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 Mountain View
Rekeying a lock in Mountain View typically costs $95 – $160 for the first cylinder and $25 – $45 per additional cylinder, with most standard residential jobs finished in under an hour. We’re the local crew that shows up with a written price already in hand, a live arrival time you can track, and a background-checked technician in uniform. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll walk you through the process before anything gets scheduled.
We know Mountain View’s streets the way only a local shop can. From the 1940s bungalows off Castro Street to the 1990s infill townhomes near the Googleplex, the locks here don’t all behave the same way. A rekey that works perfectly on a modern Kwikset deadbolt in a North Whisman apartment can turn into a callback on a worn Baldwin mortise cylinder downtown if the tech doesn’t check the cylinder first. That’s the difference between a company that just cuts keys and one that actually understands the housing stock it’s working in.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Mountain View’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Kevin Yoon founded Preston Locksmith & Security in 2008, and the company has built its Mountain View reputation on one simple idea: write the price down before the first tool leaves the bag. No vague hourly rates. No bill that swells between the estimate and the invoice. The 365-Day Done Right Promise backs every rekey we do in Mountain View, meaning if the job isn’t done right, we make it right. A second visit after a failed repair costs you nothing.
Our dispatchers answer the phone live, 24/7. You won’t sit through a voicemail tree when you call (409) 405-4485 from your car on El Camino Real or your kitchen in Old Mountain View. The person who picks up is a real human who can quote a price range, schedule a window, and tell you exactly what to expect when the tech arrives. And because we’re part of The Relay Visibility Guarantee, you’ll get a live trackable arrival time and before-and-after photos of the work. You’ll know who’s coming and when before they knock.
Lock Rekey in Mountain View
Lock Rekey in Mountain View means swapping the internal pins and springs inside an existing lock cylinder so the old keys stop working and new keys operate the same hardware. No new lock body, no new exterior trim, no drilling. For most Mountain View homeowners, this is the right move after a roommate leaves, a tenant turns over a rental on California Street, or a housekeeper’s key goes missing somewhere between Rengstorff Park and the Farmer’s Market.
What It Involves
The tech removes the cylinder from the door, dumps the old pin stack, installs fresh pins matched to a new key code, and reassembles everything. On a standard Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt, that’s a 20-minute job per lock. On an older Baldwin mortise lock like the ones in downtown Mountain View’s pre-1960s bungalows, it takes longer because the cylinder has to be pulled through the edge of the lock body and the tech has to check for wear before rekeying. We test the new key at least three full cycles before we call the job done.
Written Price Before We Start
Here’s how our pricing actually works in Mountain View. The first cylinder runs $95 – $160. Each additional cylinder on the same visit runs $25 – $45. If you have a Baldwin mortise lock with a worn cylinder that needs replacement rather than just rekeying, the tech will show you the worn part, explain the upcharge, and get your okay before spending a dollar more. The price you approve is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge. No arrival fee that wasn’t quoted on the phone.
Locksmith Rekey in Mountain View
Locksmith Rekey in Mountain View is the same core service, but it’s the version we do when the lock has a problem beyond a simple key change. Maybe the key turns but the deadbolt doesn’t fully throw. Maybe the cylinder is loose in the door, or a previous tenant’s spare key still works and nobody can figure out why. In those cases, a rekey has to include diagnostic work before and after the pin swap.
Diagnostics Come Standard
Before we rekey anything, we check the cylinder for wear, the strike plate alignment, and the keyway for debris. In Mountain View’s older downtown bungalows, worn mortise cylinders are common. A rekey that skips this check will have the new key working fine in the shop and failing at the door two weeks later. We’d rather spend five extra minutes testing than have you call us back. If we do have to come back, the 365-Day Done Right Promise means the second visit is free.
Master Key Planning
For landlords managing rentals near the Googleplex or multi-unit properties off Shoreline Boulevard, a locksmith rekey often means planning a master key system. The pin stacks and key control have to be coordinated across every door at once. If they’re planned separately, the master key works on unit A and stops working on unit B. We pull the cylinder from each door, map the existing key codes, and set the pin stacks so the master key, the tenant keys, and the maintenance key all behave exactly as intended. California Civil Code 1950.5 matters here too: at turnover, you need to be able to account for every key ever issued, and a clean rekey with a documented key count is the simplest way to do that.
