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 Petaluma
Rekeying a lock in Petaluma typically runs $25 – $40 per cylinder completed in about 15 – 20 minutes per lock, which is substantially cheaper than replacing hardware. Whether you’re in a 1905 Victorian off Keller Street or a 1990s tract home near Casa Grande, the job means swapping the internal pins so your old keys stop working and a new key operates everything. We dispatch directly to Petaluma from our San Francisco Bay Area scheduling office, with most appointments arriving the same day you call. Kevin Yoon, our owner, set up this operation with one rule: the price you approve on the phone is the price on the invoice. Call (409) 405-4485 for a free estimate.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Petaluma’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Petaluma homeowners call us because we answer three questions before any work starts: what it costs, who is coming, and when they’ll arrive. Locally, we’re known for handling older hardware that other locksmiths won’t touch without quoting a full replacement. Petaluma’s westside homes routinely have original mortise locks with no brand stamp, and our techs are trained to identify, disassemble, and rekey these rather than tell you to buy new hardware.
Every Preston technician arrives in uniform, background-checked, with a live trackable arrival time you can follow on your phone. You see the written price before a tool leaves the bag. You get before-and-after photos of every lock we touch. And the 365-Day Done Right Promise backs the whole job: if something isn’t right, we come back and make it right, no charge, no argument. That’s The Relay Visibility Guarantee, and it’s how we’ve built our reputation across Petaluma since 2008.
Rekey House in Petaluma
Rekey House in Petaluma means rekeying every exterior lock on your home to a single key, so one key operates the front door, back door, garage entry, and side gate. Homeowners call for this after moving into a new place, after a tenant or roommate leaves, or after a contractor keeps a copy of a house key. In Petaluma, we typically quote $25 – $35 per cylinder, with most homes having three to five exterior locks. The whole job, including the written quote, usually runs 60 – 90 minutes.
Move-In Rekeys for New Homeowners
You just closed on a house in Petaluma. The previous owners handed over two keys, but their neighbor might have a third, and their dog sitter might have a fourth. We rekey every exterior cylinder to a fresh key, then hand you all copies. You have no way to know who held the old keys, so this is the standard move-in step for anyone buying off East Washington Street or up near Petaluma High.
Single-Key Convenience
Some older Petaluma homes ended up with a different key per door because locks were swapped piecemeal over decades. We pin every cylinder to one key and replace worn cylinders only if they can’t seat new pins properly. No new hardware needed unless the lock itself is failing.
Lock Rekey in Petaluma
Lock Rekey in Petaluma refers to rekeying a single lock, not the whole house. Maybe you lost a key, or a caregiver used to have access, or you run a vacation rental near downtown and the last guest never returned the spare. Standard deadbolts and entry knobs run $25 – $35 per cylinder. Smart locks and keypad entries run $40 – $65 because the cylinder still gets rekeyed, but the electronic side needs a reset and calibration after we finish.
Deadbolt and Entry Knob Rekeys
Most deadbolts and entry knobs in Petaluma’s newer subdivisions are Kwikset or Schlage pin-and-tumbler cylinders. We carry pins for both, plus Yale and Baldwin, in our service vehicles, so we rekey on the spot. If your deadbolt and entry knob are keyed differently, we pin both to the same key so your old keys stop working on every point.
Smart Lock and Keypad Rekey
Smart locks with a physical key override still have a cylinder that can be rekeyed. We do that, then reprogram the keypad to match your existing codes or reset codes entirely if you want a clean slate. We service Kwikset Kevo, Schlage Encode, and Yale Assure lines commonly installed in Petaluma homes.
Trusted Brands We Service in Petaluma
Our techs carry pinning kits for Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, Baldwin, and Medeco, plus older mortise lock internals common in westside Petaluma Victorians. If your home has a Medeco high-security cylinder, we can rekey it provided you have the original owner card; if not, we’ll explain your options honestly before any work begins. Because we stock both residential and commercial pinning kits in every service van, we don’t have to run to a supply house mid-job, which keeps most Petaluma jobs to a single visit. Rekey Locks across all these brands comes with the same 365-Day Done Right Promise, whether it’s a standard deadbolt or a Baldwin entry set.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Petaluma Homes
- Mismatched lock brands on one house. We regularly see homes in eastside Petaluma tracts where the front deadbolt is Schlage, the back door is a Kwikset knob, and the garage is a builder-grade Yale. Each takes a different pinning kit, and a single rekey can require carrying three kits to one job. We account for that in the quote, so there’s no surprise line item.
