Change Locks in Long Beach, CA

Why do people in Long Beach change their locks?

A lock change is one of the quieter jobs we do, and one of the more useful. Nothing is broken. The door opens and closes like it always has. The issue is that you can't say for certain who else is holding a key to it. Once that doubt is there, the lock is no longer doing the one thing you need it to do.

That doubt shows up in a handful of ordinary situations, and most of them are not emergencies. They are the kind of thing you want handled properly and soon, without paying for more than the situation calls for.

• You just bought a house or condo and have no idea how many copies of the keys the previous owner, their agent, a house cleaner or a contractor still carry.
• You moved into a rental and the previous tenant, a former roommate or a prior property manager may still have working keys.
• A key was lost or stolen, and you would rather change the lock than wait to find out where it ended up.
• A relationship or roommate arrangement ended and someone who used to live there still has a key.
• A worker, house sitter or short-term guest had access and you want that access closed.
• The hardware is worn, sticking or corroded, and you would like to fix the key problem and the hardware problem in one visit.

Should you rekey or replace your locks?

This is the question we get most, and it is the reason this page exists. Both options end with the same result: keys that used to work stop working, and only the keys you hold will open the door. The difference is in what happens to the hardware.

Rekeying keeps your existing lock body, handle and deadbolt. We work on the inside of the cylinder so it responds to a new key, and the old keys no longer turn it. When the hardware is in decent shape and you like how it looks and feels, rekeying is usually the more economical route, and it also lets you keep a consistent finish on the door.

Replacing the lock means taking off the old hardware and fitting new. That is the better call in a few specific cases, and we will say so plainly when we see one. It is not something we push when rekeying would do the job.

• Rekey when the hardware works smoothly, is not visibly damaged, and you mainly want to cut off old keys.
• Replace when the lock is worn out, loose, corroded, bent from a forced-entry attempt, or a builder-grade part you never trusted.
• Replace when you want a different level of security, such as a better deadbolt or a keypad or smart lock.
• Replace when the cylinder is an odd or discontinued type that cannot be rekeyed cleanly.
• Rekey several doors to one key when you are tired of carrying a ring of different keys. Matching them is a normal part of the job.

How does a lock change work, step by step?

We keep the process simple and we explain each step as we go, because you should understand what is being done to your door. Here is how a typical visit runs, whether it is a house, a condo or an apartment.

1. You call (213) 577-1366 and tell us what you have: how many doors, what kind of locks, and why you are changing them. We will ask a few questions about the hardware and talk through whether rekey or replace looks more likely.
2. We confirm you are the owner or an authorized occupant of the door. We ask this every time, and it protects you as much as anyone.
3. Our technician looks at every lock in person. Brand, condition, finish, the way the bolt throws into the frame, and whether the strike plate is solid all matter.
4. We give you a clear recommendation for each door, rekey or replace, with the reasoning, before any work begins. You decide.
5. We do the work. For a rekey, that means resetting the cylinders to a new key pattern. For a replacement, it means fitting new hardware and checking that the door latches and locks without force.
6. We cut or supply your new keys, test them in every lock, and confirm the old keys no longer work.
7. We go over any other weak points we noticed, such as a loose strike plate or short screws, so you can decide whether to deal with them now or later.

What affects the cost of changing locks?

We are not going to quote you a number on a web page, because the honest answer depends on your doors. What we can do is tell you exactly what moves the cost up or down, so nothing about the quote surprises you.

In general, the lighter-cost route is rekeying good existing hardware. The cost climbs as you move toward new hardware, more doors, or more demanding conditions.

• Rekey versus replace. Reusing your hardware and changing only the internals is usually the more economical route. New hardware adds the cost of the hardware itself.
• Number of locks. More cylinders mean more labor, though doing several at once in one visit is generally more efficient than coming back.
• Hardware grade and brand. A basic entry set and a high-security deadbolt are very different parts, and that difference carries through to the cost.
• Condition of the door and frame. If a loose strike plate or a warped door is the real weakness, fixing that is part of making the new lock worth having.
• Keyed-alike requests. Setting several doors to the same key takes planning but saves you carrying extra keys.
• Extra keys. The number of copies you need affects the total.
• When you call. A visit in the middle of the night or on a holiday is not priced like a weekday appointment, and we will tell you that up front.
• Corrosion. Salt-damaged hardware often cannot be rekeyed reliably and ends up as a replacement instead, which changes the scope.

Changing locks after buying a house or moving in

If you are searching for a locksmith for a new house, our advice is simple: change the locks before you spend your first night there, or as close to it as you can manage. Keys pass through more hands than most buyers realize. Previous owners, relatives, real estate agents, inspectors, painters, cleaners and neighbors who were once asked to water the plants can all end up with a copy. You have no way of knowing, and the lock does not tell you.

Most people ask for every exterior door at once. Do not forget the ones that are easy to overlook: the side door, the door from the garage into the house, a back gate, a shed or a mailbox. If a house has a deadbolt and a separate knob lock on the same door, both should be on the new key so you carry just one.

