Is a keypad or card system right for your business?
Most businesses come to access control for the same reason: keys have gotten away from them. A former employee still has one. A key was copied somewhere nobody remembers. Rekeying fixes that once, but it does not stop the next copy. Credential-based entry changes the math. Each person gets their own code, card, or fob, and you can cancel one without touching anyone else's.
It is not always the right answer. A single back door that three people use may be better served by a solid keyed deadbolt or a standalone keypad lock. A suite with a front door, a stock room, and an office that should be open to some staff and closed to others is where electronic access control earns its keep. We will tell you which side of that line you are on, even when the answer is a simpler product that costs you less. If you want the broader picture of what we do for businesses, our commercial locksmith page covers it.
What does an access control installation include?
A working system is more than the reader on the wall. Every controlled door is a small chain of parts, and each link has to do its job or the door misbehaves. Locked-out employees and doors that will not latch are almost always a weak link somewhere in that chain, not a bad reader.
Here is what a typical controlled door involves:
- A keypad, card reader, or fob reader at the door, which is where people present their credential.
- A controller that decides yes or no. Some readers have this built in; multi-door systems usually keep it in a protected location.
- A power supply sized for the locks and readers it feeds, because underpowered locks cause most of the odd, intermittent problems.
- The locking device itself: an electric strike in the frame, a magnetic lock on the frame and door, or an electrified lockset.
- A way to leave from inside, such as a request-to-exit device, a push button, or hardware that releases the latch on its own.
- A door position sensor if you want to know when a door is held open or forced.
- The credentials: codes, cards, or fobs, enrolled to specific people so you can change them one at a time.
How do we install access control, step by step?
Whether it is one door or several, we follow the same order of work. Call (213) 577-1366 and we will set up a time to look at the doors. The visit is what lets us give you a quote that means something.
- Walk the doors with you. We look at the door, the frame, the closer, the existing lock, the wall behind it, and where power and wiring could realistically run.
- Sort out who needs to go where. We ask who comes in, when, and through which doors, because the rules you want drive the hardware we choose.
- Choose hardware door by door. A glass storefront door, a metal back door, and a wooden interior door usually do not want the same lock. We explain the choice and the tradeoffs.
- Mount and wire. We cut the frame for a strike or mount the magnet and plate, run low-voltage wiring, and place the controller and power supply where they are protected and serviceable.
- Program the credentials. We enroll codes, cards, or fobs, set schedules if you want them, and label what needs labeling.
- Test everything, including failure. We test each door, the exit path, and what the door does if power is cut, because that behavior is a decision you should make on purpose.
- Hand it over. We show you how to add or remove a person, and we leave you able to run the system without calling us for every change.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Electric strike or maglock: which fits your door?
This is the question we answer most often, and the honest answer is that it depends on the door and on safety rules, not on preference.
An electric strike replaces the strike plate in the frame. The door still latches mechanically, so it stays closed against wind and a casual push, and the strike simply lets the latch release when the reader approves. Strikes can be set to stay locked when power fails or to unlock when power fails, and which you pick matters. Installing one means cutting into the frame, so the frame has to be sound. Our electric strike installation work starts with checking exactly that.
A magnetic lock is an electromagnet on the frame holding a plate on the door. It has no moving parts, which suits some glass and narrow-frame doors, and it releases the instant power is cut. The tradeoff is that nothing holds the door shut without power, and exit doors are governed by life-safety rules. A maglock on a door people must use to leave needs a reliable release, and the local fire authority has the final say on how an exit has to behave. We do not treat magnetic lock installation as a casual add-on. Where an exit door needs proper egress hardware, we pair the system with a panic bar installation instead of forcing a lock to do a job it should not.
Keypad access control and card access systems can drive either type. The reader is the part people touch; the strike or maglock is the part that decides how the door behaves in an outage or an emergency.
What affects the cost of access control installation in Palos Verdes Estates?
We do not quote numbers over the phone or on this page, because the range between a simple keypad and a networked multi-door system is wide, and any figure given without seeing your doors would be a guess. What actually moves the cost:
- How many doors are controlled. Each one carries its own lock, reader, and wiring.
- The door and frame. Solid metal frames, aluminum storefront frames, glass, and older wood doors all take different hardware and different labor.
- Wire runs. A reader next to a controller is a short job. A door at the far end of a building, behind finished walls or across a courtyard, is not.
- Strike, maglock, or electrified lockset. The device, its power needs, and what has to be modified to fit it all differ.
- Standalone versus networked. A keypad that manages itself is a lighter-cost option than a system managed from a computer with schedules and records.
- The number of users and credentials, and whether you want to add and remove people yourself.
- Egress and life-safety requirements, which can mean added exit hardware or a release tied into other systems.
- Existing equipment. Sometimes we can reuse a working reader or lock, and sometimes reuse costs more than replacing it.
- Timing. Work done in your off-hours or as an urgent job is scheduled differently than a planned visit.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366What does access control look like around Palos Verdes Estates?
Palos Verdes Estates, ZIP 90274, is a master-planned city from the 1920s, and housing is almost entirely single-family. We would expect most commercial access control questions here to be small and specific, a handful of doors rather than a large campus. The business setting that comes to mind first is the storefront scenario around Malaga Cove Plaza: a shop or office that wants employees to have their own credentials instead of a shared key, or a back room and stock area that should only open for certain people. In a case like that we would look hard at the door itself, since storefront frames are usually narrow, and pair the right strike or maglock with proper exit hardware. If a storefront door is already giving you trouble, our storefront lock repair page explains how we approach that before adding electronics.
