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 Redwood City
Most residential locksmith calls in Redwood City are straightforward jobs made worse by vague pricing and long waits. We’re Preston Locksmith & Security, and we fix that. A lockout in Redwood City typically runs $89 – $149, our Rekey Locks in Redwood City service runs $25 – $45 per cylinder, and a deadbolt installation $95 – $185 including hardware. Every price is confirmed in writing before our background-checked, uniformed technician heads your way, and you’ll get a live arrival time you can track from your phone. Call (409) 405-4485 and a real person answers, day or night.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Redwood City’s Preferred Residential Locksmith Company
Kevin Yoon founded Preston Locksmith & Security in 2008, and the way we operate in Redwood City reflects a simple rule: the price we quote is the price you pay. Homeowners on streets like Clinton, Middlefield, and Hopkins call us because we don’t run the bait-and-switch pricing that gives this trade a bad name. The written quote you approve before dispatch is the number on the invoice. No “doorstep adjustments,” no fee for showing up, no surprises after the work is done.
Our response time to most Redwood City neighborhoods runs 25 – 40 minutes for lockouts, and you can watch the tech’s location in real time. The Relay Visibility Guarantee is standard on every job: a written price before work starts, a live trackable arrival time, before-and-after photos, and a written guarantee on every repair. If something isn’t done right, the 365-Day Done Right Promise means we come back and make it right, free.
Redwood City’s housing stock demands a locksmith who actually knows the difference between a 1920s mortise lock and a modern Schlage deadbolt. We service both, and we stock parts locally for fast turnaround. Whether you’re in a downtown bungalow near Sequoia Station or a 1970s slab subdivision off Woodside Road, we’ve worked on your type of door before. That familiarity saves you time and money.
Smart Lock Installation in Redwood City
Smart lock installation in Redwood City typically runs $135 – $225 for a standard Schlage or Yale keypad deadbolt on a door already prepped for modern hardware, including the lock itself and the full install. The job involves removing your existing deadbolt, verifying the door prep matches the new lock’s specifications, mounting the keypad assembly, and programming your access codes. We walk you through setup on your phone before we leave, and we confirm the latch engages cleanly every time.
Older Door Pre-War Prep Check
Many pre-war homes in Redwood City have doors that were never cut for a modern deadbolt. The bore hole may be too small, the backset wrong, or the strike plate loose in old framing. We check all of this before opening the box, because installing a smart lock on a door that can’t support it is how you end up with a keypad that jams or a bolt that doesn’t latch. If the door needs modest prep work, we tell you the exact added cost before any cutting happens.
Which Brands We Recommend for Redwood City Homes
For most Redwood City homeowners, a Schlage Encode or Yale Assure deadbolt is the right balance of reliability and features. Both use standard door prep common on homes built after 1960. For older doors with non-standard prep or original hardware, we may recommend a Kwikset smart lock with adjustable backset or a retrofit approach that preserves the original cylinder. We stock common smart lock models locally, so most installs are same-day.
Locked Out of Apartment in Redwood City
Locked out of apartment in Redwood City is one of our most common calls, especially around the multi-unit buildings on Middlefield Road and Veterans Boulevard. The job usually costs $89 – $149 for non-destructive entry, depending on the lock type and time of day. We pick or bypass the lock whenever possible. Drilling is a last resort, reserved for cylinders that are seized, broken, or otherwise unopenable by normal means.
Non-Destructive Entry on Original Mortise Locks
Downtown Redwood City has a lot of original mortise locks in pre-war apartment buildings. These are the locks with a big brass faceplate and a skeleton-key-style cylinder that a lot of modern locksmiths don’t carry tools for. A renter on Clinton Street near downtown called us at 11pm after locking herself out with her keys still in the door. Our tech arrived with the agreed total already confirmed, used non-destructive entry through the pin-and-tumbler mechanism, and had her inside in under eight minutes with zero damage to the cylinder. Two weeks later the landlord had us handle Door Lock Repair in Redwood City by rekeying the same lock so the previous tenant’s keys stopped working. Same hardware, new pins, a fraction of replacement cost.
Apartment Lockouts: What We Need From You
When you call for a lockout in Redwood City, have your ID ready and be prepared to show proof of residency before we open a door. If you’re renting, it helps to have your landlord’s contact information on hand in case they need to authorize the entry. We won’t open a door without verifying you belong there. This is standard practice for any reputable Residential Locksmith team, and it protects both you and the building’s other residents.
Trusted Brands We Service in Redwood City
We service and install hardware from Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, Yale, Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, Sargent, and Abloy. For Redwood City homes, the most common brands we work on are Schlage and Kwikset for standard deadbolts and handle sets, with Medeco and Baldwin showing up frequently in higher-end Redwood Shores properties and custom renovations. We stock common replacement parts locally for these brands, which means a rekey or cylinder swap on a Medeco or Baldwin lock doesn’t sit waiting for a special-order part. If your lock is a brand we don’t stock parts for, we tell you up front and give you a realistic timeline before any money changes hands.
