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 Tamiami
Rekeying a lock in Tamiami usually costs $85 – $160 per cylinder, and we quote the full price by phone before anyone is dispatched. That price is the price on the invoice – no travel charge tacked on at the door, no “discovery fee” once the lock is apart. We serve homes off SW 8th Street, Flagler, Coral Way, Bird Road, and the surrounding residential streets, usually arriving within 45 – 75 minutes depending on where you live in Tamiami. If you’ve just closed on a house, lost a key, or had a tenant turnover, call (409) 405-4485 and we’ll give you a written number before we roll.
Why Preston Locksmith & Security Is Tamiami’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
We’ve been doing locksmith work in Tamiami long enough to know what’s actually on these doors. The housing stock here is mostly 1970s through 1990s single-family homes and low-rise condos off SW 8th Street and Flagler. That means we show up expecting original mortise locks and builder-grade Kwikset or Schlage knob sets, not fresh hardware that spins clean. Our techs know which cylinders bind, which have paint in the pin chambers, and which need springs replaced before a new key will cycle right. That’s not something a call-center locksmith routing a random contractor learns from a GPS pin.
The Rekey Locks team at Preston Locksmith & Security operates under the Relay Visibility Guarantee: you get a background-checked, uniformed technician with a live arrival time you can track, before-and-after photos of the work, and a written price confirmed before a single tool leaves the bag. Kevin Yoon leads our crew, and every job gets the 365-Day Done Right Promise – if the rekey isn’t done right, we make it right, no argument, no return-trip charge. Calls are answered by a live person 24/7, which matters when you get locked out at a condo on SW 117th Ave at 10pm.
Rekey Service in Tamiami
Rekey Service in Tamiami means changing the internal pins inside your existing lock cylinders so the old keys stop working, without buying new hardware. On a standard Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt, that runs $85 – $120 per cylinder including labor and new keys. On a mortise lock – common on older Tamiami doors – it’s $120 – $160 per cylinder because the cylinder has to be pulled from the lock body and the springs usually need attention. The written quote you get on the phone is the invoice total, and the whole job on a typical three-lock house takes about 45 – 60 minutes once we’re on site.
When Tamiami Homeowners Call Us For a Rekey
Most calls come after a real estate closing. Escrow cleared, the keys changed hands, but you have no idea how many copies are floating around from the previous owner, their kids, a contractor, maybe a cleaner. The smart move is to rekey every exterior lock the day you take possession. We also rekey after tenant move-outs in townhome complexes near Florida International University, and after a relationship breakup where you don’t want a key coming back through the door. We don’t drill. We don’t sell you new hardware unless the existing lock is actually worn past functioning.
What the Technician Actually Does
The tech removes each cylinder, empties the old pins, reads the new key cuts, and installs matching pins so only the new key turns the plug. On Tamiami’s older mortise locks, that usually includes cleaning paint and grit out of the pin chambers and swapping tired springs so the new key doesn’t stick. You keep the same lock bodies, same keysets, same strike plates – the new key just works. Each cylinder gets a function check with the new key thrown at least five times before we call it done.
Keyed Alike in Tamiami
Keyed Alike in Tamiami is when every single lock in your home or business works from one key. We pull the cylinders from your front deadbolt, back door knob, side garage door, and any padlocks in the rotation, and re-pin them all to the same key code. The cost is the same per-cylinder rekey rate – $85 – $160 per cylinder depending on lock type – plus a $25 keying setup fee for cutting the first matched key. You get four keys with the job, and extra copies run about $5 each if you want more.
Why One Key Beats Three
Most Tamiami homes have a front door on one key, a back door on another, and a side garage door that only locks with a deadbolt no one’s had a key to in a decade. Carrying a ring of three or four keys, two of which look identical at the bottom of a purse, is friction you don’t need. Keyed alike means one key opens everything. We set this up for families, landlords, and small businesses along Flagler and Bird Road all the time.
A Tamiami Job We Did Recently
A homeowner near SW 137th Ave and 8th Street called after a tenant moved out of a back bedroom. Our tech rekeyed the exterior mortise lock and three Kwikset knobs, replaced two worn pin-and-tumbler springs, and set both entry doors to a single keyed-alike cylinder so the family carries one key instead of three. The quote was confirmed by phone before we rolled, and the job was done non-destructively – no drilling, no new hardware.