The city's character matters to how we install. Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean styles dominate, and exterior changes are reviewed by the Palos Verdes Homes Association art jury. If you are adding a visible reader or keypad to the outside of a building in Malaga Cove, Valmonte, Montemalaga, or Lunada Bay, check with the association before we mount anything, and we will plan placement that keeps the hardware modest. Many older buildings here also keep vintage mortise locks and original hardware that call for specialty handling. On a door like that we look first at whether the original lock can stay and be supplemented, rather than cutting into a door that cannot easily be replaced.
Then there is the air. Bluff-top exposure brings salt spray and persistent fog, and corrosion hits exterior locks and hinges fastest near Bluff Cove and Lunada Bay. Marine damp also swells older wood doors for much of the year. For electronic access control, that means we favor exterior readers and strikes suited to outdoor exposure, seal wiring entry points, and check that a swollen door still reaches its strike so the lock is not fighting the door. Properties with entry gates that want keypad or fob control should read about gate lock repair, and owners who mostly want keyless entry on a house door are better served by smart lock installation.
We are based at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, about 24 miles away, and our mobile vans carry the common strikes, readers, and wiring supplies so most jobs do not wait on a trip back.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Can you add doors, change employee access, or repair an existing system?
Yes. Many calls are not new installs at all. A business bought a building with an old card system nobody can administer, or the original installer has moved on, or one door was added years ago and the rest never caught up. We can usually work out what you have, repair what is failing, and extend it. Access control repair often turns out to be a power supply, a worn strike, a misaligned door, or a reader that has taken in moisture, and those are fixable without replacing the whole system.
Employee access is the day-to-day reason people want a system. When someone leaves, you remove their credential and nothing else changes. When someone changes roles, you change their doors. Multi-door access control lets you treat the front door, a stock room, and an office differently, with schedules if you want them. An access control upgrade can mean moving from shared codes to individual credentials, adding a second door to a system that already exists, or replacing aging readers while keeping the wiring in the walls.
Mechanical keys do not disappear entirely. Most systems keep a key override for emergencies or a power failure, and if you want a clean hierarchy of who holds which key, a master key system can sit behind the electronics. And if an electronic door fails while you are locked out of your own business, we handle that as well; see business lockout.
Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for access control?
We have been in business since 1987 and serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, so we have worked on a wide range of doors and buildings. We operate a storefront in Westwood plus mobile service vans, so the person you talk to is not a call center sending the job to whoever is closest. It is one company from the first call to the finished door, with no dispatch middlemen in between.
David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work. That matters most on the judgment calls: whether a maglock is appropriate on a door, whether a frame can take a strike, or whether a simpler lock would serve you better. The phone at (213) 577-1366 is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round, so a failed reader on a Sunday night is not a problem you wait on until Monday.
What should you ask any locksmith before they work on your doors?
California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, issued through the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. Ask every company for its license number and check it with the state before anyone starts work, especially for something that controls who can enter your building.
Beyond that, ask who will actually do the work, whether they will explain what the door does if power fails, and whether the quote lists what is included door by door. A company that cannot answer those plainly is telling you something.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a keypad, a card reader, and a key fob system?
They are different ways of presenting a credential. A keypad uses a code, a card system uses a card held to or swiped at a reader, and a fob works the same way with a small key-ring token. Codes are easy but can be shared; cards and fobs are tied to a person and can be cancelled individually. All three can drive the same strike or maglock.
Can you install access control on a door I already have?
Often yes, but it depends on the door and frame. We check whether the frame can take an electric strike, whether the door aligns well enough to latch, and whether a maglock suits the opening. Older or swollen wood doors may need adjustment first, and some doors are better left alone.
Is a maglock safe for an exit door?
It can be, but only when it is set up to release reliably and meets life-safety requirements for that door. A maglock releases when power is cut, but people still need a dependable way out. The local fire authority decides how an exit must behave, so we plan egress before choosing the lock.
What happens to my doors if the power goes out?
That depends on how each lock is set. A fail-secure strike stays locked and a fail-safe device unlocks. We choose per door and test it with power cut, since the right answer for a stock room is not the right answer for an exit.
Can I manage employee access myself after installation?
In most systems, yes. We show you how to add or remove a person or change which doors they can use. Simpler standalone keypads are managed at the door; networked systems are managed from software. We tell you up front which type you would be getting.
Do you repair access control systems that someone else installed?
Yes. We look at what is failing first, which is often a power supply, a worn strike, a misaligned door, or a moisture-damaged reader. Sometimes the system can be repaired and extended. Occasionally something is obsolete enough that replacing it makes more sense, and we say so.
Will salt air near the bluffs affect an electronic lock?
It can. Salt spray and fog corrode exterior hardware fastest on bluff-top properties near Bluff Cove and Lunada Bay. For exterior readers and strikes we choose hardware suited to outdoor exposure, protect wiring entry points, and recommend periodic checks.
Do I need approval before putting a reader on the outside of a building?
Possibly. Exterior changes in Palos Verdes Estates are reviewed by the Palos Verdes Homes Association art jury, so check with them before mounting visible hardware. We can recommend a modest placement, but we do not decide what the association will accept.
How do I get a quote for access control installation?
Call (213) 577-1366, any hour. We ask how many doors, what kind, and who needs access, then arrange to see the doors. We do not give numbers by phone, because wiring, frames, and hardware choices decide the cost.
More locksmith help in Palos Verdes Estates
- Commercial Door Hardware in Palos Verdes Estates
- Commercial Locksmith in Palos Verdes Estates
- Door Closer Repair in Palos Verdes Estates
- Master Key System in Palos Verdes Estates
- Panic Bar Installation in Palos Verdes Estates
- Storefront Lock Repair in Palos Verdes Estates
- All services in Palos Verdes Estates
Access Control Installation near Palos Verdes Estates
Reviewed by David, Owner & Lead Technician, Wilshire Lock & Key — in the locksmith trade since 1987.
Last updated 2026-10-11.