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 El Segundo
Rekeying a lock in El Segundo typically costs $85 – $145 per cylinder for standard Schlage or Kwikset hardware, and most jobs are finished the same day you call. That price is confirmed in writing before our tech leaves the truck, so there’s no surprise when the invoice comes. If you’ve just moved into a house off Main Street, lost a key somewhere near Grand Avenue, or ended a lease in one of the apartment buildings along Sepulveda, we can have a background-checked locksmith at your door fast. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate and a live arrival time you can track.
We’re Preston Locksmith & Security, and we’ve been doing lock work across the South Bay since 2008. Our Rekey Locks team handles everything from single deadbolts to full master key systems for El Segundo landlords and business owners. The dispatch and scheduling for our El Segundo crews runs through our Los Angeles office, but the tech who shows up at your door lives and works in this area. He knows the street grid, the parking situations, and the buildings.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is El Segundo’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
El Segundo isn’t a tourist town. It’s a working community where people know their neighbors and expect a straight answer. That’s how we operate. Our techs arrive in uniform, introduce themselves by name, and hand over a written price before the first screw comes out. Kevin Yoon, who leads our operation, insists on that standard for every job we run in this area, from Beachside homes to the condo buildings near El Segundo Plaza.
Our El Segundo customers talk a lot about two things in their feedback. They like the live arrival time, because nobody in this city has time to burn a half-day waiting on a four-hour window. And they like the before-and-after photos we send after every job, because it proves the work actually got done on the door they pointed at. The 365-Day Done Right Promise backs every rekey we perform here. If the rekey isn’t done right, we come back and fix it, free. That promise is written on the invoice.
Rekey House in El Segundo
A Rekey House job in El Segundo means we remove each lock cylinder, swap the internal pins to a new key, and leave your existing hardware in place. You don’t buy new locks. You don’t replace deadbolts that still work. You just make every old key in circulation useless. This is the standard move when you buy a home near Sycamore Park, take over a rental property off Mariposa Avenue, or realize your contractor never returned the spare set. Most single-family homes in El Segundo run two to four entry locks, so a full house rekey typically lands between $260 and $520, parts and labor included.
One Key That Opens Every Door
If your front door, back door, and garage access door all have different keys, we can set them all to the same new key during the rekey. This is called keying alike, and it’s standard on most El Segundo house jobs. You end up with one key on your ring instead of four, and every old key that used to open any of those doors is dead. We do this with Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco cylinders without swapping out the hardware.
What About New Construction and Flips
El Segundo’s older housing stock means a lot of flips and rehabs. Builders and contractors hand out keys to subs, inspectors, stagers, and listing agents. By the time you close, a dozen copies might exist. A rekey house call closes that loop in under two hours for most homes between Imperial Avenue and the Chevron refinery fence line. We issue a fresh key set, document how many we cut, and you control every copy from that point forward.
Lock Rekey in El Segundo
A Lock Rekey call in El Segundo is often for one or two specific entry points rather than an entire house. You changed property managers, an employee left the business, or your teenager lost a house key at El Segundo High School. We rekey the affected cylinder or cylinders, and the job is done. Single-lock rekeys in El Segundo run $95 – $145 depending on the lock type. Commercial storefront locks and mortise cylinders take longer and carry a higher labor rate, but you’ll know the exact number before we begin.
Single Door, Front Only
The most common lock rekey request in this city is a front door with a Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt. One cylinder, one new key, about 30 to 45 minutes on site. If the old key was lost and you can’t provide it, we can still rekey the cylinder by picking it open first, which adds a modest charge and a few minutes. The price is still locked in writing before we start.
When the Deadbolt and Knob Don’t Match
Plenty of El Segundo homes have a Schlage deadbolt above a Kwikset knob, or vice versa. That’s not unusual. We can rekey both to a single new key even across brands, and this is one of the specific skills we advertise. It costs a bit more per cylinder because the keyways differ, but the total for a mismatched front door set usually lands between $180 and $250 in this area.
Trusted Brands We Service in El Segundo
We’re trained on and equipped for Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco hardware, plus Yale commercial cylinders and higher-security Abloy and Mul-T-Lock systems when a property calls for them. For El Segundo homes and small businesses, Schlage and Kwikset cover the majority of what’s on the door. We carry fresh pins, springs, and key blanks for those brands on every truck, which means no second trip and no waiting on a parts order. If you have a Baldwin lockset on a front door off Grand Avenue, we can rekey that too, and we’ll tell you on the phone whether the finish kit needs anything before we even roll out.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in El Segundo Homes
- The store-bought rekey kit that made things worse. A prior owner or tenant tried a hardware store rekey kit, mismatched the pin sizes, and now the cylinder turns stiff or the new key only works half the time. We fix this by pulling the cylinder, correcting the pin stack, and cutting a fresh key that actually engages.
