Should you rekey or replace your locks?
Most people who call us about changing locks aren't sure which job they actually need, and that's a fair place to start. "Change the locks" can mean two different things, and the right one depends on the hardware you already have and what you're trying to fix.
Rekeying means we change the internal pins and wafers of your existing lock so the old keys stop working and a new key takes over. The lock itself stays on the door. Replacing means we take the old hardware off and put new hardware on. Either way, the goal is the same: the keys that were floating around before no longer open your door.
We'll tell you honestly which one fits. If the hardware is sound, we'd rather not sell you new locks you don't need. If it's worn out, we'll say so and explain why.
- Rekey when the locks are in good working shape, you like how they look, and your only concern is who holds a key.
- Replace when a lock is loose, sticky, worn, visibly damaged, or has been forced or tampered with.
- Replace when you want something the current lock can't do, such as a stronger deadbolt, a different finish, or keypad or app-based entry.
- Replace when the lock is an older or low-grade model that can't be rekeyed cleanly or that you simply don't trust anymore.
- Either way, look at the whole door. A good lock in a loose strike plate or a warped frame still won't protect much.
Why change the locks after buying a house or moving in?
When you take over a home, you don't know how many keys exist. The previous owner had copies. So may have a real estate agent, a cleaning service, a contractor, a relative, a house sitter, or a neighbor who kept a spare for emergencies. Over decades, a house can collect more keys than anyone remembers, and none of those people are likely to hand them back to a stranger.
That's why a lock change is one of the first things we suggest for new homeowners. It isn't about suspecting anyone in particular. It's that you can't verify who has access until you reset it yourself. Doing it before or right after move-in is simpler than doing it after you've settled in and stopped thinking about it.
The same logic applies in other situations, not just home purchases. If you've moved into a rental, ended a relationship that involved shared keys, had a roommate move out, lost a key ring, or had keys stolen with a bag or a car, changing the locks closes the gap. If you're coming to us as a locksmith after moving, tell us how many doors you have and we'll plan around that.
Don't forget the doors people overlook. The side door to the garage, a back gate, a shed or workshop, and the mailbox all take keys too. We can go through the whole property with you so nothing is left on the old set.
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Call (213) 577-1366How we change your locks, step by step
Here is how a typical lock change goes with us. It's straightforward, and you'll know what's happening at each stage.
- You call (213) 577-1366 and tell us about the home: how many exterior doors, what kind of locks are on them now, and whether you're also locked out. Photos of the hardware, if you can send them, help a lot.
- We talk through rekey versus replace for your situation, based on what you describe, and tell you what will affect the cost.
- A technician comes to the property in a mobile van stocked with common hardware and rekeying tools, so most jobs are finished in a single visit.
- We inspect each door: the lock body, the deadbolt, the strike plate, the screws, and how the door sits in the frame. Loose or misaligned parts are better fixed now than after the new keys are cut.
- We rekey or replace each lock, depending on what we agreed on. If you want several locks to work with one key, we set that up at this step.
- We test every lock with the new keys, from outside and inside, with the door open and closed, and we confirm the old keys no longer work.
- We hand over your keys and explain what each one opens. If you want extra copies for family members, we can cut them on the spot with a key duplication service.
What affects the cost of changing locks?
We don't quote numbers on a web page, because the honest answer depends on your doors. What we can do is explain what moves the cost up or down, so there are no surprises when we talk.
Rekeying is usually the more economical route when your hardware is in good condition, since you're keeping the locks and changing only what's inside them. Replacement costs more because you're buying new hardware as well as paying for the labor.
- How many locks you have. A single front door is a different job from a house with a front door, back door, garage entry, and side gate.
- Rekey or replace. Rekeying keeps your existing hardware; replacing adds the cost of the new locks.
- The grade of hardware. Basic locks, heavier-duty deadbolts, restricted-keyway high-security locks, and smart locks all sit at different levels.
- The condition of the door and frame. A worn strike plate or a door that no longer closes true may need adjustment before a new lock will work properly.
- Whether you want keyed-alike locks, where one key opens several doors, or separate keys for each one.
- Extra keys and extra services, such as spare copies or added deadbolts.
- Time and place. A scheduled visit is different from an after-hours call, and where the property is located plays a part.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Which hardware choices are worth making while we're there?
A lock change is a natural time to fix weak points, since the door is already open and the tools are out. You don't have to upgrade anything, but a few questions are worth asking.
Do your exterior doors have a deadbolt at all? Some older doors only have a knob lock with a spring latch, which is easy to defeat. Adding a proper deadbolt is often the single most useful improvement. If that's your situation, we can handle deadbolt installation in the same visit.
Would you rather not carry keys? Keypad and app-based locks are an option for some households, especially when several family members or visitors come and go. We can explain what these locks do well and where a traditional key is still the simpler choice, and we do smart lock installation when that fits. We'd rather you pick based on how you live than on a feature list.
Finally, think about keys. If you'd like one key for the front, back, and garage door, we can set the locks up keyed alike. If you'd rather keep doors separate, say so. Neither is wrong; it just changes how we pin or select the hardware.
What changing locks looks like around Lomita
Lomita is a small city, and the homes here vary more than you might expect. The housing stock is a mix of 1940s and 1950s cottages and ranch homes, many on deep lots dating back to the city's small-farm era, along with newer townhome and condo infill, several mobile home parks along and near Pacific Coast Highway, and small apartment buildings clustered near Narbonne Avenue and PCH. A lock change in each of those looks a little different.
If you've bought one of the older cottages or ranch homes in ZIP code 90717, the front door lock may be decades old and the back door may have been changed several times by several owners. We often start by finding out what's on each door, then decide which locks are worth rekeying and which should simply be replaced. On a deep lot, the list of locks tends to grow: a garage side door, a workshop, a back gate, a shed. All of them are worth including in the same reset.
