair fails within 365 days, the second visit is free. That’s the Rekey Locks standard we apply on every Lafayette job, whether it’s a single deadbolt near Acalanes High School or a full property rekey in Reliez Valley. We work on Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, Yale, Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, Sargent, and Abloy hardware, so the lock you already own is almost always one we can rekey without replacing.
Lock Rekey in Lafayette
Lock Rekey in Lafayette means pulling the cylinder, swapping the pins inside, and cutting a new key that matches, so every old key goes dead. On a decade-old Kwikset deadbolt in a Burton Valley rancher, that’s a 20-minute job per lock. On a hillside custom with Baldwin hardware near the Lafayette Reservoir, a lock rekey can take a bit longer because those cylinders have more pins and tighter tolerances.
The cost for a lock rekey in Lafayette runs $18 – $30 per cylinder for standard residential locks. That’s the price you’ll see in writing before we dispatch, and it’s the same number on the invoice when the job is done. No arrival surcharge. No “brand-specific pins” upcharge invented on your doorstep.
What a Lock Rekey Involves
We remove the lock cylinder, replace the old pins with a new set matched to a fresh key, and reassemble the lock. The old keys simply stop turning. Nothing about the lock’s exterior changes, so your hardware stays exactly as it looks today.
Why Homeowners Choose to Rekey
New house, new key. That’s the most common reason we’re called out in Lafayette, especially after a sale closes and the previous owner’s friends, dog walker, or house cleaner might still have copies. It also makes sense after a tenant moves out of a rental on Reliez Station Road, or when a contractor who had a key during a remodel near the BART station is finished.
Locksmith Rekey in Lafayette
A locksmith rekey in Lafayette covers the same pin-swap work, done by a trained tech who arrives in a marked vehicle, in uniform, with a photo ID you can verify before they touch a lock. That matters because a rekey is only as good as the person doing it. A sloppy rekey leaves pins that catch, keys that need jiggling, and a lock that fails in six months.
We charge $18 – $30 per cylinder for a locksmith rekey in Lafayette, and for homes with four to six locks, the whole visit usually runs under two hours. Smart lock and keypad hardware adds time for reprogramming, and we’ll quote that separately in the written estimate, again before any dispatch.
Multiple Locks, One Key
Most Lafayette homes have a front deadbolt, a back entry, a garage-side door, and often a gate or side yard lock. We rekey them all to the same key on a single visit. If one lock is a different brand, we can often match it anyway; if it’s worn out, we’ll tell you honestly and give you a written price for a replacement before doing anything.
Non-Destructive First
We don’t drill a lock that only needs a rekey. If your key is stuck or a cylinder is binding, our first move is to extract the cylinder and inspect the pins. Drilling is a last resort, and only after you’ve agreed to it in writing.
Trusted Brands We Service in Lafayette
The locks on Lafayette doors aren’t all the same, and that’s fine. We service hardware from Kwikset, Medeco, Yale, and Baldwin every week in this area, from the standard Kwikset SmartKey deadbolts on 1960s ranch homes to Medeco high-security cylinders on commercial doors near the downtown corridor. We carry common Kwikset and Schlage pin kits in the van, so a standard rekey doesn’t wait on a parts run. For Medeco and Baldwin hardware, we coordinate pinning before the visit so the work still happens in one trip.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Lafayette Homes
- Mixed lock generations on one property. Lafayette’s flatland ranchers built in the 1960s and 1970s often still have original Kwikset or Schlage cylinders, while the newer hillside customs have ANSI Grade 1 deadbolts, smart locks, or keypads. A rekey visit here usually means four to six locks from different eras, all needing one matching key.
- Stiff or gritty cylinders from Bay Area air. Moisture and fine dust work into outdoor locks on hillside homes, especially gates and side doors facing open space. Cylinders get gritty, keys bind, and a standard rekey gives us the chance to clean and lubricate the pins so the new key turns smoothly from day one.
- Contractors and sitters with stray keys. After a remodel near Happy Valley Road or a house sitter near the reservoir, it’s hard to know how many copies of a key exist. Rekeying is the only way to actually cancel every old key, and we do it without replacing hardware.
- Front door rekeyed, back door forgotten. A Lafayette hillside home has multiple entry points, including gates and lower-level doors. We rekey all of them on the same visit, matched to one key, so the job is done once and done completely.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Lafayette, CA
A standard rekey in Lafayette runs $18 – $30 per cylinder. A typical single-family home with four to five locks lands between $72 and $150, total, including the new keys. Medeco, Baldwin, and mortise locks run higher because the cylinders take longer to pin correctly, and we’ll line that out in the written estimate before dispatch. There’s no call-out fee added on arrival, no “hard-to-reach” surcharge on a hillside door, and the price you approve before we send a tech is the price on the invoice. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free phone estimate with real numbers.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lafayette
Our Lafayette rekey team covers the immediate area, and we regularly run rekey jobs in Walnut Creek, Orinda, Moraga, and Pleasant Hill. If you’re just over the line in any of those cities, the same written-price policy and trackable arrival time apply. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll confirm coverage for your address.
Serving Lafayette, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lafayette 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 Lafayette
Yes, we can rekey most Kwikset SmartKey locks. The SmartKey system uses a different internal mechanism than standard pin-and-tumbler cylinders, but our techs carry the SmartKey toolset and can rekey them on-site in most cases. If the lock is too worn to hold a new key reliably, we’ll tell you honestly and give you a written price for a replacement before doing any work. Call (409) 405-4485 and describe your lock, and we’ll tell you what to expect.
Standard rekeys in Lafayette run $18 – $30 per cylinder, and we give you the written price on the phone before anyone is dispatched. The quote covers the labor, the new keys, and the service call. You’ll see the same number on the invoice when the job is finished, with no arrival fees or add-ons. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote on your locks.
Most hillside homes in Lafayette with four to six locks take under two hours to rekey, including the time to test every lock twice. If smart locks or keypads need reprogramming, add 20 to 30 minutes. We quote the time when we quote the price, so you know before we arrive. Call (409) 405-4485 with your lock types and count, and we’ll give you a realistic window.
You get a live trackable arrival link on your phone, so you can see the tech coming and know when they’ll arrive. The tech arrives in a marked vehicle, wearing a Preston Locksmith & Security uniform and carrying photo ID. Before any work starts, you’ll see the written price you approved on the phone. If anything doesn’t match, you don’t open the door, and you call us back. That’s the standard, and it’s the same on every Lafayette job.
Yes. Older Lafayette homes, especially those near the downtown corridor and in the original mid-century tracts, often have mortise locksets and rim cylinders that big-box techs won’t touch. We rekey mortise cylinders and rim cylinders in place, without replacing the historic hardware, and without drilling. Pricing for mortise work runs higher than a standard cylinder because the mechanism takes longer to pin and test, and we’ll quote it in writing before dispatch. Call (409) 405-4485 to describe your lock.
Call Preston Locksmith & Security for Rekey Locks in Lafayette
If you need a rekey in Lafayette, call (409) 405-4485. You’ll speak to a live person, get a written price for your specific locks, and we’ll send a background-checked, uniformed tech with a trackable arrival time. Every rekey is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the new key doesn’t work as it should, we come back and fix it free. No voicemail, no phone tag, no price that changes when we arrive.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Lafayette since 2008.