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 Fullerton
Rekeying a lock in Fullerton typically costs $25 – $45 per cylinder for the labor, plus $15 – $30 if we need to replace a badly worn cylinder on an older home. Most jobs in Fullerton are done in 30 – 60 minutes, from the time we park to the time you test the new keys. Whether you’re off North Harbor Boulevard, up in Sunny Hills, or renting a mid-century place near the old downtown loop off Wilshire Avenue, we’ll give you a written price before any tool leaves the bag. Call (409) 405-4485 and a live person answers, 24/7. No voicemail tree, no “we’ll call you back sometime tomorrow.”
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Fullerton’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Our Rekey Locks team knows what Fullerton doors actually look like. This is a city of 1950s and 1960s tract homes, early-California ranches, and a surprising number of original builder-grade knob locks that have never been touched. When we pull up to a rental on North Richman Avenue or a split-level off Euclid, we already know the lock will likely be a worn Kwikset or Schlage cylinder with flattened pins. That’s not a guess; it’s what we see on most jobs here. Kevin Yoon, our owner, trains every technician to inspect the cylinder before cutting new pins, because skipping that step on a Fullerton-era lock means the new key still wiggles loose. The price gets quoted on the phone or at the door before work begins, and it’s the same number on the invoice. That’s The Relay Visibility Guarantee: a live trackable arrival time, before-and-after photos, and a written price you approve first. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our Los Angeles office; crews serve Fullerton locally.
Keyed Alike in Fullerton
Keyed alike is the job where we re-pin multiple locks so a single key opens every door, and it’s one of the most common requests we get from Fullerton homeowners who are tired of a jangly keyring with four different keys. The typical setup here, a front door deadbolt plus a garage-side entry, runs $20 – $45 per cylinder depending on how worn the existing pins are and whether we need to swap in a fresh cylinder on a mid-century door. You keep the hardware; the old keys simply stop working.
When keyed alike saves you real time
A Fullerton buyer closing on a mid-century place near Acacia Avenue often inherits a front Kwikset key, a different Schlage key for the back door, and a hardware-store key for the side gate. Keyed alike means one key for all of them, cut and tested on-site before we leave. If any cylinder is too worn to hold a clean profile, we’ll tell you the replacement cost before touching it.
Landlord and property-manager runs
Rental turnovers east of the Fullerton Loop or near the transportation center often need four, five, or six locks rekeyed on the same visit. We quote a per-cylinder price, not an hourly rate, so a six-lock property is a flat number you approve in writing before we start. Every key works the day we leave, and we hand over a clean key ring, not a zip-lock bag of scratched brass.
Rekey Deadbolt in Fullerton
Rekey deadbolt is the job where we replace the internal pin and tumbler stack inside your existing deadbolt so the old key no longer turns the cylinder. In Fullerton, single-cylinder Schlage and Kwikset deadbolts on the front door are the most common, and most of them were installed when the house was built, meaning they’ve got forty to seventy years of key wear on the pins. You don’t need a new deadbolt; the housing, latch, and strike plate stay put. The work runs $25 – $45 per deadbolt, and if the cylinder is too far gone to accept new pins cleanly, a replacement cylinder is $15 – $30, quoted in writing before we proceed.
Original hardware, new key profile
On a 1950s ranch near Bastanchury Road, the original deadbolt cylinder is often brass and can be rekeyed to a factory-fresh pin profile if it hasn’t been damaged by a drill or a recent lockout attempt. If the key pulls out mid-turn, that’s a sign the pins have flattened, and we’ll say so before rekeying.
Rental turnovers and new movers
A tenant moving into a Fullerton apartment near the Fullerton Transportation Center should rekey the deadbolt the day they get the keys. The landlord may have no idea who has copies. We always verify authorization at the door, because rekeying a property you don’t own without proof of ownership or a lease is a legal problem we won’t put you in.