Climate plays a part too. Lomita sits at the foot of the Palos Verdes Peninsula a couple of miles from the water. The marine layer is damp, though the salt-air exposure is only mild. The practical effect is that older wood doors commonly swell during the damp months. A swollen door can make a perfectly good lock bind, so when someone says their lock is "going bad," we check the door itself before we assume the hardware is at fault. Sometimes a lock change also means adjusting the strike plate, not just swapping parts.
Townhome and condo owners have another consideration. Rekeying units in an HOA complex is a common reason to call, especially after a purchase. Before we change anything on the exterior of a unit, check what your HOA rules say about hardware and finish, since some associations want exterior doors to match. Rekeying is often the cleaner choice there, because the outside of the lock stays the same and only the keys change.
Mobile home owners in the parks along PCH have their own situations. Door hardware in mobile homes can differ from standard house hardware, so it's worth telling us the make of the home or sending a photo of the lock when you call. That lets us bring the right parts instead of guessing.
We work across the whole city, including the Narbonne Avenue, Pacific Coast Highway, and Lomita Boulevard corridors, and the streets near Harbor Hills, Walteria in Torrance, and Harbor City. Our storefront is at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, about 24 miles away, but the mobile vans are what come to you. If you'd like to see everything we do in the city, our Lomita service page lists it.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Changing locks in a rental or a managed property
Lomita has small apartment buildings and rental homes as well as owner-occupied ones, so we get questions from tenants and from property owners. The short version is that who can change the locks, and when, depends on your lease and the rules that apply to your situation. Check with your landlord or property manager before you ask us to change anything on a rental door.
If you own rental property, a lock change is routine between tenants. Rekeying each unit means the previous occupant's keys no longer work, without the cost of new hardware on every door. If that's you, our locksmith for landlords page covers turnovers and multi-unit work in more detail.
If you've already locked yourself out of a newly bought or rented place before we've had a chance to change anything, that's a different call. We can handle it as a house lockout, and the lock change can follow right after, in the same visit if you wish.
Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a lock change
We've been in business since 1987, and we serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Lomita is one of them. That's a long time to have been doing this work, and a lot of the questions you'll ask have come up before.
We're one company, not a dispatch service that passes your call along to whoever is available. The person who answers the phone works for the same business that sends the van. We have a storefront on Wilshire Blvd and mobile vans for service at your property, so there's a real place behind the phone number.
David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work. You won't be passed between layers of middlemen, and if something needs a second look, it gets one.
We answer the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year, at (213) 577-1366. A lock change usually isn't an emergency, but sometimes it is: a lost set of keys, a break-in, a move-in late on a Friday. You can call at any hour and talk to a person. If you need mobile service for any reason, see our mobile locksmith page.
How do you check that a locksmith is legitimate?
Changing locks means handing someone the keys to your home, so it's reasonable to ask questions first. In California, locksmith companies are required to hold a license from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, called a BSIS LCO license. Ask any locksmith you're considering for that license number, and don't be shy about it.
Be cautious about anyone who won't explain what they plan to do, who can't tell you why one option suits your door better than another, or who suggests drilling out a lock that could simply be rekeyed. A real locksmith will tell you what the job involves before starting, and will be glad to answer questions about it.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to rekey or replace locks after buying a house?
If the existing locks are in good shape, rekeying is usually the more economical route, and it does the main job: it makes every old key useless. Replace if the hardware is worn, damaged, low-grade, or you want features it doesn't have, like a stronger deadbolt or keypad entry. We'll look at each door and tell you which makes sense.
Can you change my locks the same day I get the keys to my new home?
You can call us at (213) 577-1366 at any hour, any day, and we'll arrange a visit to your Lomita address. Many people change the locks the day they get the keys, before the first night in the house. The timing depends on our schedule and your location, so ask when you call.
How many locks should I change when I move in?
At minimum, every exterior door: front, back, any side door, and the door between the garage and the house. On a deep Lomita lot, add the garage side door, workshop, shed, and any gate with a lock. We can walk the property with you and make a list.
Will my old keys stop working after you change the locks?
Yes. That's the point of the service. Whether we rekey or replace, we test each lock with the new keys and confirm the old ones no longer work before we finish.
Can you make all my locks work with one key?
Usually, yes. That's called keyed-alike. We can set up the front, back, and garage doors so one key opens all of them, as long as the hardware allows it. If you'd rather keep separate keys for each door, we can do that instead.
My wood door sticks in damp weather. Do I need new locks?
Not necessarily. Older wood doors in Lomita commonly swell during the damp months, and a swollen door can make a good lock bind. We check the door, the strike plate, and the alignment first. Sometimes the fix is an adjustment, not new hardware, and we'll say so.
I live in a townhome with an HOA. Can I change my locks?
Often yes, but check your HOA rules first, since some associations want exterior hardware to match. Rekeying is often the simplest answer because the outside of the lock stays the same and only the keys change. If you're replacing hardware, confirm the finish and style requirements before we start.
Do you change locks in mobile homes?
We do lock replacement for mobile homes, including those in parks near Pacific Coast Highway. Door hardware can differ from standard house hardware, so tell us the make of the home or send a photo of the lock when you call, and we'll bring the right parts.
Can I change the locks on my rental?
That depends on your lease and the rules that apply to your situation. Talk to your landlord or property manager first. If you own the rental, rekeying between tenants is a common way to keep keys under control without replacing every lock.
More locksmith help in Lomita
Change Locks near Lomita
Reviewed by David, Owner & Lead Technician, Wilshire Lock & Key — in the locksmith trade since 1987.
Last updated 2026-10-11.