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 San Jacinto
Rekeying a lock in San Jacinto typically runs $18 – $35 per cylinder for standard pin-and-tumbler hardware, with most single-family homes done in under an hour. That’s the honest range, and it’s the number we put in writing before a single tool leaves the bag. You call, we quote, a background-checked tech drives to your neighborhood near Ramona Expressway or State Street, and the price on the invoice matches the price from the phone call. If you need a rekey in San Jacinto today, call (409) 405-4485 and a live person answers, 24/7.
We’re Preston Locksmith & Security, founded in 2008, and we’ve rekeyed doors from the older bungalows off Main Street to the tract homes north of the San Jacinto River. The work matters because old keys don’t just stop working; they keep working for whoever still has a copy. A rekey changes the internal pins so every previous key is dead, and you get a fresh set. No new hardware required. Call (409) 405-4485 for a written price before we dispatch.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is San Jacinto’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
San Jacinto homeowners have a specific frustration with locksmith pricing, and we hear it on almost every call: a low teaser quote, then a bill that balloons once the tech is standing in the driveway. We don’t work that way. The Relay Visibility Guarantee means you get a live trackable arrival time, before-and-after photos of every lock, and a written price confirmed before dispatch. The number you approve on the phone is the number on the invoice. If it’s not done right, the 365-Day Done Right Promise kicks in: free second visit, no argument, no charge.
Our rekey techs are background-checked and uniformed, so the person at your door near San Jacinto High School or over by the San Jacinto Community Center is the same person whose name and face you saw in the booking photo. We service Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco cylinders daily, and we carry pins, springs, and followers for all three on every truck. That means no “I’ll come back tomorrow” runaround when your 1960s deadbolt turns out to be a worn Schlage rather than the builder Kwikset you described over the phone.
Kevin Yoon runs our rekey operations with a simple rule: read the lock before touching it. That rules out the second big failure mode we see in San Jacinto, which is a tech assuming every home has a standard Kwikset or Schlage cylinder, then discovering mid-job that the door has a mortise lock or an older pin-and-tumbler that needs different pins or a full cylinder swap. We inspect first, quote after, and only then turn a single screw.
Lock Rekey in San Jacinto
Lock Rekey in San Jacinto means changing the internal pin configuration inside an existing lock cylinder so old keys stop working, typically priced $18 – $35 per lock depending on cylinder type and condition. When you buy a home in San Jacinto, whether it’s a 1940s bungalow near downtown or a 1990s tract house off Soboba Street, you have no way to know how many copies of the previous owner’s key are floating around. Rekeying is the fix. We remove the cylinder, swap the pins to match a new key, and reassemble the lock in place. The lock stays. The door stays. Only the key changes.
Same-key convenience for mismatched doors
Most San Jacinto homes have two or three different keyways across the exterior doors. That’s normal. We can pin every cylinder to the same key, even when the brands don’t match. A Schlage on the front and a Kwikset on the back can share one key, assuming the cylinders are serviceable. If a cylinder is too worn to repin reliably, we’ll tell you the replacement cost before ordering anything.
Key control for rentals and multi-unit properties
Landlords near Mt. San Jacinto College or along Sanderson Avenue often ask us to rekey between tenants. We recommend a written key control inventory every time: a signed list of every key issued, to whom, and when. That way, after the rekey, you can tell exactly which old keys still exist and which should be collected or disabled. We don’t charge extra for the inventory; it’s part of doing the job right.
Locksmith Rekey in San Jacinto
Locksmith Rekey in San Jacinto is the same mechanical service, done by a licensed trade professional rather than a handyman with a pin kit. The price per cylinder in San Jacinto runs $18 – $35, with high-security cylinders like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock running higher because the pins and key blanks cost more and the tolerances are tighter. Our techs train on Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, and more, so the rekey doesn’t just change the key, it leaves the lock turning smoothly without wobble or resistance.
Non-destructive first
If you locked yourself out and want the lock rekeyed at the same time, we pick the lock open before we ever reach for a drill. Drilling a cylinder adds cost and requires replacing the cylinder, so we avoid it unless the lock is seized or broken. On a standard rekey call in San Jacinto where the key works, we don’t need to pick anything; the cylinder comes out with the key inserted.
