What does it mean to rekey locks, and how is it different from changing them?
Rekeying means changing the inside of a lock so a different key operates it. A standard pin tumbler lock contains a stack of small pins cut to match the pattern of one specific key. To rekey it, we take the cylinder apart, replace the pins with a new combination, and cut keys to fit. Afterward the old key may still slide into the keyway, but it will no longer turn. The knob, the deadbolt, the strike plate and the finish on your door all stay exactly as they are.
That is why rekeying is usually the more economical route when your hardware is in decent shape. You are paying to change who has access, not to buy locks you did not need. If the hardware is worn out, damaged or not the style you want, that is a different job, and you can read about it under changing your locks. Plenty of Altadena homeowners only need the rekey.
Rekeying also lets us key several locks alike. If your front door, back door and side door each take a different key, we can set them all to one key so you stop carrying a ring that looks like a janitor's. That is what people usually mean when they ask us to rekey all house locks. It can be done for any group of locks that share a compatible keyway, and we will tell you plainly if one or two of them cannot join the group.
When should you rekey your locks in Altadena?
The honest test is simple: do you know who holds a working key to your door? If the answer is no, or even probably not, rekeying is the fix. The situations we see most often fall into a few groups.
Rekeying after moving or buying a house is the most common. Between the seller, the previous owner, the agent lockbox, the contractors, the neighbor who watered the plants and the cousin who stayed for a month, nobody can tell you how many copies exist. Rekeying after buying a house resets that count to the keys in your hand.
Rekeying after a tenant moves out is the second. Tenant turnover rekey is standard practice for good reason: a departing tenant is entitled to keep nothing, but a copied key is easy to make and impossible to see. The third is rekeying after losing keys. If a key vanished with an address attached to it, or you simply cannot account for it, change the lock rather than hoping it turns up in a coat pocket.
- You just bought or moved into a home and do not know who has keys
- A tenant, roommate, ex-partner or house sitter is no longer welcome
- A key was lost or stolen, especially with a wallet or bag
- A contractor crew has been working at the property and had keys
- You want one key to fit every door instead of a heavy ring
- You want a clean record of exactly how many keys exist
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Call (213) 577-1366How does our lock rekey service work, step by step?
Rekeying is quick, careful work, and it follows the same order whether it is one door or a full house. Here is what to expect when you call.
We work from our Westwood storefront and mobile vans, and when you call (213) 577-1366 you reach the company directly, not a call center that sells your job to whoever is free.
- You call, and we ask which doors and what kind of locks you have: deadbolts, knobs, levers, mortise locks, padlocks. A quick photo of the lock or the brand stamped on the latch helps us bring the right parts.
- We confirm what you want: one new key for everything, separate keys by door, or extra keys for family or staff.
- On arrival we check each lock before touching it. A lock has to operate smoothly and be in sound mechanical condition to be a good rekey candidate. If one is worn out, we say so before starting.
- We remove the cylinder, take out the old pins, and fit a new pin combination matched to your new key.
- We cut the new keys and test each one in its lock several times, from both sides of the door where it applies, with the door open and closed.
- We confirm the old keys no longer operate, and then we hand you the new keys. You can test them yourself before we leave.
What affects the cost of lock rekeying?
We do not quote numbers on a web page because the real number depends on your doors, not on a rate card. What moves the cost is straightforward, and you can predict most of it yourself.
The biggest factor is how many cylinders need work. A single deadbolt is a smaller job than a whole house with front, back, garage entry and side doors. Rekeying several locks together to one key usually makes the visit more efficient than doing them one at a time on separate trips.
Next is the lock itself. Common residential brands are generally straightforward. Older mortise-style hardware, specialty keyways, and high-security cylinders take more time or different parts. How many keys you want cut also matters, as does whether any lock turns out to need repair before it can be rekeyed.
Timing and location play a part too. A planned daytime appointment is a different situation from a late-night call, and travel from our Westwood base is part of any foothill job. We tell you what applies before we begin, and we explain what we expect the work to involve, so there is no surprise at the end.
- Number of locks and cylinders being rekeyed
- Brand, age and condition of each lock
- Special keyways or high-security cylinders
- Number of new keys you want cut
- Whether a lock needs repair before it can hold a rekey
- Appointment timing and travel to your address
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Should you rekey or replace the lock?
Rekey when the lock works well and looks the way you want. Replace when it does not. The deciding questions are about the lock's condition, not about which option sounds more thorough.
If a deadbolt sticks, the latch drags, the keyway is worn, or the lock is physically loose in the door, a new set of pins will not cure those faults. In that case you are better off with lock replacement. If you want a different grade of security or a keypad or smart lock, that is a new installation, not a rekey.
There is also a middle path. We sometimes rekey the locks that are in good shape and replace the one that is not, so the whole house still runs on a single key. We would rather tell you which locks are worth keeping than sell you a complete changeout you do not need.
One more honest note: a rekey does not make a weak lock strong. If a lock is basic builder-grade hardware, rekeying fixes the key problem but leaves the lock as it was. If security is your worry as well as key control, we will say so and show you what an upgrade looks like.
Apartment lock rekey, rentals and tenant turnover
Rental properties are where rekeying earns its keep. Every move-out is a chance for a copied key to walk away, and every move-in deserves a lock that only the new tenant and the owner can open. Apartment lock rekey between tenants is a routine, repeatable job, and it is far lighter-cost than replacing hardware on every turnover.
Landlords and property managers in Altadena can use us for a single unit or a batch of doors. We can set up a rekey so that each unit has its own key while a manager's key opens all of them, which cuts the number of keys a manager has to carry. For anything larger or more structured, our page for landlords and property managers explains how we work with them.
