What does access control actually solve for a La Mirada business?
A metal key does one thing: it opens a lock. It cannot tell you who used it, it cannot be switched off when someone leaves, and it cannot be limited to certain hours. Once a key is copied, you have lost track of it. Access control replaces that with credentials: a code, a card, or a fob that each person carries. You can cancel any one of them without touching the door.
That is why most businesses call us about access control after a specific irritation. An employee left and nobody can say who still has a key. A back door gets propped open all day. A manager is tired of driving in to unlock for a delivery. Or the shop has been re-keyed twice in a year and the owner wants a different approach.
Access control is not right for every door, and we will tell you so. A single storeroom with two people who use it may be better served by a good commercial cylinder, or by a master key system that keeps the keys organized. When there are many users, changing staff, or a need to know who came in and when, electronic access control starts to earn its place.
Which type of system fits your door and your people?
Credential type and door hardware are two separate decisions, and most of the confusion comes from mixing them up. The credential is how a person proves they may enter. The lock hardware is what physically holds the door. We help you pick each on its own merits.
- Keypad access control: a person enters a code. It is simple and needs nothing to carry, but codes get shared, so it suits small teams or low-risk doors better than large staffs.
- Card access system or key card entry system: each person has a card that is read at the door. Lost cards can be disabled individually, which is the main advantage over a shared code.
- Key fob access control: the same idea as a card, but on a keychain. Staff tend to keep fobs with their keys, so they get lost less often.
- Electric strike installation: the strike replaces the standard latch plate in the door frame and releases the latch when the reader approves. It works with the existing lockset on many doors.
- Magnetic lock installation: an electromagnet on the frame holds a plate on the door. It releases when power is cut. It is common on glass and aluminum storefront doors, but it comes with egress requirements we cover below.
- Multi-door access control: several readers managed from one controller, so one credential can open the front, the stockroom, and the office, while another opens only the front.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366How do we install access control, step by step?
We do the work in a set order, because most problems with electronic systems come from skipped planning, not from the devices themselves.
- You call (213) 577-1366 and describe the doors, how many people use them, and what is going wrong today. We ask about the door material, whether it is glass, hollow metal, or wood, and whether power is nearby.
- We look at the doors in person. We check the frame, the existing lockset, where the wiring can run, what the door does in a power loss, and how people leave the building.
- We recommend a setup and explain the trade-offs in plain terms, including the lighter-cost option where there is one and what you give up by choosing it.
- We install the readers, the strikes or maglocks, the power supply, and the controller, and run the wiring. Where possible we keep the existing door and frame rather than replacing them.
- We enroll your credentials and set the rules: who can open which door, and during which hours.
- We test every door in both normal use and power-loss conditions, confirm that people inside can always leave freely, and then show you or your manager how to add and remove users. David oversees the work from start to finish.
Strike or maglock: what about fire exits and power loss?
This is the part of an installation that is easy to get wrong and expensive to fix later. Every door has to let people out in an emergency, and the hardware has to behave predictably when power fails.
An electric strike can be set to stay locked when power is lost (fail-secure) or to unlock when power is lost (fail-safe). A fail-secure strike with a lockset that always allows free exit from the inside is a common choice for doors that must stay protected. A magnetic lock is fail-safe by nature: it releases when power drops, so it needs a reliable power supply and a proper way for people to exit, such as a request-to-exit device or a push bar, depending on the door.
Rules for egress and fire safety are set by California codes and enforced locally, and the right answer depends on the building and its occupancy. We design to those requirements and recommend you confirm anything unusual with your landlord, your fire marshal, or your plan reviewer. If a door needs listed exit hardware, we can discuss panic bar installation alongside the access control so the two work together instead of fighting each other.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366How much does access control installation cost in La Mirada?
We do not quote numbers on a web page, because two businesses with the same number of doors can need very different work. What we can do is tell you exactly what moves the price, so you can judge any quote you receive, ours included.
- Number of doors: each opening needs its own reader, its own lock hardware, and its own wiring run.
- Door and frame type: a hollow metal door with a standard frame is usually simpler than a frameless glass door, which often needs specialized hardware.
- Wiring distance and building construction: running cable through open ceiling space is different from fishing it through finished walls or concrete.
- Credential type: a keypad is generally the lighter-cost route than cards or fobs, but cards and fobs give you per-person control.
- Controller and software: a standalone reader that runs a single door costs less than a networked system that manages many doors and keeps an access log.
- Power and backup: battery backup and extra power supplies add cost but matter for doors that must keep working in an outage.
- Existing hardware: if your current lockset or door closer is worn out, it is usually better to fix it during the same visit. The access control will not work reliably on a door that does not close and latch properly.
- Scope and timing: new construction, a retrofit on occupied premises, and after-hours work each carry different labor.
What about access control repair and upgrades?
Many of our calls are not new installations. They are existing systems that have stopped behaving. A reader that works some days and not others, a strike that buzzes but will not release, a maglock that lets go too late, a card that worked yesterday and does not today. Most of these trace to a small number of causes: a failing power supply, a loose or corroded connection, a door that has dropped slightly and no longer lines up with the strike, or a controller that lost its settings.
Access control repair starts with finding which part of the chain is failing: the credential, the reader, the controller, the lock, or the door itself. We would rather diagnose than replace everything. Sometimes a worn lockset or a sagging door is the true culprit, and that falls under commercial door hardware rather than the electronics.
An access control upgrade is a different case. If your system is old, uses a format you can no longer get credentials for, or cannot be expanded, we can tell you whether it is worth keeping or whether the doors would be better served by new readers and a modern controller. Often the wiring and door preparation you already have can be reused, which keeps the upgrade smaller.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Where does access control fit in La Mirada?
