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 Los Gatos
If you’ve just picked up keys to a Los Gatos home, waved goodbye to a tenant, or realized a spare key has gone missing, a rekey is the fastest way back to knowing exactly who can open your door. Rekeying a standard lock in Los Gatos typically costs $35 – $65 per cylinder, with mid-century mortise locks and high-security brands like Medeco running $60 – $95 per cylinder. We confirm the full written price before we dispatch anyone, and it is the same price on the invoice. Call (409) 405-4485 and you’ll speak with a live person, not a phone tree.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Los Gatos’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Founded in 2008, Preston Locksmith & Security is part of the Relay Home Co. family, with each location independently owned and operated. Our Rekey Locks team is led by Kevin Yoon, and every technician who arrives at a Los Gatos doorstep is background-checked and uniformed. You will know who is coming, what they look like, and when they will arrive before they knock.
We serve Los Gatos with the Relay Visibility Guarantee: a live arrival time you can track, before-and-after photos of every job, and a written price before a single tool leaves the bag. That price is backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not done right, we make it right, and every repair includes a written guarantee with a free second visit if the repair fails.
For a rekey in Los Gatos, we typically reach downtown neighborhoods like the Almond Grove district or homes off Blossom Hill Road within 45 to 70 minutes of your call. Hill neighborhoods along Kennedy Road and near Belgatos Park may run a few minutes longer, but the live arrival time you receive is real, not a four-hour window of hope.
Lock Rekey in Los Gatos
Lock rekey in Los Gatos means swapping the internal pins inside the existing lock cylinder so old keys no longer turn the plug, while the lock itself stays in place. No new hardware. No door prep. For most Los Gatos homes with Schlage or Kwikset deadbolts, we rekey each cylinder to a new key in about 10 to 15 minutes per lock, and the full written price runs $35 – $65 per cylinder depending on the keyway and finish.
This is the job you want after buying a home, ending a rental, firing a housekeeper or contractor, or any time a key that should not work might still work. You keep the hardware you already have, and every old copy of the old key instantly becomes a useless piece of brass.
When Rekeying Beats Replacing
If your lock’s finish matches the rest of the door hardware and the mechanism still turns smoothly, rekeying keeps the look you already paid for. You will not find a new lock that matches a 1960s Baldwin handleset at a big-box store in Campbell or Cupertino, but we can rekey that cylinder on site in Los Gatos without touching the trim.
What We Check Before Quoting
We ask for a photo of the existing lock face and key before we quote. That single step tells us whether we are dealing with a standard 5-pin Kwikset cylinder, a 6-pin Schlage, or something older and less predictable, and it means the price we give you on the phone is the price you pay when we arrive.
Locksmith Rekey in Los Gatos
Locksmith rekey in Los Gatos is the same core job, done by a trained locksmith rather than a handyman with a pin kit. The difference matters when the lock in question is not a modern Kwikset. On mid-century mortise locks common in Los Gatos hillside homes and the downtown core, the cylinder must be removed from the mortise body, the pin and tumbler stack matched to the existing keyway, and the cylinder reassembled without cracking the faceplate or stripping the set screw threads.
For a standard residential deadbolt or entry knob, you are looking at $35 – $65 per cylinder, and we can usually rekey multiple doors in a single visit. For mortise cylinders and older locks, expect $60 – $95 per cylinder because the labor and the pin work are different. Either way, you will see a written price for your specific lock before we dispatch.
On Mid-Century Mortise Locks
A homeowner on Bachman Avenue in downtown Los Gatos called after a tenant moved out. The original 1950s mortise lock on the front door still worked, but they had no idea who had keys. We pulled the cylinder, rekeyed the pin and tumbler to a new key, and left the antique hardware in place, no drilling, no replacement, while adding a keypad entry deadbolt on the back door. Total time on site was about 40 minutes, and the old tenant keys no longer worked the moment we left.
On High-Security Cylinders
Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy cylinders are not rekeyed with the same pins you would use on a Kwikset. They require the correct side pins, spool pins, and sometimes factory-authorized key blanks. We carry those pinning kits and are trained on them. A locksmith who treats a Medeco like a standard Schlage will either jam the cylinder or destroy the bump-resistant and key-control properties you bought it for.
