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 San Dimas
If you need a lock rekeyed in San Dimas, you’re likely dealing with one of three situations: you just bought a home and don’t know who still has keys, you’ve had a falling out with a roommate or contractor, or a key went missing somewhere between the 57 and the 210. Whatever the reason, the fix is the same: we pull the lock cylinder, swap the internal pins so the old key stops working, and hand you a fresh set of keys. A standard rekey on a San Dimas home takes under an hour for most single-cylinder deadbolts and knob locks. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll give you a written price before anyone gets dispatched to your door.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is San Dimas’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
San Dimas homeowners keep calling us for rekeys because we do two things that most locksmiths won’t. First, we put the price in writing before we ever touch your lock. Second, we send a background-checked, uniformed technician with a live arrival time you can track on your phone. That’s The Relay Visibility Guarantee, and it’s on every job we run in San Dimas. No anonymous tech in an unmarked van. No bill that grows between the estimate and the invoice.
Kevin Yoon leads our team, and he’s built the operation around a simple rule: the technician who quotes your rekey is the same technician who does the work. That means when we tell a San Dimas homeowner a rekey runs a certain price over the phone, that’s the price on the invoice. Every job is backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the rekey isn’t done right, we come back and make it right at no charge. No argument, no fine print.
We answer calls with a live person 24/7. When you call about a rekey in San Dimas, you’re talking to someone who can schedule the work right then, not a voicemail tree that promises a callback in “one to two business days.”
Lock Rekey in San Dimas
Lock Rekey in San Dimas almost always means one thing: working on the original builder-grade hardware from the 1960s and 70s ranch homes that line Via Verde, Bonita Ave, and the streets around San Dimas High School. These houses shipped with Kwikset and Schlage knobsets and matching single-cylinder deadbolts, and a surprising number of them are still turning today. The locks work, but the cylinders are worn. Pins have rounded edges. Springs have lost tension. A rekey on this hardware is straightforward: we open the cylinder, swap the pins to match a new key, and reassemble. But on cylinders this old, we sometimes recommend replacing the cylinder outright because a fresh pin set won’t hold reliably in a bore that’s been worn oval by fifty years of key turns. We show you the wear before we recommend anything, and the price for either option is agreed before we start.
When a Rekey Makes Sense
You should rekey your San Dimas locks any time key control changes hands. That’s the trade term for “who has a working key and how many copies exist.” It applies to home purchases, tenant turnovers, contractor projects, cleaning services, and any situation where a key you gave out is now in the hands of someone you don’t fully trust. Rekeying is cheaper than replacing the entire lock because the existing hardware stays on the door. Only the internal pins change.
What We Physically Do
We remove the lock cylinder from the knob or deadbolt, displace the old pins, load a new set matched to a new key cut on-site, and test the lock with the new key in both directions. The old key stops working immediately. If you have multiple locks on the same door, like a knob and a deadbolt, we can key them alike so one key operates both. If you want separate keys for different access points, we’ll set that up too.
Locksmith Rekey in San Dimas
Locksmith Rekey work in San Dimas covers the full set of exterior doors on a typical ranch layout: front entry, garage entry, back slider, and side gate. A lot of homeowners only rekey the front door and forget the others. On a San Dimas home with four or five exterior access points, that leaves the back half of the house open to anyone holding an old key. When we rekey a San Dimas property, we walk the perimeter with you and count every keyed lock. Then we key the whole property to a single new key, or to a master key system if you want different access levels for different people.
Cylinder Swap vs. Repin
A repin reuses the existing cylinder. A cylinder swap installs a new one. We decide based on what we find when the lock is open. On original 1960s and 70s Kwikset and Schlage hardware in San Dimas, we often find the cylinder is too worn to repin reliably. We quote both options before we start, so you know exactly what you’re paying for and why.