If you are a tenant, a quick note: California rentals involve rules about who may change locks and when, and your lease matters. Talk to your landlord before changing a lock yourself. If your landlord has authorized the change, we are glad to do the work and leave the keys with the right person.
Commercial rekey and business lock rekey
Businesses need rekeying for the same reasons homes do, only with more people involved. An employee leaves, a manager changes, a keyholder cannot be located, or a lease starts and nobody knows who has keys from the last occupant. A commercial lock rekey resets all of that without ripping out working hardware.
Business lock rekey can cover the front door, back door, storage rooms and any cabinet or padlock locks that share the keyways. If you want a tiered system, where staff keys open some doors and a manager's key opens everything, that is a more structured setup, and our commercial locksmith page covers the larger systems and hardware involved.
Commercial doors sometimes carry panic hardware, closers or high-security cylinders, and those can affect what is possible on a rekey. We will check your hardware first and be clear about what can be rekeyed on-site and what needs a different approach.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Rekeying in Altadena: rebuilds, Craftsman hardware and foothill wear
Altadena is not a one-note housing market, and rekeying here looks different from block to block. Much of the older housing stock is Craftsman bungalows, Janes Village cottages and mid-century foothill homes. The January 2025 Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of structures, with West Altadena hit especially hard, so today the area is a mix of surviving older homes and active rebuilding. New-construction door hardware sits alongside original early-1900s locksets on intact blocks.
That mix shapes the work. Around the Christmas Tree Lane district on Santa Rosa Avenue, we are often asked to rekey surviving Craftsman homes with vintage hardware. Original locksets can sometimes be rekeyed, depending on the type and condition, and we will tell you honestly when an old lock is better kept as it is and when it needs a different fix. In Janes Village and East Altadena, a family that has just bought a home in the 91001 ZIP code usually wants one key for every door and no unknown copies floating around.
In West Altadena and other rebuilding areas, rekeying is part of the handover. Contractors need keys while a house is being finished, and when the crew is done, the owner needs those keys to stop working. Rekeying new hardware at the end of construction does exactly that. Because the lock is new, it is usually a straightforward rekey rather than a replacement. For a vacant parcel or site that needs padlocks or gate locks, that is a separate job, and our mobile locksmith page explains how we travel to a site.
The foothill climate matters as well. Summers run hotter than the basin, and strong, dry Santa Ana winds come off the San Gabriels, so wind-blown grit and intense sun are the main wear factors on exterior doors and locks. Grit gets into keyways and cylinders and can make a lock stiff, and sun is hard on finishes. We check for that during a rekey, because a stiff or gritty cylinder may need cleaning or service before it can be rekeyed reliably. Altadena is about 26 miles from our Westwood storefront, and our vans serve the whole community, from Rubio Canyon to Farnsworth Park, The Meadows and beyond. If you live in the gated La Viña community and your issue is the gate itself, gate lock repair is the page for that.
Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a rekey?
We have been in business since 1987 and serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties. That experience matters on rekeys, because the job is only as good as the judgment behind it: knowing which lock will take a rekey, which one is worn, and which is not worth the effort.
We are one company. The person who answers (213) 577-1366 works for us, the technician who comes to your door works for us, and there is no dispatch middleman reselling your call. We run a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood plus mobile service vans, so we can cut keys, source parts and handle complicated hardware from a real shop. The phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round.
David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work. That means standards that do not change from one job to the next, and a person you can hold accountable.
One practical tip that applies to any locksmith: California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, and you should ask any locksmith you are considering for it. A reputable company will not mind the question. If you also need extra keys once the rekey is done, our key duplication page explains how that works.
Frequently asked questions
Can you rekey locks near me in Altadena at night or on weekends?
Yes. Our phone at (213) 577-1366 is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round. Tell us your address and what locks you have, and we will go over the options and arrange the visit. A rekey is often planned, but if you lost keys late at night or just moved in after dark, you can call at any hour.
Do I need to rekey locks after buying a house?
It is strongly worth doing. You cannot know how many keys exist from past owners, agents, contractors and visitors. Rekeying after buying a house resets that and gives you a known set of keys. It is also usually the more economical route compared with replacing every lock, as long as the existing hardware is in good condition.
Is rekeying better than changing the locks?
If your locks work properly and you simply want different keys, rekeying is usually the better choice, since you keep the hardware you already have. If the locks are worn, damaged or low-grade, or you want a different type of lock, replacement makes more sense. We look at each lock and tell you which one fits.
Can old Craftsman-era locks be rekeyed?
Often, yes, but it depends on the type and condition of the lock. Some vintage hardware has a removable cylinder that rekeys well, and some does not. We inspect it first and tell you honestly whether it can be rekeyed, needs a repair, or is better left alone to preserve the original hardware.
How many keys will I get, and can all my doors use one key?
You choose. We can set several locks to one key, or leave them on separate keys, and we cut as many copies as you want. Locks with compatible keyways can be keyed alike. If one lock has a different keyway or is a high-security type, we tell you before we begin.
I am a landlord. Can you rekey between tenants?
Yes. Tenant turnover rekey is a common job for us, whether it is one unit or several. We can also set up a manager key that opens multiple units. Our landlord locksmith page covers how that works in more detail.
Do you do commercial rekey and business lock rekey?
Yes. We rekey business doors, storage rooms and padlocks, and we can set up tiered key arrangements for staff and managers. Hardware such as panic bars and high-security cylinders can affect what is possible, so we check on-site and explain the options.
Will a rekey stop a lost key from working?
Yes. After the new pins are fitted, the old key may still enter the lock but will not turn it. That includes any copies of the old key. We test the new keys, and we can confirm the old ones no longer operate before we leave.
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Lock Rekey near Altadena
Reviewed by David, Owner & Lead Technician, Wilshire Lock & Key — in the locksmith trade since 1987.
Last updated 2026-10-11.