Trusted Brands We Service in Los Gatos
Our Los Gatos rekey work covers the brands you are most likely to have on your door. We stock pin kits and key blanks for Schlage and Kwikset, and we carry the specialty pins, sidebars, and factory-authorized blanks needed to rekey Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy high-security cylinders on site. That means no shipping your cylinder to a factory and no waiting two weeks for a key. If you have an older Baldwin mortise lock or a Sargent lever set, we can rekey those too. Every rekey leaves the shop and arrives at your Los Gatos door as a written-price job, never an open-ended hourly bill.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Los Gatos Homes
- Phone quotes built on assumptions. A quote that assumes a standard Kwikset cylinder falls apart the moment the technician sees a 1950s mortise lock on a hillside home. We ask for a photo of the lock before quoting so the price we give you is the price you pay.
- The front door gets rekeyed, the back door gets forgotten. The garage entry, back slider, or detached studio door keeps the old key, and so does the previous owner or tenant. Every rekey we do in Los Gatos is quoted as a full-home job, not a single-door job.
- Standard pins in a high-security lock. Medeco and Mul-T-Lock cylinders need their own pins and key blanks. Using standard pins voids the key-control feature and can damage the lock. We carry the right parts.
- Old mortise lock cylinders with frozen set screws. Homes in the Los Gatos hills often have mortise locks that have not been serviced in 30 years. The cylinder may need a penetrating lubricant and patience, not force. Our technicians have both.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Los Gatos, CA
Rekeying in Los Gatos costs more or less depending on what is actually on your door, and we would rather tell you that up front than surprise you at the threshold. Standard Schlage and Kwikset deadbolts and knob locks run $35 – $65 per cylinder. Mid-century mortise cylinders and older Baldwin or Sargent hardware run $60 – $95 per cylinder. High-security Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy cylinders fall in that same $60 – $95 range, though key blanks add a few dollars each. There is no call-out surcharge added on arrival, no dispatch fee, and the full price is quoted on the phone before anyone is sent. Estimates are free. Call (409) 405-4485 and we will give you a number you can hold us to.
We Also Serve Cities Near Los Gatos
Our rekey service covers homes throughout Saratoga, Campbell, Cupertino, and Santa Clara. If you own a rental property in one of those cities or manage a small business with hardware spread across two or three storefronts, we can set up one phone call for all of it. We schedule across the west valley daily, so a Los Gatos appointment does not mean waiting for a special trip.
Serving Los Gatos, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Gatos 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 Los Gatos
Yes. We rekey original mortise locks in Los Gatos regularly, and we prefer to keep the original hardware when the mechanism still turns smoothly. The cylinder is removed from the mortise body, the pins are changed to match a new key, and the old key stops working immediately. Typical cost is $60 – $95 per mortise cylinder. Call (409) 405-4485 and send us a photo of the lock face and we will give you a precise written price.
The technician will arrive in a Preston uniform, with a company ID, in a marked vehicle, and you will already know their name and arrival time before they knock. Our booking flow gives you a live trackable arrival time, the technician’s name, and optional before-and-after photos on every job. If someone shows up at your Los Gatos door claiming to be from Preston but cannot show you the live arrival link we sent, do not let them in. Call us.
A full rekey of every exterior door is enough when the locks themselves are in working order. We rekey each cylinder to a new key so the previous owner’s copies stop working immediately. You do not need new hardware unless the finish is damaged or the mechanism is worn. For a standard Los Gatos home with a front door, back door, and garage entry, a full rekey usually runs $105 – $195 total. Call us at (409) 405-4485 for an exact written quote.
We rekey Medeco locks in Los Gatos on site. We carry the correct pins and factory-authorized key blanks, so the cylinder stays right where it is and you keep the bump-resistant and key-control properties. Expect $60 – $95 per Medeco cylinder plus key blanks. Send us a photo of the key and the lock face and we will confirm the exact keyway and price before we dispatch anyone.
We charge by the cylinder, not by the hour. A standard Kwikset or Schlage deadbolt takes about 10 to 15 minutes to rekey. A mid-century mortise lock or a Medeco takes longer, roughly 20 to 30 minutes. Most homes in Los Gatos with two or three exterior doors are done in under an hour. Your price is written before we arrive, so a slower job does not mean a bigger bill. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Los Gatos since 2008.