Trusted Brands We Service in Fullerton
We rekey and re-pin Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco hardware every week in Fullerton, and we keep a rolling inventory of factory pin kits and standard cylinders in our local service vehicles so we don’t have to run to a supply house mid-job. Schlage and Kwikset are the builder-grade workhorses on most of the city’s mid-century inventory. Medeco deadbolts show up on higher-end homes and commercial spaces in Downtown Fullerton and near Sunny Hills, and they require a different pin set and key blank. If you inherited an Abloy or Medeco cylinder and were told it can’t be rekeyed, call us; the answer is usually that the previous tech simply didn’t carry the right pins.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Fullerton Homes
- Worn pins in builder-grade locks from the 1950s and 1960s. The pins inside a forty-year-old Kwikset cylinder flatten over time, so a rekey with fresh pins still leaves the key feeling loose. We measure and replace the cylinder when that’s the case, and we tell you the cost before doing it.
- Rental turnover confusion over who owns what key. Fullerton has a lot of rental churn around Cal State Fullerton and the surrounding blocks. Rekeying the deadbolt on move-in day is quick, but we always verify that the person at the door has the right to authorize the work.
- Builder-grade front door plus a garage-side mortise lock. A lot of Fullerton ranch homes have one Kwikset deadbolt on the front and a completely different mortise lock or rim cylinder on the garage side. The phone quote has to account for both, or the on-site number changes.
- Stiff keys from sun-baked dust on east-west facing doors. Fullerton’s inland heat kicks up fine dust that works into exterior lock cylinders, especially on doors facing the afternoon sun. Rekeying is the right time to clean and lightly lubricate the cylinder, which we include as part of the job.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Fullerton, CA
A standard single-deadbolt rekey in Fullerton runs $25 – $45. A knob lock rekey runs $20 – $40. Keyed alike across two or three doors typically lands between $60 and $120 total, depending on cylinder condition. If the cylinder is too worn to accept new pins cleanly, a replacement cylinder adds $15 – $30 and we’ll show you the old one before we swap it. We don’t charge a “diagnostic fee” and we don’t add a “trip fee” once we arrive. The price you approve in writing before we start is the price on the invoice. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate; a live person will answer and ask the right questions about your Fullerton doors.
We Also Serve Cities Near Fullerton
Our Rekey Locks in Fullerton coverage reaches neighboring Placentia, Brea, Yorba Linda, and La Habra, so if you’re a property manager handling turnover across north Orange County, one call can schedule multiple stops on the same day. Same written-price rule applies in every city we serve. Call (409) 405-4485 to confirm availability in your neighborhood.
Serving Fullerton, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fullerton 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 Fullerton
Yes. Rekeying swaps the internal pins, not the hardware, so the existing Kwikset or Schlage deadbolt stays on the door. The old key stops working, and the new keys we hand you are the only ones that turn. If the deadbolt is mechanically damaged, we’ll say so and quote a replacement before doing any work.
Most single-cylinder deadbolt or knob rekeys in Fullerton take 30 to 60 minutes on-site, including clean-up and testing. Keyed alike across three doors usually runs under an hour and a half unless we’re replacing a worn cylinder. You get a live trackable arrival window through The Relay Standard, so you’ll see exactly when the technician is pulling onto your street.
No. The price is quoted on the phone or at the door, in writing, before any work starts. There is no trip fee, no diagnostic fee, and no call-out surcharge added on arrival. The number you approve is the number on the invoice. Call (409) 405-4485 with the lock brand and door count, and we’ll tell you the flat price.
Every Preston Locksmith & Security technician arrives in uniform, drives a marked vehicle, and is background-checked. Before the technician knocks, you’ll have their name and photo in our system through The Relay Visibility Guarantee. Kevin Yoon, our owner, personally rides along on spot checks throughout Orange County to confirm that standard holds.
Bump-resistant and ANSI Grade 1 deadbolts, especially Medeco and higher-grade Schlage models, can usually be rekeyed as long as the cylinder isn’t damaged. They use tighter pin tolerances than builder-grade hardware, so the job takes a little longer and may cost slightly more. If the cylinder or keyway is proprietary, we’ll tell you the replacement cost up front. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote on your specific deadbolt.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Fullerton since 2008.