Change Locks in Winnetka, CA

Should you change locks, rekey them, or replace them?

People say 'change the locks' and mean three different jobs, and the difference matters for both your wallet and your security. Changing locks can mean rekeying, where we alter the inside of your existing lock so the old keys stop working and a new key fits. It can mean replacing, where the old hardware comes off and new hardware goes on. Or it can mean upgrading, where you move to a stronger deadbolt or a keypad or smart lock at the same time.

Most people in Winnetka who call us about a lock change aren't sure which one they need, and that's fine. You shouldn't have to know. Tell us about the door, what happened, and what you want to feel safe about. We'll tell you plainly what the lighter-cost option is, and we'll tell you when it isn't enough.

This page is about the lock change itself: when it makes sense, how we do it, what drives the cost, and what we see around Winnetka. If you already know you only want the rekey, our lock rekey service page goes deeper on that one process.

Why change locks after buying a house or moving in?

When you buy a house, the seller hands you keys. Nobody hands you a list of everyone else who has one. Previous owners give keys to relatives, cleaners, contractors, neighbors and real estate agents, and keys get copied without any record. A fresh set on your ring does nothing about the old set still out there.

That's why locksmith work for new homeowners almost always starts with the same advice: change the locks before the first night you sleep there, or as close to it as you can manage. The same logic applies when you're moving into a rental, taking over a unit after a roommate leaves, or dealing with a wallet that went missing with your address inside.

A new house also tends to come with a jumble of keys. The front door takes one, the back door takes another, the garage side door takes a third, and nobody remembers which belongs where. When we change locks after you've bought a house, we can key the exterior doors alike so a single key runs the whole place. If you're looking for a locksmith for a new house or after a move, that tidy-up is often the part people appreciate most.

Here are the reasons people most often call us for a lock change:

• Closing on a house, condo or townhome
• Moving into a rental where the previous tenant's keys were never accounted for
• A lost or stolen key, or a bag or wallet with your address on it
• The end of a relationship or a roommate arrangement
• A contractor, house sitter or guest who had a key and no longer needs one
• A lock that has become worn, loose or sticky after years of use

How do we change your locks, step by step?

The process is simple, and we explain each stage as we go so nothing about your door is a mystery when we leave.

1. You call (213) 577-1366. Someone answers around the clock, every day of the year. Give us the address, how many doors, and what prompted the change.
2. We talk through the likely options on the phone so you know what to expect before we arrive.
3. A mobile van from our company comes to you with the cylinders, pins, deadbolts and hardware that residential doors commonly need.
4. We look at each lock: the brand, its condition, how the door sits in the frame, and whether the latch and strike plate line up.
5. We explain rekey versus replace for each door, one at a time, and go over the cost with you before any work starts.
6. We do the work. That might be rekeying every lock, replacing a worn one, or a mix of both depending on what we found.
7. We test the new keys, then try an old key to confirm it no longer turns the lock. We check the latch and deadbolt throw, hand over your keys, and explain how to get copies made.

Rekey or replace locks: how do you decide?

Rekeying is usually the more economical route, and for a lot of doors it's the right answer. It keeps the hardware you already have, changes what key operates it, and takes less material. But it's not always the right call, and we won't talk you into it just because it costs less.

A rekey changes who can open the lock. It does not make the lock stronger. If the lock itself is the weak point, a new key pattern inside a weak lock is still a weak lock.

• Rekey when the hardware is in good shape, turns smoothly, matches the look you want, and comes from a brand that can be re-pinned.
• Replace when the lock is worn, loose, corroded, damaged from a past break-in attempt, or builder-grade hardware you never liked.
• Replace when you want a different finish, a lever instead of a knob, or a keypad or smart lock. Our smart lock installation page covers that route.
• Add hardware when a door has only a spring latch and no deadbolt. That's a separate step, covered under deadbolt installation.
• Replace when a lock can't be reliably rekeyed because of its design or because parts are no longer available.

What affects the cost of changing locks?

We don't put a number on a web page, because the number depends on your doors, not on a flat menu. Here is what actually moves the cost up or down, so you can judge any quote you receive, ours included.

