Lock Replacement in Los Angeles, CA

When does a lock need replacing instead of repairing?

A lock is a small machine, and machines wear out. Pins inside the cylinder round off, springs weaken, latches stop retracting cleanly, and handles loosen until the whole set wobbles. Most replacement calls begin with something ordinary: a key that has to be jiggled, a deadbolt that only throws halfway, or a knob that spins without moving the latch.

Here are the signs we hear about most often when someone needs to replace a damaged lock or replace a broken lock:

If only one part has failed, such as a worn strike plate or a tired spring in a lever handle, a lock repair is often the more economical route. Replacement makes more sense when the wear is spread across the whole mechanism, when forced entry damaged the lock body, or when the lock is so old that fixing it means chasing parts that no longer exist. We'll tell you which situation you're in, even when the honest answer is the smaller job.

One more point: a broken lock on an exterior door is a security problem today, not next week. If your door won't latch or lock at all, say so when you call, so we can plan around the fact that the door can't be secured.

• The key sticks, grinds, or only works with a wiggle, and a freshly cut copy doesn't help
• The deadbolt or latch drags, only partly extends, or has to be forced shut
• The lockset is loose, cracked, corroded, or visibly bent
• The door was kicked or pried and the lock or the area around the strike took the damage
• The hardware is so old that replacement parts are hard to find
• You've lost track of who holds keys, and the lock is already tired

How does lock replacement work, step by step?

We try to keep this plain. Whether it's a front door lock replacement at a house or a single office door, the order of work is the same.

1. You call and describe the door: house, apartment, or business; what the lock is doing; whether you can see a brand on it; and whether the door can currently be secured.
2. We ask a few follow-up questions and tell you what we think the job involves before anyone drives out.
3. We inspect the door itself. Bore holes, backset, door thickness, the strike plate, and the frame all matter, because new hardware has to fit and align. A good lock on a door that doesn't close squarely will fail again.
4. We talk through the options on the spot: hardware grade, finish, whether several locks should be keyed alike, and whether replacing or rekeying is the better call. We explain the cost before we begin work.
5. We remove the old hardware, install the new lock, and set the latch and strike so the door closes without being lifted, pulled, or shoved.
6. We test it: both sides, door open and door closed, repeated several times, with every key you'll be given. If the lock is supposed to work with an existing key, we check that too.
7. We leave the door secure, and you keep the old hardware if you want it. Otherwise we take it away.

Front door, house and apartment lock replacement

Residential lock replacement covers more than swapping one knob for another. On a house, the front door usually carries the most scrutiny: a handleset or lever, a separate deadbolt, and sometimes a secondary lock on a storm or security door. We replace any of these individually or as a matched set, so the finish and the keys make sense together.

A lot of older doors have only a knob lock with a push-button. That setup is easy to defeat, so replacing it is often the first security lock upgrade worth making. Adding or upgrading a deadbolt is its own job, and we cover it on our deadbolt installation page. If you're curious about keypads or app-controlled hardware, smart lock installation explains how those fit on a door and what to think about before choosing one.

Whole-house replacement is where keying matters. If you're replacing the front, back, and side door locks together, we can key them alike so one key does the job, or leave them separate if you'd rather hand out limited access. Say which you prefer when you call.

Apartment lock replacement has an extra step: permission. If you rent, read your lease and talk to your landlord or property manager before changing hardware on a unit. If you manage rentals, our locksmith for landlords page covers how we work with owners and managers on turnover and worn hardware.

• Entry knobs and levers, handlesets, and deadbolts
• Interior privacy and passage hardware that has failed
• Back, side, and garage-entry doors
• Storm and security door locks
• Matched sets keyed alike, or separate keys per door

Commercial lock replacement and business security upgrades

Businesses replace locks for different reasons than homeowners do. Doors open and close all day, so hardware wears faster, and a lock that fails during business hours is more than an annoyance. A glass storefront door, a steel back door, an office suite door, and a stockroom each call for different hardware, so business lock replacement starts with looking at the door, not the catalog.

What we pay attention to on a commercial door:

Many business security upgrades start with a people problem rather than a broken part: an employee leaves, keys are unaccounted for, or someone copied a key without asking. In those cases, we'd talk about replacing the cylinders with a restricted keyway so keys can't be casually duplicated. Our high-security locks page explains how those systems work. If a storefront door is damaged rather than just worn, storefront lock repair covers that side of it.

