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 Altadena
If you just bought a house, lost a key, or had a falling out with a roommate, you need your locks rekeyed in Altadena. Rekeying is the process of changing the internal pins inside a lock cylinder so the old keys stop turning and a brand new set starts working. No new hardware, no full lock replacement, and on most doors it takes 15 to 25 minutes per lock. Preston Locksmith & Security serves all of Altadena with written pricing before dispatch. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll confirm the exact price before anyone gets in the truck.
What makes Altadena different from Pasadena or La Cañada is the mix of housing stock on a single block. You’ll find a 1927 Spanish Revival with its original mortise lock sitting next to a 1962 ranch with Kwikset knobs. A flat per-lock rekey quote doesn’t work here, and we don’t pretend it does. We ask what’s actually on your doors, then give you a real number.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Altadena’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
We’ve been rekeying locks in Altadena long enough to know the quirks of this specific housing stock. Homes off Lake Avenue, up by the foothills along Altadena Drive, and in the Jane Village area each have their own typical lock setups. Our technicians arrive with mortise lock cylinders, Kwikset and Schlage pins, and Medeco and Baldwin parts on the truck, so we’re not making a second trip because a 1930s lock needed something the tech didn’t bring.
Every Altadena job runs on the Relay Visibility Guarantee. That means three things before a single tool comes out. You get a written price, fixed and final. You get a live arrival time you can track from your phone, so you’re not sitting in a four-hour window wondering where we are. And you get before-and-after photos of the work, so you can see exactly what was changed on your locks. Kevin Yoon, who leads Preston Locksmith & Security, built this process because too many homeowners told us they’d been burned by vague quotes and anonymous techs.
We answer the phone with a live person, 24/7. No voicemail funnel, no “press 2 for service.” When you call (409) 405-4485, a human picks up and schedules the visit. Background-checked, uniformed techs arrive. Your written price doesn’t change between the estimate and the invoice, ever.
Rekey Deadbolt in Altadena
Rekeying a deadbolt in Altadena usually means pulling the cylinder, swapping the pin stacks, and cutting new keys on the spot. On a standard Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt, figure $20 to $35 per cylinder including the new keys. Baldwin or Medeco deadbolts run $30 to $45 per cylinder because the cylinders cost more and take a little longer to re-pin. The work itself rarely takes more than 20 minutes per deadbolt.
When Altadena Homeowners Need It
Closing on a house is the big one. Sellers hand out keys to agents, cleaners, contractors, and neighbors over the years. You have no idea how many copies are floating around Altadena. We rekey every exterior deadbolt the day you get the keys, and you watch us do it, so you know exactly how many working keys exist afterward. Theft or missing keys is the second scenario. If your key ring went missing, even if you think it was lost and not stolen, rekeying beats wondering.
What the Visit Actually Looks Like
We confirm the deadbolt brand and type over the phone before we dispatch. The tech arrives with the right pins and key blanks. You get the written price, you approve it, and the work starts. Before-and-after photos are included, and you get a digital invoice with a pay link before we leave the driveway.
Rekey House in Altadena
Rekeying a whole house in Altadena means every door that uses a key gets repinned to a single new key. Most Altadena homes have two to four keyed entry points, often including a back door and a side door off a service porch. On a home with standard Kwikset or Schlage hardware, a full house rekey typically runs $75 to $150, depending on how many cylinders are involved and whether the front door has a mortise lock or a standard deadbolt. The written price is confirmed before we dispatch.
A Common Altadena Scenario
A homeowner on West Palm Street in Altadena bought a 1928 bungalow whose front door still had the original mortise lock. The seller had handed out keys to contractors, neighbors, and a former tenant. Our tech rekeyed the mortise lock cylinder and the two Kwikset deadbolts on the back and side doors, changed the pin and tumbler stacks so the old keys were dead, and cut fresh keys on the spot. No drilling, no hardware replacement. The whole visit ran under an hour because we confirmed the lock types and a firm price before anyone was dispatched.
Detached Garages and ADUs
Altadena lots are deep, and a lot of them have detached garages or guest units that are still keyed to keys handed out years ago. When we rekey a house in Altadena, we ask about every structure on the parcel. The goal is one key that operates everything you want it to operate. You don’t need a separate key for the garage, the ADU, and the side gate unless you want one. If you do want different levels of access, like a tenant key that opens the ADU but not the main house, we can key it that way.
