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 Union City
Rekeying locks in Union City typically costs $25 to $45 per cylinder for standard Schlage or Kwikset hardware, and most single-family homes are done within an hour of our tech arriving. We coordinate dispatch from the San Francisco Bay Area and run crews through Union City daily, so a tech can usually reach neighborhoods from Alvarado-Niles Road up to the Decoto district in 30 to 45 minutes. The price is in writing before we dispatch, the arrival time is live-trackable, and every job includes before-and-after photos. If you need a rekey done this week, call (409) 405-4485 and talk to a live person, not a queue.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Union City’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Homeowners and small landlords in Union City call our Residential Locksmith in Union City because we do one thing differently from the start: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. No dispatch fee appears after the van pulls up, no “labor minimum” materializes mid-job. Kevin Yoon runs our rekey work with a rule that every cylinder gets checked for pin-and-spring wear before we re-pin it, because Union City’s townhome inventory turns over often and builder-grade locks get rekeyed repeatedly. We hear from customers near the Union Landing shopping center and the Alvarado district who tried a handyman first and ended up with a key that sticks. By the time we arrive, they want it fixed correctly and documented, which is exactly what we provide.
Our techs are background-checked and arrive in uniform with a photo ID. That matters in Union City, where a lot of rekey requests come from renters taking possession of a unit and new owners changing out keys on day one of a sale. You know who is coming, what they look like, and when they’ll knock. Every rekey is backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the rekey isn’t done right, we make it right, and that includes a free second visit if the repair fails. This is the Rekey Locks team’s standard, and it isn’t conditional on the lock brand or the time of day.
Locksmith Rekey in Union City
A locksmith rekey in Union City involves removing the lock cylinder, swapping the internal pins to a new key configuration, and leaving the old keys completely dead. The housing stays on the door, so you keep the finish and hardware you already have. For a typical Union City home, this runs $25 to $45 per cylinder depending on whether the cylinder is standard pin-and-tumbler or high-security, and we confirm the exact written price before any work starts. We do not drill locks to rekey them. We use the proper keyway tools, which means a rekey on a Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt is quiet, clean, and done in minutes per cylinder.
Renter Move-In and Move-Out Rekeys
Union City renters often need a rekey the day they take keys, and landlords need one the day a tenant leaves. We rekey every exterior cylinder on the property so one new key turns every door, including the side yard gate and garage entry. If a tenant brings multiple keys, we’ll verify which cylinders still match before rekeying, so no old key from a former roommate keeps working.
Keyed Alike and Key Control
If you want every door in a Union City property to work on one key, we can key the cylinders alike during the rekey. That includes combining different brands: a Schlage front deadbolt and a Kwikset side door can be done to match a single new key. We also set up key control for landlords, meaning each key is numbered and only you can authorize copies. That matters in a city with as much rental turnover as Union City.
Rekey Door Lock in Union City
A rekey door lock in Union City is usually a deadbolt or entry knob on the front, back, or garage door, and the work costs $25 to $45 per cylinder. We see plenty of front doors near the old Alvarado neighborhood where the deadbolt is a Schlage and the knob is a Kwikset, and both can be rekeyed to match one new key in the same visit. Our techs carry pinned cylinders and spring kits for both brands on the van, so we aren’t making a second trip to a supply house across the bay. The full price is quoted on the phone and locked in before dispatch, and there is no call-out surcharge added when we arrive.
Deadbolt Alignment Check with Every Rekey
Whenever we rekey a door lock in Union City, we check the deadbolt strike and alignment as part of the job. A lot of people call us back because the key turns but the bolt still binds in the frame, which isn’t a rekey failure; it’s a strike-plate or hinge alignment issue. We fix it on the spot rather than handing you a working key and a door that still fights you.
Garage and Side Door Rekeys
Garage entry doors in Union City townhomes often have a keypad deadbolt plus a standard cylinder, and both should be rekeyed when keys change hands. We rekey the mechanical cylinder and verify the keypad is still programmed to a code you control. Side gates with a deadbolt or a rim cylinder are handled the same visit, so no old key still opens any exterior door on the property.