Common Residential Locksmith Problems We See in Redwood City Homes
- Original mortise locks on pre-war homes getting drilled instead of picked. Many downtown Redwood City homes on streets like Clinton and Middlefield still have their original mortise cylinders. A tech who doesn’t carry non-destructive entry tools will drill these, destroying a cylinder that could have been picked or bypassed in minutes. We carry the right tools and re-pin these cylinders regularly.
- Double-cylinder deadbolts on 1970s and 80s slab subdivisions off Woodside Road. These homes often have double-cylinder deadbolts, which require a key on both sides. The security tradeoff is real: they resist break-ins through glass panel doors, but they complicate fire escape. We rekey and service them, and we’ll always show you the fire-safety considerations before recommending what to do.
- Smart locks jammed on doors that were never prepped for them. Universal smart-lock installs on pre-war door prep that was never cut for a modern deadbolt is a problem we see regularly in Redwood City. The keypad might go on, but the bolt binds or doesn’t fully extend. We check the door before the box is opened, and we quote the prep work honestly if it’s needed.
- Rekey needs after rental turnover, especially in multi-unit buildings on Middlefield and Veterans Blvd. Redwood City has a lot of rental units, and landlords need locks rekeyed between tenants. That’s swapping the internal pins so old keys no longer work, no new hardware needed. It runs $25 – $45 per cylinder and usually takes under an hour.
Pricing for Residential Locksmith in Redwood City, CA
Here’s what you can expect to pay for common residential locksmith work in Redwood City. Lockout service runs $89 – $149. Rekeying a standard lock runs $25 – $45 per cylinder. Deadbolt installation runs $95 – $185 including hardware. Smart lock installation runs $135 – $225 including the lock. Door reinforcement work, like adding a strike plate and longer screws, runs $65 – $120 per door. Window lock installation runs $45 – $95 per window.
What affects the price: whether the door needs prep work for the hardware you want, whether the lock is an uncommon or high-security brand like Medeco or Abloy, and how many cylinders are involved. You’ll always get a written total before we dispatch. That number is the invoice number. No call-out surcharge added on arrival, no hourly rate that drifts. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate, and the price you hear is the price you’ll see on the invoice.
We Also Serve Cities Near Redwood City
Our Redwood City crews regularly cover the surrounding Peninsula communities. If you’re in Atherton, Menlo Park, San Carlos, or Palo Alto, you get the same written-price guarantee and live arrival tracking. Residential Locksmith in Redwood City service by Preston Locksmith & Security extends to these neighboring cities with the same background-checked technicians and the same 365-Day Done Right Promise on every repair.
Serving Redwood City, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Redwood 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 Residential Locksmith in Redwood City
In most cases, no. We carry non-destructive entry tools for original mortise locks, which are common in downtown Redwood City’s pre-war buildings on streets like Clinton and Middlefield. Our techs pick or bypass these cylinders without damage in the large majority of cases. Drilling is only used if the cylinder is seized, broken, or otherwise unopenable. We’ll tell you the full price for non-destructive entry before we start, and we’ll only drill with your explicit approval. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll get someone to your building fast.
Yes, in almost every case. Rekeying means swapping the internal pins inside the existing lock cylinder so the old keys no longer work, no new hardware needed. In Redwood City, this runs $25 – $45 per cylinder. If your existing deadbolts are in good physical shape, rekeying is the cheaper and faster option. If the hardware itself is worn, loose, or damaged, replacement makes more sense. We’ll tell you straight which route fits your locks, and the written quote covers whatever you choose.
It depends on the door prep, not the age of the home. Many older Redwood City homes were built before modern deadbolt dimensions were standardized, so the bore hole or backset may not match a Schlage or Yale smart lock out of the box. We inspect the door before opening the lock box and tell you exactly what prep work, if any, is needed and what it costs. Some homes need no prep at all. Others need modest drilling or a new strike plate. You’ll know before any work starts.
Every Preston Locksmith & Security technician in Redwood City is background-checked, uniformed, and carries company identification. When you book, you get the tech’s name and a live trackable arrival time through The Relay Visibility Guarantee, so you know who is coming and when they’ll arrive before they knock. Ask for ID at the door. It’s standard practice, and our techs expect it. This matters more in Redwood City, where multi-unit buildings on Middlefield and Veterans Blvd often have elderly or single residents opening to a stranger.
Yes, and it’s a common request for Redwood City homes with a front door, back door, and garage entry that were keyed separately. The work is called keyed-alike rekeying, and it costs $25 – $45 per cylinder. We re-pin each lock so all work on one key while the old keys stop working. This works on most brands including Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin. If some locks are a different brand or keyway than others, we’ll tell you what’s compatible and what isn’t before we start.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Redwood City since 2008.