- LAX-adjacent dust and salt air killing the action. Airborne grit from the airport corridor and the marine layer works into the pin chambers, leaving locks dry and scratchy. A rekey that works for a week and then binds at the keyway usually means the pins were dropped into a dirty cylinder. We clean and graphite-free lubricate on every rekey in El Segundo.
- A quote given before the lock type was confirmed. Someone says they charge a flat rate for a rekey, then shows up and discovers a mortise lock instead of a standard deadbolt. The labor is different, the parts are different, and suddenly the number changes. We ask about the lock type before we quote, so that doesn’t happen to you.
- Old tenant keys still floating on a rental turnover. El Segundo landlords near the 600 block of Virginia Street and similar rental pockets deal with this every lease change. Rekeying every exterior cylinder to a new master keyed system costs more than a simple rekey, but it’s cheaper than changing locks and it stops every old key immediately.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in El Segundo, CA
Here are the actual numbers for this market, and these are what you’ll see on a written estimate before the tech touches your door:
| Service | Typical El Segundo Price |
|---|---|
| Single cylinder rekey (Schlage or Kwikset, standard deadbolt) | $95 – $145 |
| Full house rekey, 3 consumer-grade entry locks | $285 – $435 |
| Rental turnover, 4 Kwikset entry sets, master keyed | $380 – $520 |
| Mortise lock rekey (common on older commercial and multifamily doors) | $125 – $185 per cylinder |
| Mismatched deadbolt + knob, keyed alike to one key | $180 – $250 |
What moves the price within those ranges? The lock type is the biggest one. Mortise cylinders, Baldwin sets, and high-security Medeco or Mul-T-Lock keyways carry more labor and more expensive key blanks. The number of cylinders is second. The condition of the hardware is third: if a cylinder is too gummed up from coastal air to clean on site, we’ll tell you and quote a replacement before swapping anything. We never show up and inflate the bill. The price confirmed on the phone is the price on the invoice, and there’s no dispatch fee tacked on when we arrive. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near El Segundo
Our El Segundo crews take jobs in the neighboring South Bay cities on the same schedule. If you manage properties or run a business across the area, we can coordinate rekeys and master key setups across Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Inglewood, and Hermosa Beach in one scheduling call. One tech, one invoice, all of it under the same written guarantee.
Serving El Segundo, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the El Segundo 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 El Segundo
Legally and practically, the landlord or the property manager has to approve a rekey in El Segundo, because the lease grants them access rights to the unit. Most El Segundo property owners will authorize a rekey for tenant safety, especially after a turnover or a domestic situation, but we need written or verbal confirmation from them on record before we work. Call us and we’ll help you have that conversation, and we’ll coordinate directly with the landlord so you don’t have to play messenger.
Yes, and we recommend doing both at the same time, because leaving one on the old key defeats the point. If both are the same brand and currently use the same key, most El Segundo front door sets come in around $180 – $250 to rekey both cylinders to one new key. If the brands are mismatched, it’s still doable, and the cost runs on the higher end because the keyways differ and we may need to repin both cylinders from scratch.
Not exactly more often, but the marine air and LAX-adjacent dust in El Segundo do mean the cylinders need cleaning and lubrication more than they would inland. The pins don’t wear out faster in a way that requires rekeying, but dirt and salt residue can make a lock feel stiff or gritty, and that’s a repair issue, not a rekey issue. When we rekey in this area, we always clean the cylinder interior and use a graphite-free lubricant so the new key operates smoothly. If your lock is binding, that’s a sign it needs attention, not necessarily a new rekey. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll assess it honestly.
Three ways. First, our tech arrives in a branded uniform and introduces himself by name before any work starts. Second, your confirmation text includes a live arrival time you can track, so you always know who you’re waiting for and when they’ll be there. Third, every Preston Locksmith & Security job includes before-and-after photos of the lock work, sent to you and logged against the invoice, so the identity of the technician and the work performed are always documented. That’s The Relay Visibility Guarantee, and it’s in effect for every El Segundo job.
Smart locks and keypad deadbolts from most brands have a physical cylinder inside them, and that cylinder can be rekeyed just like a standard deadbolt. For El Segundo homes that means your August, Schlage Encode, or Kwikset Halo lock can be rekeyed to a new physical key without replacing the electronics. If the smart lock model doesn’t support cylinder removal, we’ll tell you directly and quote the replacement rather than trying to force a rekey. Most consumer smart locks in this area run $95 – $145 to rekey, same as a standard deadbolt.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving El Segundo since 2008.