Trusted Brands We Service in Union City
We carry pins, springs, and specialized tools for the brands most common in Union City: Schlage, Kwikset, and Yale on the residential side, and Medeco when a Union City Commercial Locksmith job needs something tougher. Many of the townhomes and older single-story homes here still have builder-grade Kwikset knobs, and we stock the exact depth-and-space pins for those without needing a parts run. That means a rekey on Alvarado Boulevard gets done same-day instead of waiting on a distributary order from across the bay. If your hardware is older Schlage with a worn keyway, we can re-pin it or replace the cylinder if the grooves are too torn up to hold a reliable shear line.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Union City Homes
- Worn builder-grade Kwikset cylinders. Union City’s townhome stock turns over constantly, and the same Kwikset cylinder often gets rekeyed three or four times. Pins and springs wear flat, keys stick or bind, and a simple re-pin won’t fix it. We swap the pins and springs and, when the keyway is too far gone, we replace the cylinder while keeping your existing hardware.
- Deadbolt misalignment blamed on a bad rekey. A door that shifts with Bay Area seasonal moisture can leave the bolt rubbing the strike plate, so the new key works but the bolt still drags. We check and adjust the strike during every rekey, which saves a return trip and a frustrated tenant.
- Partial rekeys that leave one old key alive. A previous owner rekeyed the front door but not the back, and six months later a former roommate still has access through the side gate. We inspect every exterior cylinder on the property before we start, and we rekey all of them so no old key survives.
- Mixed-brand hardware on one property. Front door is Schlage, garage is Kwikset, back gate is a different profile entirely. We can key them all alike to one new key during the rekey, and we carry the pins for each brand on the van so it’s one visit, not three.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Union City, CA
A standard single-cylinder rekey in Union City runs $25 to $45 per cylinder. A deadbolt is counted as one cylinder; an entry knob as one. A typical townhome with a front door, a garage entry, and a side gate ends up around $75 to $135 total for all three cylinders rekeyed to one new key. If a cylinder needs new pins and springs due to wear, the rekey stays the same price; we only swap the internal parts, not the whole lock. High-security cylinders like Medeco run higher because the pin stacks are proprietary, but you still get a written price before we dispatch. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote; the estimate is free, it’s the price you’ll see on the invoice, and there is no add-on when the tech arrives.
We Also Serve Cities Near Union City
From Union City, our teams regularly roll into Rekey Locks in Union City neighbors including Fremont and Newark on the same day, plus San Lorenzo and Castro Valley on the other side of the hills. If you’re a landlord with units in Union City and Fremont, one call covers both. Call (409) 405-4485 and tell us the property address; we’ll give you a written price over the phone before anyone is dispatched.
Serving Union City, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Union 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 Union City
You get a brand-new key. The rekey physically changes the internal pins inside the cylinder so that the old key no longer turns, and we cut new keys to match the new pin configuration. If you want to keep using an existing key, we can instead rekey the other cylinders to match that key, which is common when a landlord wants a dozen units on one master key. Either way, the old keys stop working the moment the rekey is done. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll tell you exactly what your specific hardware will take.
Both Kwikset and Schlage cylinders can be rekeyed to match an existing key, assuming the existing key is the correct profile for that cylinder. A Schlage key won’t physically fit a Kwikset keyway, so mixing brands requires a new key of the correct profile. In Union City, we re-pin Schlage and Kwikset cylinders to a new key or to your existing key of the same brand during the same visit, and we bring the pins for both on the van. No new lock hardware is needed unless the cylinder itself is worn beyond reliable rekeying.
Most single-family or townhome rekeys in Union City take 30 to 60 minutes on site once the tech arrives, covering every exterior cylinder plus a deadbolt alignment check. You do get a written price on the phone before we dispatch, and that price is the invoice price. The only thing that changes it is if a cylinder is so worn it needs replacement parts, and even then, we call you for approval before anything happens. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote; it’s free and there’s no call-out surcharge.
No. Drilling is a last resort for a lockout where no key exists and the cylinder is compromised. A rekey is different: we have the working key or a key that turns the cylinder, so we remove the cylinder with standard tools, swap the pins, and replace it without any damage. If a cylinder is so worn that a rekey won’t hold reliably, we’ll tell you before touching it, and we’ll show you the wear in the before-and-after photos. The hardware stays intact.
When we dispatch to Union City, you get a live trackable arrival time and a photo of the tech in uniform, along with their name, before they knock. You’ll see the van location on a map, you’ll see when they arrive, and you’ll get before-and-after photos of every cylinder we touch. We are the Union City rekey crew that shows up in branded attire with a written price already in hand; if the person at your door can’t show you that, call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll sort it out before they touch a single lock.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Union City since the company’s founding in 2008.