If you are a locksmith-after-moving customer in a rental, the same logic holds with a few extra questions. Your lease and California tenant rules affect who can change a lock and who has to be told, so check that before you book. Once it is clear you are allowed, the work itself is the same as for a homeowner.

New homeowners often ask us about a bigger upgrade while the door is open. That is a reasonable time for it. A properly fitted deadbolt on a door that only had a knob lock is often a bigger real-world improvement than anything cosmetic, and a smart lock can replace the key dance entirely if your household shares access. We install them, but we do not make you buy one to get your locks changed.

What does a lock change look like in different parts of Long Beach?

Long Beach is a city with very different housing, and the right lock change depends on which kind you live in. Our mobile vans work out from our Westwood storefront, and Long Beach sits roughly 30 miles from that base, so we plan each visit around the street, the building and the hardware you actually have. People in ZIP codes such as 90802, 90807 and 90815 call us for the same basic reasons, but the doors in front of us are not alike.

In Belmont Shore and Naples, the thing we think about first is salt. Coastal marine layer and onshore salt air are routine near the water, and exterior deadbolts and gate latches corrode in a genuine, ongoing way within a mile or two of the shore. A lock that no longer turns smoothly or feels gritty may not be a good candidate for rekeying, because the internals are already worn. In those cases we will often recommend new hardware and talk with you about finishes that hold up better outdoors. Canal-front and beach-close homes in Naples, and the gates and dock boxes around Alamitos Bay, tend to need a closer look than an inland house.

In Rose Park and Bluff Park, the housing includes Craftsman bungalows and 1920s Spanish Revival homes. Older doors often carry old mortise or surface-mounted hardware, and a new owner there might have both original and later-added locks on a single entry. We look at what the door was built for before we pick a replacement, because forcing modern hardware into an old door can cause more trouble than it solves. Often a rekey of what is already there is the better answer and keeps the look of the house intact.

Downtown, East Village and Alamitos Beach are mostly apartments and condos, from dense prewar blocks to newer high-rise buildings. A lock change here usually means the unit door, sometimes with a security screen door in front of it, which is common in older multifamily buildings across central Long Beach. Buildings often have their own rules about what hardware you can fit and who needs a key, so check with your property manager or HOA before you book. If you are ever locked out of one of those units while sorting this out, we also handle apartment and condo lockouts.

Near California State University, Long Beach, student rentals turn over often and the keys do too. Rekeying a rental between tenants is one of the most practical local uses of this service. East Long Beach tracts in Los Altos and the El Dorado area are postwar ranch homes, usually with fairly standard entry hardware, and those are some of the more straightforward rekeys we see. For more on how we work across the city, see our Long Beach locksmith overview.

Landlords, property managers and rentals

Changing locks between tenants is a basic part of running a rental. A rekey is quick, keeps the existing hardware, and means the previous tenant's keys no longer work. If you manage several units, we can set them up so each tenant has a unique key while you hold a key that works across the set, which saves you carrying a ring for every door.

Central Long Beach has a high share of renters and older multifamily buildings, so this comes up often. If this describes you, our page on locksmith services for landlords covers the wider picture, including turnover work, key control and keeping records of who holds what. For this page, the short version is this: rekey between tenants, replace when hardware is worn or damaged, and write down which doors you changed and when.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a lock change?

We have been in business since 1987, and a lock change is work we have done a great many times. That experience shows up in small ways: noticing that a strike plate is held by short screws, knowing which old cylinders will not rekey cleanly, and recognizing when someone is being sold a replacement they do not need.

We are one company, not a dispatch service passing your call to whoever is available. You reach us at (213) 577-1366, around the clock and every day of the year, and the people who answer are part of the business that does the work. 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. Our owner and lead technician, David, oversees how we work, including the habit of telling you what we recommend and why before we start.

One more thing worth knowing: California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, issued through the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Ask any locksmith you are thinking of hiring for their license number, including us. It is a reasonable question, and a company that is uncomfortable with it is telling you something. If you want to compare how we handle a mobile visit or other services, we are happy to talk it through by phone.

How to get ready for your lock change

A little preparation makes the visit shorter and the recommendation more accurate. None of this is required, but it helps.

• Count the exterior doors and any gates, garage entries, sheds or mailboxes you want on the same key.
• Gather every key you currently have, including spares, so we can test them and show you they stop working afterward.
• Tell us whether you want one key for every door or separate keys for different areas.
• Note whether any lock is stiff, loose or crusty with corrosion, especially near the coast.
• Have proof that you live at or own the property, such as a lease, a closing document or a utility bill.
• If the building is a condo or apartment, find out whether your HOA or property manager restricts hardware or requires a copy of the key.

More locksmith help in Long Beach

• Deadbolt Installation in Long Beach
• Gate Lock Repair in Long Beach
• High Security Locks in Long Beach
• Key Duplication in Long Beach
• Lock Installation in Long Beach
• Lock Rekey in Long Beach
• All services in Long Beach

Change Locks near Long Beach

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