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 Residential Locksmith Across Inglewood
Locked out of your house near Market Street, or tired of that worn-out deadbolt on your Florence Avenue bungalow? A residential locksmith in Inglewood typically reaches most neighborhoods in 25 to 45 minutes, and the full price is quoted in writing before anyone is dispatched. Preston Locksmith & Security has been doing exactly that since 2008. We work in Inglewood every week, and we know what your doors, locks, and keys actually need. Call (409) 405-4485 and a live person answers, 24/7.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Inglewood’s Preferred Residential Locksmith Company
We’re the company Inglewood homeowners call when they want a straight answer before a truck ever leaves the lot. Our Inglewood customers know two things about us: the price we quote on the phone is the price on the invoice, and the technician who shows up is background-checked, uniformed, and driving a branded vehicle. No anonymous subcontractors, no mysterious surcharges added at the door.
Response time matters here. Much of Inglewood sits within a tight grid of residential streets off La Brea, Prairie, and Century, which means our techs can move from Hawthorne to Crenshaw Manor to Inglewood Knolls without sitting on a freeway. We’re usually on-site in half an hour, and the live arrival time is trackable on your phone through The Relay Visibility Guarantee.
When a job is done, you get before-and-after photos, a digital invoice with a pay link, and a written guarantee under our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If a repair fails within a year, we come back free. Kevin Yoon leads the team, and he’s built the crew around a simple standard: do the job right or do it again on our dime.
Lost Key Replacement in Inglewood
Lost key replacement in Inglewood usually means one of two situations: you’ve lost every copy of the key, or you still have one but want the convenience and security of duplicates without hauling yourself to a hardware store on Century Boulevard. Either way, we come to you. For a lost key where the lock can’t be opened non-destructively, we may need to pick or drill the cylinder depending on what hardware you have. For a 1940s mortise lock, we can usually cut a new key by code or impression the lock itself, then rekey the cylinder so the lost key is dead. Replacing a lost key for a standard Kwikset or Schlage lock in Inglewood typically runs $75 – $150 with the rekey included. A deadbolt replacement with new keys lands between $120 – $220, parts and labor, written price confirmed before we touch a screwdriver.
When You Have Zero Copies
No working key at all means we still have options. Most modern cylinders can be picked non-destructively, then rekeyed and cut to new keys on-site. If the lock is a high-security brand like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock, we may need to cut from a card system or contact the manufacturer’s key control program, which is why keeping your key card number in a drawer beats keeping it nowhere.
When You Want Fresh Keys, Not Just Copies
Losing a key in Inglewood is common enough that we recommend rekeying over simple duplication whenever you don’t know where the key went. Rekeying swaps the internal pins so the lost key turns nothing. It’s cheaper than new hardware: $20 – $35 per cylinder for most residential locks, with the first cylinder’s service call rolled into the total.
House Key Locksmith in Inglewood
A house key locksmith call in Inglewood is rarely as simple as cutting one key. We’re usually looking at a front door with two generations of hardware: a 1930s mortise lock that still works fine, sitting under a builder-grade Kwikset or Schlage deadbolt added in the 1990s. That’s the classic Inglewood combination, and it shapes everything about how we work here.
One Key, Two Locks, One Inglewood Reality
We can key a modern deadbolt and an old mortise cylinder to the same key, as long as the mortise cylinder is serviceable. The job takes longer than a standard rekey because the mortise needs to be disassembled, cleaned, and fitted with pins that match the deadbolt’s keyway. Figure $30 – $50 per mortise cylinder plus $20 – $30 for the deadbolt, and we’ll tell you the exact number before any work starts.
When the House Hasn’t Been Rekeyed Since Reagan
If you bought a home near Darby Park or up by Rogers Park and never replaced the locks, every previous owner, tenant, contractor, and pet sitter might still have a working key. A full house rekey in Inglewood, five or six cylinders, runs $120 – $200 on average. That’s a small price for knowing exactly who has a key to your front door. We do it same-day.
