Lock Rekey in Lawndale, CA: new keys, same hardware

What does it mean to rekey locks, and when does it make sense?

Rekeying changes the inside of a lock so that a different key operates it. The lock body, the deadbolt, the knob and the finish all stay on your door. What changes is the set of pins inside the cylinder. After the work, the old key slides in but will not turn, and the new key does. Anyone who still carries a copy of the old key is locked out for good.

That is why rekeying is the usual answer when the question is not whether the lock works but who has a key. You have just moved in and have no idea how many copies the previous occupant handed out. A tenant has left and a few keys never came back. A set of keys went missing from a car seat or a gym bag. A former roommate, contractor or employee still has one in a drawer. In each case the hardware is fine, and the keys are the problem.

Rekeying is also a good fit when you want several doors to share one key. If you are tired of carrying a front-door key, a back-door key and a rear-unit key, we can pin them all to a single new key, as long as the locks are in working condition and are the same type of cylinder.

How do we rekey locks, step by step?

Most rekeys are simple work done at your door, but it still helps to know what happens. Here is how a typical visit goes when you call (213) 577-1366.

1. We start on the phone. Tell us what kind of doors you have, how many locks need new keys, and whether this is a home, an apartment, a rear unit or a business. Photos of the lock faces help us pick the right tools.
2. On arrival we look at every lock you want rekeyed. We check that each one turns smoothly, that the cylinder can be rekeyed, and that the door is not hiding a problem that new pins would not fix.
3. We remove the cylinder, take out the old pins, and fit new pins cut to a new key pattern. Deadbolts, entry knobs and levers are handled one at a time so nothing gets mixed up.
4. We reassemble each lock and test the new key repeatedly, from both sides of the door, with the door open and closed. We also confirm the old key no longer turns.
5. If you want several locks on one key, we pin them alike. If you need spares, we cut them at the same visit, or you can read about key duplication if you need extra copies later.
6. We hand you the new keys, explain which locks were changed, and tell you plainly about anything we noticed, such as a worn latch or a loose strike plate, so there are no surprises later.

Which situations call for a rekey?

Most rekey calls fall into a few familiar situations. The right amount of work is slightly different in each.

• Rekey locks after moving: a previous owner or tenant may have given keys to relatives, cleaners, neighbors or workers. You have no way to count them, so new pins are the only way to know the keys in your pocket are the only ones.
• Rekey locks after buying a house: the same logic applies, plus extra doors. Many homes have a side door, a garage entry door, a back door and sometimes a separate lock on a shed or rear unit. We go through all of them so none are overlooked.
• Rekey locks after a tenant moves out: this is tenant turnover rekey work. A fresh set of keys for each new occupant is routine for landlords and property managers, and it is much quicker than replacing hardware.
• Rekey locks after losing keys: if the keys are probably in a couch or a parking lot, you may not need to do anything. If they were lost with an address attached, or stolen with a bag, rekey right away.
• Rekey all house locks to one key: this is purely about convenience. It does not make the doors more secure by itself, but it simplifies daily life.

Should you rekey or replace the lock?

Rekeying is usually the more economical route when the lock itself is in good shape. You keep the hardware, you skip the cost of new locks, and the door looks the same. We lean toward rekeying whenever the cylinder turns smoothly, the finish is acceptable, and the lock still does what you want it to do.

Replacement makes more sense in other cases. If a lock is loose, badly worn, damaged by a break-in attempt, or simply an older, weaker model you do not trust, new keys inside an old lock do not solve the underlying issue. A front door with no deadbolt is the same. Rekeying does not add a deadbolt, but deadbolt installation does. If you are weighing the two paths, our pages on lock replacement and the broader job of changing locks explain what the work involves.

We will tell you honestly which one fits when we see the door. If a rekey is the right call, we do not sell you a replacement. If a lock cannot be rekeyed, or is too worn to be worth the work, we say so and explain the alternatives.

What affects the cost of a lock rekey?

We do not quote numbers on a web page, because rekey cost depends on specifics that vary from one door to the next. What we can do is tell you what moves the total up or down, so you know what to expect when you call.

