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 Ramon
Rekeying a lock in San Ramon typically costs $35 – $65 per cylinder for standard Kwikset or Schlage hardware, and the job is usually done in 20 – 40 minutes once we’re at the door. If you’ve just closed on a home in Gale Ranch or Windemere, or an employee left your Danville-adjacent office with a key, rekeying is the fastest way to make old keys worthless without buying new hardware. We coordinate scheduling from our Bay Area office and send a uniformed, background-checked technician to your San Ramon address with a written price confirmed before we dispatch. Call (409) 405-4485 and you’ll talk to a live person who can tell you exactly what the job will cost.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is San Ramon’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Kevin Yoon founded Preston Locksmith & Security in 2008, and the business has been built on a simple rule: the price we quote on the phone is the price on the invoice. San Ramon homeowners tell us the same story over and over – an out-of-area dispatcher quotes a teaser number, then the tech on the doorstep says the “smart lock” or “commercial keyway” needs a full cylinder replacement at three times the cost. That’s not how we operate. Every rekey job gets a written price before the truck rolls, and our 365-Day Done Right Promise means if it’s not right, we come back and make it right. No charge, no argument.
We work the 94582 and 94583 zip codes constantly, from the Bridges off Crow Canyon Road up through Dougherty Valley. Our techs know the difference between a Windemere HOA that requires a specific Medeco keyway and a standalone rental off Alcosta Boulevard where the owner just wants a Kwikset rekeyed before a tenant moves in. That local knowledge means we arrive with the right pins and the right blanks the first time. We service Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, Yale, and Baldwin hardware, and we stock common pin kits in our vans so we don’t have to run back to a parts counter mid-job.
Locksmith Rekey in San Ramon
Locksmith Rekey work in San Ramon means pulling the lock cylinder out of the door, swapping the internal pins and springs to match a new key, and putting the cylinder back in. The old key stops working immediately. You keep your existing lock body, deadbolt, and strike plate – no new hardware, no door modifications. This is the standard job when a Gale Ranch homeowner closes escrow and doesn’t want the prior owner’s keys floating around, or when a Hayward commuter renting out a San Ramon townhouse turns over a lease. Standard Kwikset or Schlage rekeys run $35 – $65 per cylinder, with most homes taking 20 – 40 minutes on site.
HOA Keyway Matching
This is where a San Ramon rekey gets more complicated than a generic one. Many Dougherty Valley and Windemere villages issue gate and clubhouse keys that use a restricted or unusual keyway, and the HOA’s architectural committee often sets rules about what can go on entry doors. We rekey the residential cylinders to work with the key you’re allowed to use – and we’ll tell you plain if the HOA keyway can’t be matched to your existing hardware before we quote the job.
Medeco and High-Security Rekeys
Some San Ramon homes came from the builder with Medeco or Baldwin high-security cylinders, especially in custom builds around the Bridges. These don’t rekey with standard Kwikset pins. We carry Medeco pin kits and can rekey those cylinders without a full replacement, which saves a lot of money compared to swapping the whole deadbolt. The cost for a Medeco or Baldwin rekey typically runs $65 – $95 per cylinder.
Rekey Door Lock in San Ramon
A Rekey Door Lock call in San Ramon usually means a homeowner wants every exterior door to turn with one key. We pull each cylinder – front door, garage service door, side gate if it has a keyed handle – and pin them all to a single keyed-alike set. For a standard San Ramon home with two or three entry doors, expect $35 – $65 per cylinder plus a one-time keying charge, and the work takes under an hour. The key payoff: one key opens everything, and every previous key is dead. If the lock body itself is worn out – loose, grinding, or failing to latch – we’ll show you before-and-after photos and give you a written replacement price before any new hardware goes in.
Keying Alike After a Home Purchase
The most common Windemere and Gale Ranch scenario: the front door has Kwikset, the back door has Schlage, and the new owner wants one key for both. We can key those alike by rekeying the Schlage cylinder to accept a Kwikset key, or the reverse. You don’t always need to replace a different-brand deadbolt, and we’ll confirm the simplest option with a written price before we start. In a Windemere home on Marsh Drive, we pulled two Kwikset entry cylinders, rekeyed both to a new keyed-alike set, and rehung the ANSI Grade 1 deadbolts without touching the strike plates. The homeowner watched us pin each cylinder, tested the keys herself, and kept one spare that still opens both doors.
