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 Napa
Rekeying a lock in Napa typically costs $25 – $40 per cylinder for standard Schlage or Kwikset hardware, and $45 – $75 per cylinder when you’re dealing with older mortise locks or high-security brands like Medeco. The whole job on a typical Napa house runs $120 – $240, written price confirmed before we start. We serve every neighborhood from Browns Valley to Alta Heights to the streets off Old Sonoma Road. Call (409) 405-4485 and a live person answers, 24/7.
Napa’s housing stock is older than most people expect. Plenty of homes downtown and in the tree-lined blocks near Fuller Park were built before 1960. That matters when you need a Rekey Locks job done right the first time. You’re not just changing pins. You’re matching different keyways, different cylinder types, and different wear patterns across doors that may have had three different owners and three different locksmith visits before us.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Napa’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Kevin Yoon founded Preston Locksmith & Security in 2008, and the standard hasn’t moved since: a background-checked, uniformed tech shows up with a written price already in hand. Napa homeowners and small-business owners tell us the same thing over and over, which is that they’ve been burned by vague phone quotes that ballooned when the tech arrived. That doesn’t happen with us. The price we quote on the phone is the price on your invoice, full stop.
Response time to Napa matters. We coordinate dispatch from the brand’s San Francisco Bay Area office, and crews serve Napa locally, which means you’re not waiting on someone fighting bridge traffic from Sacramento or Vallejo. A typical rekey for a single-family home in Napa runs 45 minutes to 90 minutes on site, depending on how many cylinders and whether any mortise locks are involved. Every job includes before-and-after photos and a digital invoice with a pay link. You see what was done, you see what you’re paying, and you’re covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not done right, we make it right, including a free second visit if the repair fails.
Rekey Locks in Napa is work we take seriously because we know what we’ll find when we get to the door. Older hardware, mixed brands, worn cylinders. We arrive ready for that.
Locksmith Rekey in Napa
Locksmith Rekey work in Napa means something specific, and it’s worth understanding before you book. A rekey physically swaps the internal pins and springs inside your existing lock cylinder so that the old keys stop working and new keys turn the lock. No new hardware. No drilling. No door prep. The lock stays exactly where it is; only the guts change. For a standard modern deadbolt, a Napa tech can typically rekey one cylinder in 15 to 20 minutes. For an older mortise lock with a worn cylinder, figure closer to 30 to 45 minutes because the cylinder has to be removed, cleaned, and sometimes partially rebuilt before new pins go in.
Napa’s older downtown blocks and pre-1960 homes often mix original mortise lock bodies with retrofit deadbolts. So a rekey isn’t one job. It’s matching the pin and tumbler guts of each lock cylinder to the existing keyway before anything gets cut. That mismatch is rare in newer metro subdivisions where hardware is uniform, but it’s a daily reality in Napa.
Mortise Cylinder Rekeying
Older Napa doors often have a mortise lock that takes a threaded cylinder, not a standard round cylinder. The rekey process is different. The tech pulls the cylinder, disassembles it, installs new pins matched to the key you want, and reinstalls it with proper thread sealant. If the cylinder is cracked or the threads are stripped, we tell you before doing anything, with a written replacement price.
Deadbolt and Knob Matching
If your deadbolt and knob use different keys, we can rekey both to a single key in one visit. Most Napa homes we see have two or three entry doors, which means four to six cylinders total. At $25 – $40 per standard cylinder, the math is straightforward, and it’s written down before anyone touches a lock.
Rekey Door Lock in Napa
Rekey Door Lock service in Napa usually means a homeowner has just closed on a house, fired a property manager, had a tenant move out, or lost a set of keys. The reasons vary, but the need is the same: old keys should stop working immediately, and new keys should work smoothly. We handle that same day in Napa, including neighborhoods like Westwood, Pueblo, and the streets around Napa High School.
The physical work is precise. Each lock cylinder comes apart, the old pins come out, and new pins are cut and seated to match the cuts on your new key. A good rekey is invisible from the outside. A bad rekey is obvious the first time you try the key. We check every cylinder three times before we call it done, and we photograph the work before and after.
Turnover Rekeys for Rentals and Vacation Homes
Napa has a steady rotation of rental homes, ADUs, and wine-country vacation properties. When a tenant leaves, the lock should be rekeyed on the same day the keys are handed over. We do this for property owners throughout the city, with a written price per cylinder, not an open-ended hourly figure. If you manage a duplex off Jefferson Street or a vacation rental near the Oxbow, we’ll give you a flat quote over the phone.