• How many locks you want rekeyed. Each cylinder takes its own work, though doing several in one visit is more efficient than coming back for them separately.
• The type of lock. Standard residential knobs and deadbolts are generally straightforward. Some specialty or higher-security cylinders take longer or need particular parts.
• The condition of the hardware. A lock that turns freely is quick. One that is stiff, gummy or worn takes more time and may need repair or replacement instead.
• Whether you want all locks keyed alike, and how many spare keys you want cut.
• Where and when you call. Service at night, on a holiday or at a distance involves different logistics than a daytime visit close to our base.
• Whether the job is a home, an apartment, a rear unit or a commercial space, since commercial doors often have more locks, more key holders and sometimes a hierarchy to plan around.

Can you rekey a business or commercial property?

Yes. Commercial rekey is common when an employee leaves, a manager changes, a tenant moves out of a unit, or a business takes over a space and wants to be certain the keys in circulation are only the ones it issued. Storefront doors, back doors, office doors and storage rooms can all be rekeyed, provided the cylinders are rekeyable and in working order.

Commercial properties often benefit from more than a simple change. If you have many staff and many doors, a master key system lets one key open many doors while each employee carries only what they need. That takes more planning, but it prevents the key ring problem many small businesses end up with. For the broader range of work on a shop or office, see our commercial locksmith page.

One honest note: if a storefront lock is sticking, hard to turn or damaged, a rekey will not cure it. We check the condition of the hardware first, and if the lock needs repair or replacement instead, we tell you before doing any work.

What does lock rekeying look like in Lawndale?

Lawndale is a compact city, and its housing explains most of the rekey work here. Many homes are modest 1940s and 1950s single-family houses on small lots, and many of those have rear units or converted garages. That matters for rekeying. A single property can have a front door, a back door, a separate entry to the rear unit, and sometimes a converted garage with its own lock. When a house changes hands or a tenant leaves, we walk through every one of those doors, not just the front. For small postwar bungalows and rear units, one new key across all the locks the owner wants to share is often the simplest result.

Because there has been little recent large-scale development, much of the door and lock hardware in town dates from earlier decades. Older hardware is not automatically a problem, and plenty of it can be rekeyed. We inspect it first, though, because the older and more worn a lock is, the more likely it is that replacement makes more sense than new pins. Security screen doors are also common on older homes, and they carry their own locks. Ask us about them when you call and we will tell you whether they can be matched to the main key.

Apartment buildings are the other half of the picture. Garden-style buildings and small complexes line the Hawthorne Boulevard corridor and the other main streets, including the Inglewood Avenue, Redondo Beach Boulevard and Artesia Boulevard corridors. Residents and managers in those complexes, and in homes near El Camino Village and near Alondra Park, call us for apartment lock rekey work. Typical reasons are a tenant turnover, a lost set of keys, or a new landlord taking over a building. The ZIP code is 90260, and our service area covers all of it.

Climate plays a smaller part. Lawndale sits a few miles inland on the coastal plain, within the marine layer belt but far from the surf, so salt-air corrosion of locks is modest. Damp mornings and summer afternoon heat do make older wood doors swell and stick. A stiff door can make a lock feel bad when the real trouble is the alignment of the latch and the strike plate. We check that during a rekey, so you know whether new pins will solve the problem you feel or whether the door itself needs attention.

Our storefront is at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, about 16 miles from Lawndale, and our mobile locksmith vans do the work at your door, so you never need to bring locks in.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a rekey?

Wilshire Lock & Key has been in business since 1987. We have a storefront in Westwood and mobile service vans, and we serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Lawndale among them. When you call (213) 577-1366, the phone is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year. You are talking to our company, not a call center that passes your job to whichever contractor picks it up.

David, our owner and lead technician, oversees the work. That matters on a job like rekeying, where quality is invisible until it fails. Pins that are mixed up, a cylinder reassembled carelessly, or a key cut slightly off can leave you with a lock that works today and jams next month. We test each lock before we leave and we explain what we did.

We also try to be straight about what we do and do not know. California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, and you should ask any locksmith you are thinking of hiring for it, including us. That is a reasonable thing to ask before someone works on the locks protecting your home or business.

If you manage rental properties and turn units over regularly, our page for locksmiths for landlords covers how we handle recurring work. If you want the full list of what we do in town, visit our Lawndale locksmith hub.

More locksmith help in Lawndale

• Change Locks in Lawndale
• Deadbolt Installation in Lawndale
• Gate Lock Repair in Lawndale
• High Security Locks in Lawndale
• Key Duplication in Lawndale
• Lock Installation in Lawndale
• All services in Lawndale

Lock Rekey near Lawndale

• Hawthorne
• Redondo Beach
• Gardena
• Hermosa Beach
• Manhattan Beach
• Torrance