Rental Turnover and Tenant-Related Rekeys
San Ramon landlords handling a tenant change in a unit near Diablo Valley College or off Norris Canyon Road call us to rekey the entry deadbolt, the mailbox lock, and sometimes a garage side door. A written invoice and photo record of the work gives you a paper trail for the security deposit. We can key all exterior locks alike and hand you two copies of the new key on the spot.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Ramon
Our technicians are trained on Medeco, Kwikset, Yale, and Baldwin hardware, alongside standard Schlage and Kwikset deadbolts. We stock common Kwikset and Schlage pin kits in the van for same-day Rekey Locks service across San Ramon. If your lock is a Baldwin or Medeco cylinder with a restricted keyway, we’ll let you know whether we can pin it on site or whether it makes more sense to swap in a new matching deadbolt. Either way, the price is written and confirmed before we touch the door.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in San Ramon Homes
- HOA keyway mismatch: Dougherty Valley and Windemere gate keys often don’t match the keyway on the front-door deadbolt, so the homeowner carries two or three keys. A full keyed-alike rekey can usually consolidate them.
- Teaser-quote bait pricing: An out-of-area phone dispatcher quotes one rekey number, then the on-site tech says the smart lock or Medeco keyway “requires” a full cylinder replacement at a much higher price. We quote a written, door-count-based total before dispatch.
- Worn or discontinued keyways: Older Baldwin or Schlage cylinders in 1980s-era San Ramon homes sometimes were pinned for a keyway that’s no longer stocked. We carry blanks that can rekey many of these, but we’ll tell you if your cylinder needs replacing instead.
- Mixed builder hardware: Builders put Kwikset on the entry and Schlage on the back door more often than you’d think, especially in late-2000s Gale Ranch builds. Keying them alike is a straightforward rekey job, not a lock swap.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in San Ramon, CA
Standard Kwikset or Schlage rekeys in San Ramon run $35 – $65 per cylinder, with most homes needing two to four cylinders done. High-security Medeco or Baldwin cylinders run $65 – $95 per cylinder. There’s no call-out fee added on arrival and no dispatch surcharge. If the job requires new pins you didn’t expect or a cylinder that can’t be rekeyed, we stop and give you a written revised price before any extra work starts. Call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll give you an exact, door-count-based quote on the phone – free, no obligation, and the number won’t change when the tech arrives.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Ramon
Beyond San Ramon, our crews cover Dublin and Pleasanton along the 680 corridor, plus Danville and Hayward. If you own rental property in one of those cities or run an office in a neighboring Bay Area business park, we can handle rekeys there under the same written-price guarantee. For rekeying in the wider East Bay, our Rekey Locks team covers the full service area.
Serving San Ramon, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Ramon 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 Ramon
If the existing deadbolts are in decent shape – they latch cleanly, the bolt throws fully, and the key turns without grinding – a rekey is all you need. A standard Gale Ranch home with two or three exterior doors rekeys for $35 – $65 per cylinder and takes under an hour. If a cylinder is worn, seized, or was pinned for a discontinued keyway, we’ll show you the issue and give you a written replacement price before anything gets swapped. Call (409) 405-4485 for an exact quote.
Sometimes yes, often no – the clubhouse keyway is usually a restricted profile the HOA controls, and you can’t legally duplicate or rekey to it without the association’s written permission. What we can do is rekey your front door and garage door to one key, and we’ll tell you whether the HOA keyway allows a match before we quote the job. The written estimate covers both outcomes so there’s no surprise at the door.
Twenty to forty minutes for a standard two-door home in San Ramon. Add fifteen minutes per extra cylinder if you’re keying mailboxes, side gates, or a garage service door. We show you live arrival tracking before we get there, and Kevin Yoon’s team sends before-and-after photos of each cylinder we pull and repin. Call (409) 405-4485 to get a written time and price.
Book with a company that puts the total in writing before the truck is dispatched, based on door count, not a vague “per lock” estimate that can balloon. Preston Locksmith & Security gives you a phone quote for the exact number of cylinders you describe, confirms it in writing before the tech arrives, and the number on the invoice matches the number on the quote. No arrival surcharge, no “you need a full replacement” upsell unless we can show you exactly why. Call (409) 405-4485 for a written quote now.
Yes. We can rekey the Schlage cylinder to accept a Kwikset key or vice versa, and you’ll leave with one key that turns both deadbolts. The cost stays in the same $35 – $65 per cylinder range for standard hardware, and the job takes longer only if we’re also rekeying a Medeco or Baldwin cylinder elsewhere on the house. Call us at (409) 405-4485 and we’ll quote the exact total.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving San Ramon since 2008.






