Lock installation in Monrovia, CA

What does lock installation actually involve?

Installing a lock sounds like swapping one part for another, and sometimes it is that simple. More often it is a small job of carpentry and hardware fitting. A new lock has to match the bore holes in the door, the door thickness, the backset (the distance from the door edge to the center of the main hole), the latch, and the strike plate in the jamb. If any of those are slightly off, the bolt drags, the key turns hard, or the door only latches when you lean on it.

This page is about putting a new lock into a door: a first-time install on a new or remodeled door, replacing a worn knob set with a different style, adding a security lock where the door has none, or fitting hardware after a door has been swapped out. If your existing lock simply needs new pins or a new key, that is a different job, and we explain the difference further down. If you are locked out right now, call us first and we will deal with the lockout before anything else.

Which kinds of locks do we install in Monrovia?

Most calls fall into a handful of categories. Here is how we think about each one, so you can tell what your door needs before we arrive.

• Front door lock installation: an entry handle set with a keyed deadbolt, or a standalone keyed lock, fitted so the bolt throws fully into a properly reinforced strike. The front door is the one most people notice, so it gets the most care over alignment.
• Lever lock installation: lever handles instead of round knobs. They are easier on hands and wrists, and they are common on interior doors, accessible entrances, and many business doors. They also have to be fitted with the right latch and backset to feel solid rather than loose.
• Mortise lock installation: a mortise lock body sits in a deep pocket cut into the edge of the door, not in drilled holes. You tend to find them on older homes and on many storefront and office doors. Fitting one means working to a tight tolerance in the wood or the frame of the door, so it is not a quick swap.
• Security lock installation: higher-grade deadbolts, reinforced strike plates, and longer screws that reach the framing behind the jamb. For a standalone bolt on a door that has none, see our deadbolt installation page.
• Residential lock installation: houses, townhomes, and apartments, including back doors, side doors, garage entry doors, and interior doors where a keyed lock is wanted.
• Commercial lock installation: business entry doors, back-of-house doors, and office doors, usually with hardware rated for heavier daily use. We cover this in its own section below.
• Electronic locks: keypad and app-controlled locks are a different install with their own considerations. Our smart lock installation page covers them.

How do we install a new lock, step by step?

The process is the same whether the door is a hundred years old or built last year. What changes is how much adjusting the door needs along the way.

1. You call (213) 577-1366 and tell us what door it is, what kind of lock you have in mind, and whether there is already a lock in it. A photo of the door edge and the current hardware helps if you can send one.
2. We look at the door itself first: material, thickness, condition, how it hangs, and whether it closes square to the frame. A lock cannot make up for a door that rubs or sags.
3. We confirm the hardware choice with you, including grade, finish, and handing for levers, before anything gets drilled or cut. If your door needs a different lock than you planned, we say so and explain why.
4. We prepare the door: remove old hardware if there is any, and drill or chisel only as much as the new lock requires. Existing holes get reused when the sizes allow it, and filled or covered when they do not.
5. We fit the lock body, latch, and trim, then set the strike plate in the jamb. Where it matters, we use longer screws so the strike bites into the framing and not just the thin jamb.
6. We test the lock repeatedly with the door open, then closed, then with the door loaded the way it is in daily use. The bolt should throw and retract smoothly with no lifting, pushing, or pulling needed.
7. We hand over every key, show you how the lock operates, and clean up the shavings and old hardware.

What affects the cost of lock installation in Monrovia?

We do not quote numbers on a web page, because the honest answer depends on the door in front of us. Here is what actually moves the cost up or down, so you can see why two installs that look similar can differ.

The lock itself is the first factor. A standard residential deadbolt and a high-grade security lock sit in very different places, and a mortise set or a commercial-grade lever costs more to buy than a basic knob set. Finish and brand matter too.

The second factor is the door. A solid modern door with standard bores is usually the more economical route. A door that needs new holes cut, a pocket chiseled for a mortise body, a repaired jamb, or a reinforced strike takes more time and materials.

Third is quantity. Fitting several doors in one visit, such as a whole house or a set of offices, is usually more efficient per door than a single call. Keying the doors alike, so one key opens several locks, adds a little planning but saves you carrying a ring of keys.

Last is timing and location. An after-hours call is handled differently than a scheduled daytime install, and Monrovia is about 29 miles from our Westwood storefront, so travel is part of the picture. When you call, we ask the right questions and explain the pricing structure before we begin work. No surprise is how we like it.

Do you need a new lock installed, or would a rekey or replacement do?

This is the question we answer most often, and it can save you money to ask it first.

If the lock itself works and the door is sound, but you want to stop old keys from working, for example after a move or a lost key, then the lock probably needs rekeying, not a new installation. Rekeying changes the internal pins so a new key fits and the old ones do not. It is usually the lighter-cost option when the hardware is still in good shape.