What we verify before the price is final
Before we quote a rekey in San Jacinto, we check three things: the brand and keyway of each cylinder, whether the existing pins are worn enough to cause sticking, and whether the lock’s tailpiece and mounting screws are still tight. If any of those need attention, that’s a separate line item, quoted in writing before we start. The price you approve is the price you pay.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Jacinto
Our San Jacinto rekey trucks carry pins, springs, and key blanks for Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco every day. That matters for speed: when we open a 1980s Baldwin knob or a Medeco deadbolt on a commercial storefront near the San Jacinto Valley, the parts are in the van, not ordered from a warehouse. We rekey Kwikset and Schlage cylinders in place most of the time. Medeco and Abloy cylinders often need the key card or a restricted blank, so we’ll verify that before we quote. You won’t get a generic “we service all brands” line; you’ll get a tech who names the keyway and the pin depth family when they pick up your lock.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in San Jacinto Homes
- Worn builder-grade Kwikset cylinders from the 1990s and 2000s. The pins wear down faster in the Inland Empire’s dust and heat, and a worn pin-and-tumbler won’t hold a new key reliably. We often replace just the cylinder, not the whole lock body, which keeps the bill under $50 per door in most cases.
- Older downtown bungalows with mortise lock bodies. Homes off Main Street and State Street often have mortise locks from the 1940s to 1970s. A mortise cylinder rekeys fine, but it needs a different follower and pin depth than a modern bored cylindrical deadbolt. A tech who only knows Kwikset will frustrate themselves and you. We read the lock first.
- Mismatched keyways across the same house. Front door Schlage, back door Kwikset, garage no-name. That’s a normal Thursday in San Jacinto. We repin each cylinder to one common key, provided the cylinders are serviceable. Some no-name cylinders can’t be repinned cleanly; we’ll say so and swap them for a new Schlage or Kwikset grade.
- Keys worn to the point of not fully engaging the pins. In the dry heat east of Hemet, brass keys and pins grind down faster than you’d expect. If you have to jiggle the key to turn the lock, the cylinder likely needs new pins, not just a new key. We’ll rekey with fresh pins and cut you a sharper key at the same visit.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in San Jacinto, CA
A standard rekey in San Jacinto runs $18 – $35 per cylinder. Most single-family homes have two to four exterior locks, so a full-house rekey typically lands between $70 and $140 before any cylinder replacements. High-security cylinders like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock run $45 – $75 per cylinder because the blanks and pins cost more and the work takes longer. If a cylinder is worn out and needs replacing, a new Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt runs $45 – $90 installed, and we’ll show you the old cylinder before we dispose of it. Every quote is free, and the number we give on the phone is the number on your invoice. Call (409) 405-4485 and ask for a written, all-inclusive rekey price for your San Jacinto address.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Jacinto
Our Rekey Locks service runs daily into Hemet, Nuevo, Homeland, and Banning. If you’re near the San Jacinto city line or you manage units in more than one of these towns, we can schedule one rekey trip that covers them all and keep one written key inventory for the whole portfolio. Whether it’s a single deadbolt in San Jacinto or a six-door rekey across Hemet and San Jacinto, the written-price-before-dispatch rule stays the same.
Serving San Jacinto, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Jacinto 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 San Jacinto
You know because you get a booking photo, the tech’s name, and a live trackable arrival link before they leave the shop. When the tech knocks near San Jacinto High School or off Ramona Expressway, they’re in a Preston uniform, they show photo ID, and they match the person in the photo you already saw. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll send that photo and tracking link the moment the job is confirmed.
Yes, in most cases. Schlage, Kwikset, and most standard pin-and-tumbler cylinders can share one key, even when the brands are different, because the key blanks and pin depths are compatible enough to key alike. Medeco and some restricted keyways stay on their own system, so a full single-key setup may require swapping one cylinder, and we’ll price that before starting.
A rekey swaps only the internal pins and springs inside the cylinder, which is about $18 – $35 per lock in San Jacinto. The lock body, the deadbolt, the strike plate, and the door all stay untouched. Replacing a deadbolt means new hardware, new mounting, and often patching screw holes, which lands closer to $90 – $160 installed. Rekeying is cheaper because you’re only changing the secret, not the whole machine.
We pick the lock first, almost always without damage. Drilling is a last resort for seized or broken cylinders, and if we have to drill, the replacement cylinder is a separate line item you approve before the drill comes out. We don’t drill a working lock just to speed up the job.
Yes. During any rekey on a multi-unit property, we can build a master key system so each unit has its own key while you carry one master that opens all of them. We’ll write a key control list with every key issued and to whom. The per-cylinder price stays the same; the master key itself is a one-time cut and pinning charge. Call (409) 405-4485 and tell us how many doors and units you have, and we’ll give you a written flat price before we schedule.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving San Jacinto since 2008.