Trusted Brands We Service in Inglewood
You’ll see Schlage, Kwikset, and Yale hardware on most Inglewood doors, and we stock common replacement parts for those brands in our service vehicles. That means most deadbolt swaps and knob replacements don’t require a second trip. We also service Medeco high-security cylinders, which are common on duplexes and fourplexes where landlords want key control. If your Inglewood building runs on Medeco or Abloy restricted keyways, we can cut and program new keys on-site, provided the property’s key-control records are in order. Baldwin hardware, often found on stucco front doors off Arbor Vitae, is something we rekey and repair without swapping in mismatched cheaper hardware.
Common Residential Locksmith Problems We See in Inglewood Homes
- Two lock generations on one door: Inglewood’s 1920s and 1930s bungalows frequently have original mortise locks paired with newer Kwikset or Schlage deadbolts. Rekeying both to one key is a normal job for us, not a reason to replace the whole door.
- Weather-swollen wooden doors and frames: The coastal fog that rolls through from El Segundo keeps Inglewood’s wood doors swelling and shrinking through the year. That movement shifts strike plate alignment, and deadbolts that worked in September start dragging in February. We’ll file, shim, or realign rather than drill new holes.
- Master key confusion on duplexes and fourplexes: Many of the post-war stucco apartments off La Cienega and Prairie were master-keyed decades ago, then modified by handymen. Tenants sometimes discover their key accidentally opens a neighbor’s unit. We audit and fix these systems properly.
- High-security locks on rental doors: Landlords install Medeco or Abloy cylinders for key control, then don’t know how to get new keys made when a tenant loses one. We handle those replacements and rekeys, keeping the property’s restricted key system intact.
Pricing for Residential Locksmith in Inglewood, CA
Here’s what residential locksmith work costs in Inglewood, as of 2025. Rekeying a standard cylinder: $20 – $35 per lock. New deadbolt installation: $120 – $220, including hardware and labor. Lock change on a modern knob or deadbolt: $90 – $160. Lost key replacement with rekey: $75 – $150. Mortise lock repair or rekey: $40 – $90 depending on condition and what’s inside. The full price is quoted in writing before we dispatch, and there’s no call-out fee tacked on when we arrive. Estimates are free over the phone. If you decide not to go ahead with the work after we get there, there’s no charge unless we’ve already performed labor you approved in writing.
We Also Serve Cities Near Inglewood
Our crews cover Inglewood and the surrounding area daily. That includes Hawthorne, Culver City, El Segundo, and Lawndale. If you’re just across the border from one of these cities, call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll tell you the real arrival time for your address.
Serving Inglewood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Inglewood 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 Residential Locksmith in Inglewood
You almost never have to replace the door. We rekey 1940s mortise locks in Inglewood all the time. The job takes 20 to 40 minutes per lock, costs $40 – $90, and leaves the original hardware in place. If the mortise body is cracked or the internals are worn beyond safe repair, we’ll show you the damage in photos before recommending options. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote.
Yes, in most cases. We key the mortise cylinder and the Kwikset deadbolt to the same key by repinning the mortise cylinder to match the modern deadbolt’s keyway. It takes about 45 minutes and typically runs $50 – $90 for both locks. This is one of the most common jobs we do in Inglewood, especially on the stucco duplexes south of Century.
No. If we arrive and you decide not to proceed before any approved labor begins, you don’t pay a trip fee or a dispatch fee. The estimate is free, and the price we quote over the phone is the price we honor. A dispatcher walks through the full written price before anyone leaves the lot.
Every Preston Locksmith & Security technician in Inglewood arrives in a branded uniform with photo ID and drives a marked vehicle. Before the tech knocks, you get their name, photo, and live trackable arrival time through The Relay Visibility Guarantee. No anonymous contractors, no bait-and-switch crews. If the person at your door doesn’t match the photo, don’t open it.
Yes, we service Medeco cylinders throughout Inglewood. Lost key replacement on a Medeco lock runs $100 – $180 depending on whether we can cut by the key code or need to drill and replace the cylinder. The cylinder is replaced with a new Medeco, not a downgraded brand, and the written price is confirmed before any drilling starts. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll figure out your exact situation on the phone.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Inglewood since 2008.