La Mirada, ZIP 90638, has a mix of commercial settings, and each tends to want something different from an access system. Retail centers along Imperial Highway and Valley View Avenue are a common scenario for commercial lock service. A shop in one of those centers often has a public front, a stockroom, and a rear door used for deliveries and staff. Putting a card or keypad reader on the back and stockroom doors lets the owner give out access to the people who need it without handing out more keys, and take it away the day someone leaves. The front door stays the way customers expect.
Along the Foster Road corridor and the Santa Gertrudes Avenue corridor, we see the same logic apply to small offices and service businesses: a reader at the main staff entrance, and a second one for a records room or a cash office. Around the Biola University area, student housing and rentals are where lost and copied keys pile up quickly, and a landlord or property manager weighing keypad or fob entry for shared doors is the kind of question we are glad to talk through. See our page on locksmith services for landlords for the property-management side.
Condominium and townhome communities near La Mirada Regional Park, including HOA-managed stock with controlled-access entries, raise a different question. Individual homes in those communities are better handled with smart-lock installation, while shared gates and common doors belong to the association and its rules. If your board is considering a change, we can look at the entry points with you.
Climate matters a little. La Mirada is inland and runs a few degrees warmer in summer than the neighboring Gateway Cities, with negligible salt-air exposure. That is helpful for outdoor readers and keypads, because corrosion is less of a worry here than near the coast. Direct afternoon sun and heat are still hard on exterior electronics, so we choose outdoor-rated devices and think about shade and mounting height for readers on exposed walls.
Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for access control?
We have been in business since 1987. We have a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood and mobile service vans, and we serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, La Mirada among them. We are based about 29 miles from La Mirada, so we tell you plainly that this is a drive, and we plan the visit around it.
We are one company. When you call (213) 577-1366, you reach us, not a dispatch broker who sells the job to whoever is nearby. The phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which matters for access control because failures do not respect business hours. A door that will not unlock at opening time, or will not lock at closing time, is a security problem and a business problem at once. If you are locked out of your own premises while a system is down, our business lockout service covers that.
David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work. That means the person who understands your doors is accountable for how the system is designed and tested.
One more point worth knowing. California requires locksmith companies to hold a license from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), known as an LCO license. Ask any locksmith for it before they work on your doors, and verify it. That is a fair request for any company that will install a system controlling who can enter your building.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Can we also handle the rest of your doors?
Access control is only as strong as the doors it is attached to. A reader on a door with a worn latch, a loose frame, or a closer that does not pull it shut is only decoration. We often pair an installation with related work: repairing a damaged storefront, adjusting door hardware, or checking the other entrances. Our broader commercial locksmith service covers those, so one visit can address the whole opening rather than just the electronic part.
If you are not sure where to begin, contact us and describe your doors. We will tell you honestly whether you need a full system, a single keypad, or just a repair.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an electric strike and a magnetic lock?
An electric strike replaces the latch plate in the door frame and releases a latch when it receives a signal. A magnetic lock holds the door shut with an electromagnet and lets go when power is removed. Strikes tend to work with an existing lockset on many doors. Maglocks are common on glass doors but require a dependable way for people to exit and a good power supply.
Can you add keyless entry to my existing business door?
Often yes. Many hollow metal and wood doors can take a keypad or card reader with an electric strike or electrified lockset, and we look at the door and frame first to confirm. Some doors, such as certain glass or damaged frames, need different hardware or repairs before an electronic system will work reliably.
Is a keypad or a key card system better for a small business?
A keypad is usually the simpler and lighter-cost route, but the code is shared, so you cannot tell who used it and you have to change it when someone leaves. Cards or fobs cost more but let you cancel one person's access without affecting anyone else. For a handful of trusted staff, a keypad can be enough. For changing staff, cards or fobs usually make more sense.
What happens to the doors if the power goes out?
It depends on how the hardware is set. A fail-secure strike stays locked in an outage but still lets people leave from the inside. A maglock and a fail-safe strike unlock when power drops. We discuss this with you for each door before installation and often recommend battery backup for doors that matter. We test power-loss behavior at the end of the job.
Can one system manage several doors and many employees?
Yes. Multi-door access control uses a controller that manages readers on several doors, and each employee's credential can be set to open only certain doors or only at certain times. When someone leaves, you cancel that one credential instead of re-keying every lock.
Do you repair access control systems you did not install?
Yes, in many cases. We start by finding where the failure is: the credential, reader, controller, lock, power supply, or the door itself. Some older or proprietary systems may be limited by parts availability, in which case we tell you plainly whether repair or an upgrade makes more sense.
How do I know what the job will cost?
It depends on the number of doors, the door and frame types, wiring routes, the credential type, the controller and software, and whether backup power is needed. We look at the doors and then explain the options, including the more economical route and what you give up with it. Call (213) 577-1366 to begin.
Do I need permission from my landlord or property manager?
If you lease your space, usually yes, especially for changes to the door, the frame, or exterior wiring. Landlords often have rules about exit hardware and who holds master keys. Check your lease first. We can work with your landlord or manager on the details.
Can you come outside business hours?
We answer the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we can discuss scheduling an installation or repair around your hours. Because we are based in Westwood and serve La Mirada by mobile van, we give you a realistic plan for the visit when you call.
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Access Control Installation near La Mirada
Reviewed by David, Owner & Lead Technician, Wilshire Lock & Key — in the locksmith trade since 1987.
Last updated 2026-10-11.