Trusted Brands We Service in Tamiami
We’re trained on Kwikset, Schlage, Medeco, Abloy, Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, Sargent, and Yale, so whatever is on your doors in Tamiami, we’ll recognize it and have the pins and springs on the truck to work on it. That matters because the original builder hardware across Tamiami’s 1970s – 1990s homes skews hard toward Kwikset and Schlage, with the occasional Baldwin mortise on pricier streets. We stock the common pin kits for those brands, so there’s no “we’ll order the part and come back next week” runaround. You get same-visit turnaround on a standard rekey.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Tamiami Homes
- Paint-seized cylinders on older mortise locks. Decades of repainting around the front door leaves enamel inside the pin chambers. Before a new key will cycle cleanly, the cylinder needs to be pulled, degreased, and the worn springs replaced. A cheap rekey skips this step and the key sticks or jams within a month.
- Mismatched brands across one house. The front is a Baldwin mortise, the back is a Kwikset knob, the side door is an off-brand deadbolt from a 1990s hardware store. Getting all of those on one common key requires a tech who can work across brands, not a call-center order taker reading a price sheet.
- Missing keys on existing locks. A homeowner wants the back door rekeyed but can’t find the key because it’s been a year since anyone used it. That changes the job scope and price, which is why we confirm the situation by phone before dispatch – so the number we give is the number you pay.
- Warped doors from humidity that keep the bolt from seating. In Florida’s heat and monsoon seasons, wooden doors swell and sag. A freshly rekeyed deadbolt that won’t throw smoothly is not a finished job. We check the bolt alignment and tell you straight if the strike plate needs a shim or the latch is dragging. Some locksmiths skip that step and leave you with a lock that works twice before it fails again.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Tamiami, FL
A standard rekey in Tamiami runs $85 – $160 per cylinder. The most common scenario – front door deadbolt plus back door knob – lands around $170 – $280 total, written price confirmed by phone before anyone is dispatched. Mortise locks run at the top of that range. Keyed-alike add-on for multiple locks is the same per-cylinder rate plus a $25 setup fee. If you add a new key copy, it’s about $5 per key. The number we quote includes labor, pins, springs, keys, service call, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. We don’t advertise a teaser figure and pad it later. We tell you the real price upfront.
We Also Serve Cities Near Tamiami
Preston Locksmith & Security serves Tamiami and the whole southwestern metro, including dispatch into Miami, Hialeah, Miami Gardens, and Homestead. If your property is near the Tamiami/Miami line or you run a rental across county lines, we can schedule a single visit for multiple locks across multiple properties. Call us and we’ll tell you honestly whether you’re inside our standard response zone.
Serving Tamiami, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Tamiami 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 Tamiami
Rekeying changes the internal pins inside the cylinder so the old keys stop turning. The lock body, faceplate, and hardware stay exactly the same – only the key that operates the lock changes. On Tamiami’s older mortise and builder-grade knob locks, we typically clean and replace the worn internal springs at the same time, because those are what make the new key feel stiff or catch. If you want, we can also key all your locks to one key while we’re at it. Call (409) 405-4485 for a phone quote on your specific locks.
Yes. We rekey mortise locks all over Tamiami – they’re the original hardware on many 1970s and 1980s front doors off SW 8th Street and Flagler. A mortise cylinder pulls out of the lock body, the pin stack gets swapped, and the cylinder goes back in with clean springs. Expect $120 – $160 per mortise cylinder, which is a little more because of the extra step and the usual need to clear out years of paint and grit. Call (409) 405-4485 and describe your front door; we’ll tell you if it’s a mortise and what it’ll cost.
You’ll get a live arrival time on your phone before we send anyone, and the technician shows up in a Preston Locksmith & Security uniform with a photo ID and your pre-confirmed written quote. That’s part of the Relay Visibility Guarantee – the person at your door is named, background-checked, and trackable. Kevin Yoon leads our crew, and if anything doesn’t match what you were told on the phone, you call us right then. We don’t use anonymous subcontractors in Tamiami.
Yes. Keyed alike means every cylinder is pinned to the same key code, so your front door, back door, side door, and even a padlock all open with one key. The per-cylinder rate is the same as a standard rekey – $85 – $160 depending on lock type – plus a $25 setup fee. We include four keys with the job. Call (409) 405-4485 and tell us how many locks you want matched; we’ll quote you a fixed total on the phone.
We quote the full price on the phone, before dispatch. The number we give you is the invoice total – no service fee tacked on, no renegotiation at the doorstep. That’s a written quote under the Relay Visibility Guarantee. If the lock situation is different once we see it – say, a missing key or a seized cylinder – we’ll stop and re-agree on the scope and price with you before doing any work. Call (409) 405-4485 for your free estimate.
Written by Kevin Yoon, Owner at Preston Locksmith & Security, serving Tamiami residents and businesses with rekey, keyed-alike, and lock repair work since 2008.