- Worn cylinders from vacation-rental turnover. Downtown Petaluma hosts run short-term rentals where locks get worked by dozens of guests each quarter. Standard pins stop seating properly once the cylinder walls wear, and a cheap rekey fails within weeks. We test each cylinder before pinning and tell you if it needs replacement instead of pretending a rekey will hold.
- Original mortise locks with no brand stamp. Pre-1920 homes west of the river frequently have mortise lock bodies with zero identification. A rekey starts with disassembling the body to identify the internal pin stack, then matching pins by measurement, not by brand. This takes extra time, but it preserves historic hardware and keeps the cost well below replacement.
- Only the deadbolt got rekeyed. Some techs pin the deadbolt and skip the entry knob or mortise lock below it. The old key still works on that second point of entry, and the homeowner never knows. Our rekey includes every exterior lock on the same door, and we show you the before-and-after photos for each one.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Petaluma, CA
A standard rekey in Petaluma runs $25 – $35 per cylinder. Mortise locks on older westside homes run $45 – $65 because the work involves more disassembly and pin matching. Smart locks run $40 – $65 per lock. A whole-house rekey for a typical three-to-five-lock Petaluma home lands between $100 and $190. The price you approve on the phone includes labor, pins, and trip, so there’s no added call-out surcharge when we arrive. Kevin Yoon’s rule is simple: the written quote is the final invoice. Call (409) 405-4485, tell us how many locks and what brand, and we’ll give you an exact figure before dispatch.
We Also Serve Cities Near Petaluma
Our team covers all of Petaluma and neighboring Sonoma County communities. If you’re in Cotati, Rohnert Park, Novato, or Boyes Hot Springs, we can usually schedule you within the same window. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our San Francisco Bay Area office, with local crews serving these areas directly.
Serving Petaluma, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Petaluma 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 Petaluma
Yes, mortise locks run $45 – $65 per lock compared to $25 – $35 for a standard cylinder, because the job requires disassembling the lock body and matching pins by measurement rather than by brand kit. That’s still a fraction of the cost of replacing a historic mortise lock, which can run $300 – $600 for hardware alone. Call (409) 405-4485 and describe your lock; we’ll tell you over the phone whether it sounds like a mortise and what the exact price would be.
A standard three-to-five-lock rekey takes about 60 – 90 minutes on site, plus drive time to your neighborhood. Mortise locks add 20 – 30 minutes per lock due to the disassembly and pin matching. Smart locks with keypads add 15 – 20 minutes per lock for reprogramming. We’ll give you a live trackable arrival time before we dispatch, and you’ll see before-and-after photos of every lock when we’re done.
Yes. We can rekey the physical key override cylinder on Kwikset Kevo, Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and most other smart locks commonly installed in Petaluma homes, then reprogram or reset your codes. If your smart lock has no physical key cylinder, rekeying isn’t the right service; we’ll tell you that honestly and discuss your alternatives.
We carry pinning kits for Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, Baldwin, and Medeco in every service van serving Petaluma. For older unbranded mortise locks, we match pins by measurement rather than brand, which is why our techs carry calipers and a full range of pin sizes. If you have a Medeco high-security lock, bring your owner card; without it, we can’t legally buy new keys for that cylinder.
Your technician arrives in a Preston uniform, with a background check already on file, and the live arrival time you’re tracking matches the person who knocks. Before any work begins, you’ll receive a written price that already matches what you approved on the phone. After the job, you get before-and-after photos and a digital invoice with a pay link. If anything doesn’t match what we promised, you can call (409) 405-4485 and reach a live person 24/7; Kevin Yoon is the owner, and this is the standard he set from day one.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Petaluma since 2008.