Non-Destructive Entry First
If you’ve lost the only working key, we pick or bypass the lock non-destructively before we rekey it. That preserves the existing hardware and saves you the cost of a new lock body. On rare occasions, a lock that’s been neglected for decades won’t pick cleanly, and we’ll tell you before drilling anything. We never destroy hardware without your approval, and the price is set before we make the call.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Dimas
We work on the hardware already on San Dimas doors and the upgrades homeowners are making. That includes everyday Kwikset and Schlage deadbolts on the older tract homes around Via Verde, plus higher-security lines from Medeco and Baldwin that show up on newer construction and remodeled homes near the 210 corridor. We carry common Kwikset and Schlage pin kits and cylinder parts in our service vehicles, which means most rekeys in San Dimas are done in a single visit with no parts-order delay. If your lock needs a cylinder that isn’t in the truck, we tell you upfront and schedule the return trip at no additional dispatch fee.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in San Dimas Homes
- Worn cylinders on 1960s and 70s builder hardware. The original Kwikset and Schlage cylinders on many San Dimas ranch homes are fifty-plus years old. Pins have rounded over, springs are weak, and a simple repin sometimes doesn’t hold. We show you the wear and quote a cylinder swap when a repin won’t last.
- Partial rekeys that leave the back of the house open. A San Dimas ranch with a front knob, a garage entry door, a back slider, and a side gate may have four different keys. Rekeying only one of them defeats the purpose. We key every exterior lock to one new key unless you specifically ask for different keys on different doors.
- The phone-quote bait and switch on aging hardware. A homeowner calls a locksmith who quotes a low rekey price, then the tech arrives and claims the cylinder is “seized” and demands a full lock replacement at triple the quote. This happens regularly on San Dimas’s aging builder hardware. We quote honestly over the phone and honor that price unless you approve a change after we show you the actual condition of the lock.
- Fresh rekeys that start sticking within a week. If the cylinder is worn, a new pin set won’t fix it. The key starts binding almost immediately. We check cylinder bore condition during every rekey and recommend a swap when the old hardware won’t hold a reliable pin set. If we rekey a lock and it sticks within a year, we return and fix it under our 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in San Dimas, CA
A standard rekey on a San Dimas home runs $19 to $35 per cylinder for the labor, with most single-family homes needing two to four cylinders done in a single visit. That puts a typical full-home rekey between $76 and $140 for the work itself. If a cylinder is too worn to repin, a replacement Kwikset or Schlage cylinder adds roughly $15 to $30 per lock depending on the model. There is no call-out surcharge added when the technician arrives. The price we quote on the phone is the price on the invoice, and you get it in writing before a single tool leaves the bag. For a lock that won’t pick and must be drilled, we tell you the cost before we drill. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll walk through your exact setup and give you a written quote.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Dimas
Our rekey service covers all of San Dimas plus the neighboring communities of La Verne, Glendora, Covina, and Azusa. If you’re just outside city limits but still close to the 57 or 210, call us and we’ll confirm coverage. We bring the same written-price guarantee, live arrival tracking, and 365-Day Done Right Promise to every job we run near San Dimas. For full details on our process, see our Rekey Locks overview page or learn more about Rekey Locks in San Dimas.
Serving San Dimas, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Dimas 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 San Dimas
A typical rekey on a San Dimas single-family home takes 30 to 60 minutes on site for two to four locks. The time is driven by the number of cylinders and whether any need to be swapped for new ones. Most jobs are done in a single visit because we carry common Kwikset and Schlage parts in the truck. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll give you a time estimate for your specific door setup.
We quote a real price before we dispatch anyone. The quote is based on the number of locks you describe and what we know about the hardware common to San Dimas homes. If we open a lock and find something unexpected, we show you before we change the price. You’ll never see a “starting at” figure that balloons when the tech arrives. The price we quote is the price you pay unless you approve a change in writing first.
Every Preston Locksmith & Security technician arrives in a marked vehicle, wearing a uniform, and can show you the written quote we emailed before dispatch. You get a live arrival time you can track on your phone through The Relay Visibility Guarantee, so you see exactly who’s coming and when. Our techs are background-checked and the person who shows up is the person assigned to your job. If you want to verify before opening the door, we’ll match the name on the booking confirmation to the technician’s ID.
Yes. Those original Kwikset and Schlage knobsets and deadbolts from the 1960s and 70s are the most common hardware we see in San Dimas. We can rekey most of them. If the cylinder is too worn to hold a new pin set reliably, we’ll recommend a cylinder swap and show you the wear before you pay for anything. The swap costs more than a straight rekey, but it means the rekey actually holds.
Rekeying changes the internal pins so the old key no longer turns the lock. Replacing the lock means removing the entire knob or deadbolt and installing new hardware. Rekeying is cheaper and keeps your existing door hardware in place. Replacement makes sense if the visible hardware is damaged, rusted, or you want a different finish or security grade. We do both, and we’ll tell you honestly which one your San Dimas lock actually needs.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving San Dimas since 2008.