• How many locks are involved: one front door is a different job than every exterior door, a garage entry and a side gate
• Rekey versus replace: re-pinning existing hardware generally takes less material than installing new hardware
• The grade and brand of replacement hardware you choose, from basic to heavy-duty
• Whether a door needs drilling or modification, for example to add a deadbolt where none existed
• The condition of the door and frame, since a warped door or loose strike plate may need attention for the new lock to work properly
• Key type: standard keys are straightforward, while restricted or high-security keys cost more to set up
• Keying everything alike, which takes a bit more planning
• Time of day, since after-hours calls differ from scheduled daytime visits, and the distance we travel

What do lock changes look like in Winnetka?

Winnetka is a compact neighborhood of postwar 1950s stucco tract homes on modest lots, with apartment buildings along stretches of Sherman Way, Roscoe Boulevard and Vanowen Street. There are no high-rise HOA towers here. Nearly all of our work in the 91306 ZIP involves single-family and small multifamily hardware, which suits a mobile locksmith well.

For the tract homes, the most common lock change is at turnover. A house in the streets around the Runnymede Park area, the Quimby Park area or the Winnetka Recreation Center area at Roscoe Boulevard and Winnetka Avenue changes hands, or a tenant moves out, and the owner wants every old key rendered useless. In houses this age, the hardware has often been replaced piece by piece over the decades, so we regularly find three different brands on three doors. Rekeying them to one key, or swapping the odd ones out, is a typical outcome.

Apartment buildings along the Sherman Way and Roscoe Boulevard corridors bring a different picture. Security screen doors are common, and a lock change often involves both the main door and the screen door hardware. Shared mailbox banks are common in older buildings, and a new tenant's mailbox lock is easy to forget. If that's part of your move, see our mailbox lock replacement page. If you're locked out of a unit before the change can happen, apartment lockout help is the page for that.

Climate matters here too. The central-west Valley location means hot, dry summers that push wood doors and frames through cycles of expansion and contraction. The effect on locks is modest, but in older homes it shows up as sticking latches and strike plates that no longer line up. Before we rekey or replace anything, we check how the bolt meets the strike. A new lock on a door that binds will feel broken within a week, so we'd rather fix the alignment at the same visit.

Our storefront is in Westwood at 10740 Wilshire Blvd, about 20 miles from Winnetka, and our mobile vans come to you, whether you're near the Winnetka Avenue corridor by Pierce College or on the Saticoy Street or Vanowen Street side of the neighborhood. You don't need to bring a lock in.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a lock change?

We've been in business since 1987, serving 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and Winnetka is one of the neighborhoods we cover. We have a real storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood plus mobile service vans, so you're dealing with an actual local company and not a call center with a borrowed name.

We're one company. When you call, you're not routed through a dispatch middleman who passes your address to whoever is nearest. The people who answer and the people who show up work for the same shop, and David, the owner and lead technician, oversees how our work gets done.

We answer (213) 577-1366 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round. Lock changes tend to be urgent at awkward hours: the night after a break-in, a key lost on a Sunday, a closing that wrapped up late. If you have a lighter-cost option and a more thorough one, we'll lay out both and let you choose.

What should you ask any locksmith before they work on your door?

California requires locksmith companies to hold a license through the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, known as a BSIS LCO license. Ask any locksmith you're considering for their license number, and check that it's real before they start work on a door that protects your home.

Ask for the cost before the work begins, and ask what drives it. Ask whether the person arriving works for the company you called. A good locksmith answers these without irritation, because you're letting them handle the one thing that keeps strangers out of your house.

How can you prepare before we arrive?

A few minutes of preparation makes the visit smoother and helps us give you a more accurate plan.

• Walk the property and list every door you want changed: front, back, garage entry, side gate, patio slider, and mailbox if it has a lock
• Gather every existing key, even ones you don't recognize, so we can identify what belongs to what
• Decide whether you want everything keyed alike or separate keys for certain doors
• Note any sticking, rubbing or loose hardware, especially on older wood doors
• Be ready to show that you own or have authority over the property, as an honest locksmith will ask
• If you're a landlord changing locks between tenants, our page for locksmith for landlords explains how we handle multiple units

More locksmith help in Winnetka

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

Change Locks near Winnetka

• Reseda
• Canoga Park
• Woodland Hills
• Chatsworth
• Northridge
• Tarzana