Trusted Brands We Service in Mountain View
We’re trained on Medeco and Yale high-security cylinders, and we stock fresh pins, springs, and key blanks for Schlage and Kwikset hardware in our service vehicles every day. That means when we roll up to a Mountain View job, we’re not waiting on a parts run. Whether it’s a Baldwin mortise lock on a 1940s Castro Street bungalow, a Schlage deadbolt on a new Los Altos-adjacent build, or a Medeco commercial cylinder over in the Shoreline corridor, we carry what’s needed to finish in one trip. Rekey Locks is what we do every day, and doing it right means carrying the right parts before we know which address we’re heading to.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Mountain View Homes
- Worn mortise cylinders in downtown bungalows. The pre-1960s homes off Castro and Dana Streets often have original Baldwin mortise locks. The cylinder bore wears out of round over decades of use, and a fresh rekey in a worn cylinder feels tight in the shop but binds at the door. We check the cylinder before rekeying, and if it’s out of spec, we show you the wear before recommending replacement.
- Live keypad codes on smart locks near North Whisman. A mechanical rekey of the keyway on a smart lock or keypad entry does not clear the existing codes. If an old tenant or contractor still has the door code, they still have access. The smart lock settings need to be factory reset and reprogrammed, and the mechanical keyway needs to be rekeyed too. We handle both in one visit.
- Master key systems that stop working after one unit is rekeyed. When a landlord rekeys a single unit in a multi-door master system without planning the pin stack against the master key’s cut depths, the master key can stop working on that unit. The fix is rekeying the cylinder back into the original master key progression, which we can do if we have the master key on site or know the original key code.
- Worn keys that work after a rekey but shouldn’t. If the previous key was so worn that it worked in a loose cylinder, that cylinder may have been “keyed” to accept too many cuts. A proper rekey with fresh pins matched to a new key code eliminates that slop. We’ll also cut you new keys from a master, not copies of copies, so the new key bites clean rather than riding on rounded shoulders.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Mountain View, CA
Here are the honest numbers for Mountain View. A standard single-cylinder deadbolt rekey runs $95 – $160. Each additional cylinder on the same visit runs $25 – $45. A mortise lock rekey on an older Baldwin cylinder runs the same base range, but if the cylinder is worn beyond spec and needs replacement, that part adds $60 – $120 depending on the finish and brand. Smart lock rekeying including a code reset runs $120 – $180 for the first lock. Every quote is a written price confirmed on the phone before we dispatch. You won’t see a call-out surcharge on the invoice, and the price you approve is the price you pay. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote – estimates are free and take about five minutes.
We Also Serve Cities Near Mountain View
Our Mountain View crews regularly run routes into Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Stanford, and Cupertino. If you manage a rental turnover in Los Altos or need a master key plan for an office suite near downtown Sunnyvale, the same written-price policy applies. Rekey Locks in Mountain View is our home base, but the guarantee travels with us.
Serving Mountain View, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Mountain View 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 Mountain View
Yes. A mortise lock cylinder from a pre-1960s bungalow has to be pulled through the lock body, checked for bore wear, and reassembled into the existing trim. A Kwikset deadbolt cylinder pops out with the turn of a screw. The mortise job takes longer and may reveal a worn cylinder that needs replacement. We quote both scenarios on the phone so you know the worst case before we arrive. Call (409) 405-4485 with the age of your home and we’ll walk you through it.
Absolutely. We rekey the mechanical keyway and factory reset the existing keypad codes, then reprogram only the codes you want live. If a previous tenant or contractor still has a code, it dies the same day. This is a common request near North Whisman where smart locks are more common than mechanical deadbolts. We’ll give you a written range for the full job before we dispatch.
We need to know the lock brand, whether it’s a deadbolt, knob, or mortise lock, how many cylinders you want rekeyed, and whether it’s for a rental turnover or a home you live in. Photos help, and our dispatchers can walk you through taking the right ones on a phone call. That’s how we confirm a price range in writing before anyone drives out. No tech will arrive at your Mountain View address and start changing numbers on you.
For a rekey, yes. Drilling destroys the lock and turns a $95 rekey into a $300 replacement. Gas station advice and YouTube tutorials love drilling because it looks fast. A proper rekey picks or shims the cylinder, removes it intact, swaps the pins, and leaves the original hardware on the door. We drill only when a lock is already broken beyond repair, and we show you the broken part before putting a drill to anything. You wrote the price down before we started.
Yes, we plan the pin stacks and key codes across every door in the system so the master key, tenant keys, and maintenance keys all coordinate. If a prior unit was rekeyed outside the master progression, we can restore it as long as one working master key or the original key code is available. This also keeps you square with California Civil Code 1950.5 key-return documentation at turnover. We serve Mountain View landlords managing properties from Old Mountain View up through the Shoreline corridor, and we’ll quote a flat per-lock price before scheduling.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Mountain View since 2008.