Change Locks in San Fernando, CA

Why do San Fernando residents change their locks?

Almost nobody calls a locksmith to change locks for fun. There is usually a specific reason behind the call, and the reason tells us a lot about what the job should look like. Someone just closed on a house and has no idea how many copies of the old keys are floating around. Someone moved into a rental and the previous tenant never returned a key. Someone's spare went missing, or a relationship ended, or a contractor had the run of the place for a month.

Other times the reason is the lock itself. A deadbolt that has gotten stiff, a knob that wobbles, a cylinder that fights the key every morning. That is a different problem from a security concern, and it sometimes calls for a different fix. Part of our job is figuring out which situation you are really in before anyone picks up a tool.

Common reasons we hear when people ask us to change door locks:

• You bought a house and want to be sure only you hold working keys
• You moved into an apartment, duplex or rental and don't know who else has a key
• A key was lost or stolen, or you can't account for every copy
• A roommate, partner, tenant, or employee no longer needs access
• Following a break-in or attempted break-in
• Old hardware that is worn, loose, sticking, or mismatched from door to door
• You want one key to open the front, back, and side doors instead of carrying three

Should you rekey or replace your locks?

This is the question behind most lock change calls, and it is the one we are happiest to help with, because the honest answer is not always the more expensive one. Here is the short version.

Rekeying means we keep the existing lock hardware and change the internal pin arrangement in the cylinder so that it works with a new key. The old keys stop working. The lock looks the same from the outside, but anyone holding an old key is out of luck. If your hardware is in decent shape and you simply need to cut off old key holders, a lock rekey is often the more economical route, and it lets us key every door to a single key at the same time.

Replacing means taking the old lock off the door and installing new hardware. That makes sense when the lock is damaged, badly worn, or not a quality unit to begin with, when you want a different finish or style, when you want a higher security grade, or when you are adding features like a keypad or smart lock. A proper lock replacement also gives us a chance to check the door, the strike plate, and the screws that hold everything together.

• Rekey when the hardware works smoothly, is solid, and your only concern is who holds keys
• Replace when the lock is loose, corroded, damaged, cheap, or visibly past its useful life
• Replace when you want a different security grade, finish, or electronic features
• Rekey when you want several doors on a single key and the existing locks are compatible
• Ask us when you are unsure, because we can look at the lock and tell you plainly which makes sense

How does a lock change work, step by step?

The process is simple when it is done carefully. Here is what a typical visit looks like, whether we come to you in one of our mobile vans or you stop by our Westwood storefront with a cylinder in hand.

1. You call (213) 577-1366 and tell us what is going on: which doors, what type of locks you have now, and why you want them changed. Day or night, a real person answers.
2. We talk through rekey versus replace based on what you describe, so you know the likely direction before we arrive.
3. On site, we look at each lock and the door it is mounted in. We check for wear, loose fasteners, misaligned latches, and whether the deadbolt actually reaches into the frame the way it should.
4. We confirm with you what we plan to do for each door, and what affects the cost, before we begin the work.
5. We rekey or replace the hardware, test every key in every lock, and make sure the door latches and the deadbolt throws smoothly.
6. We hand over your new keys, and we can cut extra copies on the spot if you need them for family members or a property manager.
7. We test everything one last time with you standing there, so you know the doors are working before we leave.

What affects the cost of changing locks in San Fernando?

We don't quote numbers on a web page, because the real figure depends on your doors, not on a generic average. What we can do is tell you exactly what moves the cost up or down, so nothing about the quote feels like a surprise.

Some of the biggest factors:

• How many locks are involved: a single front door is a very different job from a whole house or a small apartment building
• Rekey versus replacement: rekeying usually costs less than new hardware, as long as the existing locks are worth keeping
• The hardware you choose: a basic knob and deadbolt set is not the same as a higher-grade deadbolt, a handleset, or a smart lock
• Keying requirements: keying every lock alike, or setting up a master key arrangement, adds some work
• Condition of the door and frame: if a door has swollen, sagged, or been damaged, the lock may not work properly until that is addressed
• Special hardware: security screen door locks, patio doors, and older mortise locks can take more time than standard cylinders
• Time of day: because we answer 24 hours a day, calls at night or on holidays may be priced differently from a daytime appointment
• Extra keys: additional copies, or restricted keys that can't be copied at a hardware store, are an add-on

Changing locks after buying a house or moving in

If you are searching for a locksmith for a new house, this section is for you. When you buy a home, you don't know who has keys. The previous owners may have given copies to relatives, neighbors, a cleaning service, a dog walker, a contractor, or a real estate agent. Even if they were all trustworthy, the keys exist, and you have no way to know where they are. Changing the locks right after closing is one of the simplest and most sensible things a new owner can do.

The same goes for a locksmith after moving into a rental. Your landlord may already have a policy, and you should read your lease, but many tenants are surprised to learn how many people held keys to their unit before they arrived. If your lease allows it, get it in writing and have the work done properly. If you are a property owner, our team also handles turnover work as part of our service for landlords.