Post-Purchase Security Rekeys
When you buy a home in Napa, you have no idea who still holds a copy of the old key. Previous owners, their relatives, contractors, pet sitters, cleaners. Rekeying every exterior cylinder should be the first call after closing. We can rekey all exterior doors to one key and leave interior locks keyed separately if that’s what you want. You tell us the layout, we build the keying plan in writing, then we execute it.
Trusted Brands We Service in Napa
Our techs are trained on Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, and Yale hardware, which covers almost everything we run into in Napa. Schlage and Kwikset dominate the residential market here. Medeco shows up on commercial doors and high-end wine storage rooms. Yale is common in older apartment buildings and some custom homes in the hills. We stock pins, springs, and common cylinder parts for all four brands in our service vehicles, which means we don’t have to leave a Napa job to chase parts. If your lock uses something more exotic, we’ll still rekey it, just expect a longer lead time for the parts order and a written price before anything gets ordered.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Napa Homes
- Mixed mortise and retrofit hardware. Older Napa homes often have one original mortise lock on the front door and newer Kwikset or Schlage deadbolts on the side and back doors. That means multiple keyways, which means the rekey takes longer and costs more than a uniform new-build job. We quote per cylinder, so you see exactly where the cost comes from.
- Worn cylinders in damp-winter climate. Napa gets wet winters and foggy mornings. Moisture works into lock cylinders, corrosion builds up, and the pins and springs get sticky or seize. A worn cylinder that gets rekeyed without being checked will keep failing even after new pins go in. We inspect each cylinder before rekeying and tell you honestly if replacement makes more sense.
- Out-of-area call centers posing as local locksmiths. Napa’s small-market word of mouth means a vague phone quote often comes from an out-of-area call center, not an actual locksmith who will show up with the right pins. The tech at your door might be a subcontractor who doesn’t even work for the company you called. We’re different: you talk to Preston Locksmith & Security directly, and the tech who arrives is our own background-checked, uniformed employee.
- Door prep and alignment issues. A rekey fixes the lock cylinder, but if the deadbolt doesn’t throw cleanly because the strike plate is misaligned or the door has settled, the lock will still feel rough. Napa’s older wood-frame homes settle over time. We check bolt throw and alignment while we’re at the door and flag anything that needs attention before it becomes a lockout.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Napa, CA
Here’s what a rekey actually costs in Napa. Standard Schlage or Kwikset cylinders run $25 – $40 each. If you have an older mortise lock or a high-security Medeco cylinder, figure $45 – $75 per cylinder. A typical single-family home with three exterior doors and two cylinders per door lands between $150 and $240 total. A smaller condo or apartment with two doors might run $100 – $160. Every quote is written, itemized, and confirmed before a single tool leaves the bag. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. No bait price that swells at the invoice. The number we quote is the number you pay, and it’s backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote. Estimates are free, and a live person answers.
We Also Serve Cities Near Napa
Our crews regularly run rekey jobs in Deer Park, Boyes Hot Springs, Sonoma, and Winters. Same written-price rule applies everywhere we go. If you’re just outside Napa or managing a property across a couple of these towns, we can schedule multiple stops in one day, with one invoice and one point of contact. Call (409) 405-4485 and tell us what you need.
Serving Napa, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Napa 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 Napa
You absolutely can rekey a mortise lock without replacing the whole thing, and we do it regularly in Napa’s older neighborhoods. The tech pulls the mortise cylinder, disassembles it, installs new pins, and reinstalls it. If the cylinder is cracked, stripped, or too worn to hold new pins reliably, we’ll tell you before doing the work and give you a written replacement price. Most mortise cylinders we see in Napa are salvageable.
You’ll know because our tech arrives in a uniform with a background-check ID, and you already have a written price from the phone call. Before the tech touches anything, we text you the tech’s name and photo, plus a live trackable arrival time. If you ever feel unsure, call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll confirm who should be at your door that minute. No anonymous contractors, no third-party dispatch.
Inside every pin-and-tumbler lock cylinder are small brass pins and springs. The cuts on your key push those pins to a specific height. A rekey swaps those pins for new ones cut to match a new key, so the old key no longer aligns the pins and won’t turn. The lock body, bolt, and trim all stay in place. It’s a mechanical change, not a hardware replacement.
A standard rekey does not make a lock bump-proof. Bump resistance comes from different pin shapes, spool pins, or special cylinder designs. If that’s a concern, ask when you call. We can rekey and install bump-resistant pins at the same time for most Schlage and Kwikset cylinders, and we’ll show you the pin options in writing before work starts.
Most Napa homes with three exterior doors and standard Schlage or Kwikset hardware take 45 to 90 minutes on site. If you have an older home with mortise locks or mixed hardware, plan for 90 minutes to two hours. We’ll give you a firm time estimate when you book, and you can track the tech’s arrival live.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Napa and the surrounding area since 2008.