• Hardware built for heavy daily use rather than light residential duty
• Lever handles where accessibility matters
• Exit hardware on doors that must open from the inside without a key
• Code requirements on exit-path doors and fire-rated doors, so we match the hardware to the door instead of bolting on whatever fits
• Whether a master key arrangement or a simple keyed-alike set suits how your staff really uses the doors

What affects the cost of lock replacement in Los Angeles?

We don't put prices on a web page, because the honest answer depends on your door. What we can do is tell you exactly what moves the number, so nothing about your quote comes as a surprise.

Often the usually more economical route is replacing only what has failed, such as a cylinder or a single lockset, rather than every lock on the property. A decent mid-range lockset installed correctly beats a premium lock fitted to a warped frame. We'll say so when that's the case, and we'll also say when a lighter-cost option would cost you more later.

• The type and grade of hardware: basic knob, deadbolt, handleset, mortise lock, or commercial-grade set
• How many locks are involved, and whether they're keyed alike
• The condition of the door and frame, including bore holes that don't match, damaged strike areas, or doors that need alignment
• Specialty doors, such as older mortise pockets, narrow glass doors, or multipoint hardware
• Electronic components, if you're moving to keypad or smart hardware
• The hour and the urgency, since a night call involves different logistics than a daytime appointment
• Extras like reinforcement plates, new strikes, or a replacement exterior plate after break-in damage

Should you replace, rekey, or repair?

People often ask for replacement when rekeying would solve their problem, and sometimes the reverse. A quick way to think about it:

If you aren't sure, describe the situation by phone. We'd rather match the job to the problem than sell you a bigger one. For the rekey side of that choice, see our lock rekey page.

• Replace when the lock is worn out, damaged, loose, outdated, or doesn't match the level of security the door needs.
• Rekey when the lock is physically sound and you only want old keys to stop working, for example after a move or after a key goes missing.
• Repair when one component has failed and the rest of the lock is healthy.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a lock replacement?

We've been in business since 1987, and the work hasn't changed much in principle: fit the right hardware to the right door and make sure it works every time. A few things set how we operate apart:

If you can't get to us, our mobile locksmith service brings the work to your door. If you'd rather walk in and talk, the storefront is open to that too.

• A storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood plus mobile service vans, so we can come to you or see you in person
• One company, with no dispatch middlemen between your call and the person doing the work
• David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work
• Phone answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round, at (213) 577-1366
• Service across 140 cities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties

Lock replacement around Los Angeles: what we see by neighborhood

Central and west Los Angeles has a mix of buildings, and each type brings its own replacement problems. We work in ZIP codes across the city, from 90024 around our Westwood base to 90036, 90046, and 90012 downtown.

In Mid-Wilshire, the 1920s and 1930s Spanish Colonial Revival and Tudor homes often still carry original mortise locksets. Those are sometimes worth keeping, since a sound mortise body can take new trim or a new cylinder. Other times the lock is too worn, and we replace the whole mortise set with one that fits the existing pocket so the door doesn't have to be cut up. In Palms, Sawtelle, and Koreatown, the many mid-century apartments and dingbats are mostly rentals. When a unit changes hands, a move-in rekey fixes the keys, but if the lock itself is sloppy or damaged, replacement is the better answer, and landlords usually prefer to do it once rather than every turnover.

On the Westside, the regular morning marine layer can leave exterior hardware damp, and older wood doors sometimes swell a little with the season. If a latch binds on foggy mornings in Westwood or Mar Vista and works fine by afternoon, the lock may not be the real culprit, so we check door alignment before selling you new hardware. In the Wilshire Corridor condo high-rises, front-door locks usually fall under building or HOA rules, so check with management before replacing anything. Downtown, loft conversions in early-1900s commercial buildings and storefronts in the Historic Core and Fashion District put heavy daily wear on hardware, which is where commercial-grade replacement earns its keep. In Century City office towers, suite doors usually need a coordinated approach, so ask your property manager what's allowed before you call.

How to check a locksmith before they touch your door

California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, issued through the state's Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Before you let any locksmith start work, ask for the company's license number and look it up with the state. A company that dodges the question, shows up in an unmarked car with no company name, or quotes one price on the phone and a very different one at your door is worth turning away.

It's also fair to ask who will actually be doing the work, what the total will include, and what brand of hardware is going on your door. A seasoned tradesperson answers those questions easily. If you'd like to talk it through before booking, call (213) 577-1366 or use our contact page.

More locksmith help in Los Angeles

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• High Security Locks in Los Angeles
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• Lock Installation in Los Angeles
• All services in Los Angeles

Lock Replacement near Los Angeles

• Beverly Hills
• West Hollywood
• Culver City
• Santa Monica
• Marina del Rey
• Inglewood