A few practical points we walk new homeowners through:

• Do the lock change before you move belongings in, if you can, not weeks later
• Think about every entry point: front door, back door, side gate, garage entry door, and any patio slider
• Check whether the deadbolts are actually installed properly, since some older homes have deadbolts with short screws or weak strike plates; if a door needs a new one, we can help with deadbolt installation
• If you are curious about keypads or app-based locks, ask about smart lock installation at the same visit rather than doing the work twice
• Decide how many keys your household really needs, and have extras made at the end of the visit through key duplication

What changing locks looks like in San Fernando homes

San Fernando is a compact, independent city of roughly 2.4 square miles, and its housing stock shapes the lock work we do here. You see early-1900s bungalows, Spanish-style cottages, and postwar homes on small lots, with small apartment buildings mixed in near the downtown mall. Many of the older homes still carry their original door hardware, which means a lot of the doors we look at have not had their locks touched in decades. In the Las Palmas Park area, rekeying an older bungalow is a typical request, and it often comes down to the same question: is the old lock sound enough to keep, or is it time to replace it?

Pre-war homes also bring security screen doors into the conversation. They are a common retrofit in this city, and their locks are a separate piece of hardware that often gets forgotten during a lock change. If you are changing the front door lock for security reasons, the screen door latch should be part of the discussion, since it may be the first thing someone tries to get past.

Around the Maclay Avenue corridor and the Truman Street and San Fernando Road corridor, you will find a mix of single-family homes, small multi-unit buildings, and storefronts. If you live above or next to a business, or you are a tenant in a small building near the San Fernando Mall, the keying question can get more involved, since shared entrances and individual units may be keyed separately. In the Civic Center area and around Pioneer Park and Recreation Park, a lot of homes sit on tight lots with a front door, a back door, and often a side gate, so a complete lock change usually means several entry points rather than just one.

The climate matters too. Hot northeast-Valley summers make wood doors and frames swell, which can make a lock bind even when the hardware itself is fine. Santa Ana wind events push dust into exterior cylinders, and that grit is often the reason a key starts to feel gritty or stiff. Winters here are mild with very little corrosion risk, so you rarely see locks fail from rust alone. When a customer in ZIP code 91340 says a lock has gotten hard to turn, we first check whether it is dust, a door that has shifted with the heat, or a worn cylinder, because only the last one really requires new hardware.

If you aren't sure how your own home fits into this, call and tell us what the door looks like and how old the house is. We will help you work out whether you are dealing with an old lock that needs to be swapped, a good lock that only needs new keying, or a door that needs attention first.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key to change your locks?

There are plenty of ways to find a locksmith. Here is what is actually different about us, with no embellishment.

We have been in business since 1987. That is a long time to see every kind of lock, door, and problem, from old mortise sets to modern smart deadbolts. We have a real storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, and we run mobile service vans that cover 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, San Fernando included. You can call us at any hour, because the phone at (213) 577-1366 is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year.

We are one company. When you call, you are not being passed to a call center that sells the job to whichever contractor picks it up. The people who answer are part of the same operation as the people who do the work. David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work, so there is a person with his name on the business who cares how it turns out.

• In business since 1987
• Storefront in Westwood plus mobile service vans
• One company, with no dispatch middlemen between you and the technician
• Owner David oversees the work
• Phone answered around the clock, every day of the year
• We explain rekey versus replace honestly, including when the lighter-cost option is the right one

What should you ask any locksmith before they change your locks?

Changing your locks means handing a stranger access to the way into your home, so a few questions are fair and wise, whoever you call.

California requires locksmith companies to hold a license through the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, known as a BSIS Locksmith Company (LCO) license. You should ask any locksmith for that license number before they start work, and you are entitled to check it. A company that dodges the question deserves a second look.

Beyond the license, ask these things:

• Will you tell me what affects the cost before you start, and explain the difference between rekeying and replacing?
• Who exactly is coming to my door, and does the company have a real address?
• Will you test every key in every lock before leaving?
• Will the old keys definitely stop working on the doors we changed?
• Can you show me what is wrong with a lock you say needs replacing?
• Does the quote cover everything we discussed, including the screen door and side gate?

What if your lock change turns into something else?

Sometimes a simple lock change reveals another problem, or starts with one. If a key snapped in the cylinder, we would deal with that first through broken key extraction. If you are standing on the porch because the old key finally gave out, our team can handle house lockouts and then change the lock once you are inside. We try to keep each job on its own track, so you are not paying for extra work you did not need.

If it turns out the issue is a lock that just needs adjusting or a part, we will say so and tell you plainly, even if that means a smaller job than you expected.

More locksmith help in San Fernando

• Deadbolt Installation in San Fernando
• Gate Lock Repair in San Fernando
• High Security Locks in San Fernando
• Key Duplication in San Fernando
• Lock Installation in San Fernando
• Lock Rekey in San Fernando
• All services in San Fernando

Change Locks near San Fernando

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• Pacoima
• Arleta
• North Hills
• Granada Hills