Trusted Brands We Service in Altadena
Our techs rekey and service Kwikset, Schlage, Yale, Baldwin, Medeco, and Mul-T-Lock hardware every week in Altadena. We carry common pin kits and key blanks for these brands on the truck, so when we arrive at your door off Fair Oaks Avenue or up near Farnsworth Park, we’re ready to work, not making a parts run to the valley. If your Altadena home has a Medeco high-security cylinder or a Baldwin mortise lock, we rekey it to brand spec without sending it out.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Altadena Homes
- Original mortise locks on 1920s and 1930s front doors. These are completely different jobs from a modern deadbolt. The lock body is mortised into the door edge, and the cylinder threads through the door face. Rekeying the cylinder on a mortise lock often takes longer and may require specific parts. If a tech quotes you a flat per-lock price before knowing your front door has a mortise lock, that number is probably wrong.
- Mixed cylinder brands across the same house. You’ll find a Kwikset deadbolt on the back door, a Schlage knob on the side door, and a mortise lock on the front, all on one Altadena property. Rekeying all of them to one key often means replacing one or two cylinders so the keyways match. We tell you this before we start, with a firm price.
- Detached garage and ADU keys that were never tracked. Decades of keys handed to gardeners, tenants, and house sitters are still out there. We rekey every exterior lock and give you a key control plan, so you know exactly how many keys exist and who has them.
- Worn pins and cylinders on older Altadena locks. The dry heat and fine dust from the foothills work their way into lock cylinders over time. A lock that’s been on a door since the Eisenhower administration often needs new pins anyway. Rekeying is the right time to do it, because the labor overlaps.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Altadena, CA
Here’s what rekeying actually costs in Altadena. Standard Kwikset or Schlage cylinders run $20 to $35 each, including new keys. Baldwin and Medeco cylinders run $30 to $45 each. A full house rekey on a typical Altadena home with three or four keyed entry points lands between $75 and $150. If your front door has an original mortise lock, add $25 to $40 for that cylinder, because the labor is different. There is no call-out surcharge added on arrival. The price we quote on the phone is the price on your invoice, written down before the tech starts. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote on your specific doors.
We Also Serve Cities Near Altadena
Our Rekey Locks team covers Altadena and the surrounding foothill communities daily. If you’re in Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre, or South Pasadena, we rekey locks there too, with the same written pricing and trackable arrival. This page is for Rekey Locks in Altadena, but we’re right next door when your neighbors need help.
Serving Altadena, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Altadena 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 Altadena
Before the tech arrives, you receive a photo of the technician, their name, and a live arrival time you can track on your phone. Our techs are background-checked, uniformed, and they carry company ID. The Relay Visibility Guarantee means you know who is coming, what they look like, and when they will knock before they ever step on your property. Call (409) 405-4485 and ask for Kevin Yoon by name if you want to confirm you’re talking to the right company.
Most original mortise locks on Altadena’s 1920s and 1930s homes can be rekeyed without replacement, as long as the lock body itself still functions. We repin the existing cylinder to new keys, and if the cylinder is too worn or damaged, we install a compatible replacement that fits the original mortise pocket. Replacement adds $25 to $40 beyond the standard rekey range, and we’ll tell you before we start. Call (409) 405-4485 and describe your front door lock, we’ll tell you over the phone what you’re likely looking at.
Yes. This is one of the most common requests we get on Altadena’s deep lots with detached garages and guest units. We rekey every keyed entry on the parcel, main house, garage, ADU, side gate, to a single new key. If you want a tenant key that only opens the ADU, we can key the cylinders so that works too. You decide the key plan, and we quote it as one written price before dispatch.
If the deadbolt still throws the bolt smoothly and the housing is tight in the door, you only need a rekey, which runs $20 to $35 per standard cylinder. Replacement makes sense when the deadbolt is old, loose, or you want a higher-security cylinder like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock. We’ll tell you straight which one your situation calls for. No one at Preston Locksmith & Security makes money by selling you hardware you don’t need.
A standard single-door rekey takes 15 to 25 minutes of work once the tech is at the door. A whole house with three or four entry points is usually a 45 to 90 minute visit. We ask about your doors before dispatch because Altadena’s housing stock mixes original mortise locks, standard deadbolts, and sometimes high-security cylinders on the same property, and the price and time depend on what’s actually installed. That’s why the phone quote comes first, and why the written price is fixed before we leave the shop.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Altadena since 2008.