If the lock is worn, damaged, or no longer suits the door, lock replacement is the right route, and that is where installation skills come into play. And if you are putting a lock on a door that has never had one, or switching to a different type such as a lever or a mortise, that is a true new lock installation.

We would rather tell you what your door needs than sell you hardware you do not need. If you are not sure which category you are in, describe the situation on the phone and we will say so honestly.

What should Monrovia homeowners know about installing locks on older houses?

North of Foothill Boulevard, Monrovia has a deep stock of Victorian, Craftsman, and early-1900s homes, protected by an active historic preservation program, with hillside houses climbing toward the Monrovia Highlands. Those doors are not like a modern builder-grade door, and that changes how we install a lock.

Older doors are often thick, solid wood, sometimes with decorative panels or glass. The original hardware may be a mortise set, which means the bore is a pocket and not a pair of round holes. Fitting a modern lock into one of those doors can mean choosing a lock that works with the existing cutouts, or doing careful carpentry to modify them. Because the neighborhood has a preservation program, we keep to the principle that the door should look right when we are done: we minimize new cuts, reuse existing openings where we can, and match the finish where it is visible from the street.

Another point: after a century of settling, many of these doors no longer hang square. A strike plate that would line up on a new frame may need to be repositioned. We check this before we pick the lock, not after.

Monrovia has a San Gabriel Valley foothill climate with hot summers and periodic Santa Ana winds. The practical effect on a door lock is heat-driven swelling in wood doors, which makes a bolt bind in the strike during the hottest weeks, and wind-blown dust that can get into the keyway. There is no coastal salt air here, so corrosion is not the concern it would be near the beach. We leave a little clearance in the fit to allow for seasonal swelling, and we can advise on keeping dust out of the cylinder.

What about townhomes, apartments, and storefronts around Monrovia?

The housing and business mix in Monrovia means a lot of different doors. Here is how new lock installation tends to play out in the places we serve within ZIP code 91016.

• Station Square area: newer townhome projects have gone up around Station Square near the Metro A Line. These doors are modern and consistent, which makes for clean installs, but townhome associations often have rules about door hardware finish or type. Check with yours before you buy a lock, or tell us and we will help you choose something that fits.
• South Monrovia: this part of town is mostly smaller postwar houses and apartment buildings. Apartment doors usually take standard hardware, but the owner or manager often decides what goes on the door. If you manage several units, our locksmith for landlords service is built for fitting multiple doors consistently.
• Old Town Monrovia and Myrtle Avenue: storefronts here are where commercial lock installation meets a street full of foot traffic. A new storefront lock is only as good as the door it is on, so we look at the closer, the hinges, and the frame too. If the closer is the problem, we point you to door closer repair.
• Huntington Drive and Foothill Boulevard corridors: a mix of businesses and residences along both, so we are as likely to be fitting an office entry as a front door in the same week.
• Monrovia Highlands: hillside houses with entry doors that can be long, heavy, or decorative. These deserve extra attention to hinges and alignment before the lock goes in.

How does commercial lock installation differ from a house lock?

A business door gets opened hundreds of times a day, sometimes by people who are in a hurry and do not treat it gently. That is why commercial lock installation uses heavier hardware, and why we ask different questions at the start: how many people use this door, does it need to be locked from the outside only, does it also serve as an exit, and who needs keys.

We also look at how the lock fits into a bigger picture. Some businesses want every door on one key, with tiered access for different staff. That is a master-key system and a separate conversation. For the hardware that surrounds the lock, such as pulls, hinges, and exit devices, see commercial door hardware.

A storefront in Old Town has a particular set of constraints. Many have glass doors with narrow stiles, which limits what lock body fits. We tell you plainly when a particular lock is not suited to your door, and offer what does work.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for lock installation?

We have been in business since 1987, and locks are all we do. We run a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood and mobile service vans, and we serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Monrovia among them. Our mobile locksmith vans carry what most installs need, so we can fit your lock at your door rather than ask you to bring the door to us.

When you call (213) 577-1366, you reach us directly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round. There is no dispatch middleman who passes your job to whoever is closest. The company you phone is the company that comes to the door. David, who owns the business and leads the technical work, oversees how we approach installs, and he cares about the details: the alignment, the strike, the screws, the feel of the bolt.

We are also straightforward about what we do not know until we see the door. If your door needs work before a lock can go on, we say so. If a cheaper part will do the job properly, we use it. If it will not, we say that too.

How do you check that a locksmith is legitimate?

California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, issued by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Ask any locksmith for that license number before they start work, and look it up on the state's site. That applies to us as well as to anyone else you call.

A few other things to watch for: a company that will not give you a business name on the phone, a vague quote that changes once someone arrives, or a technician who wants to drill out a lock that could simply be removed. A real installer explains what they plan to do and why, and does not rush you.

More locksmith help in Monrovia

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

Lock Installation near Monrovia

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