Real review goes here once the Yelp / Nextdoor profile exists under this brand. Paste it word for word with the reviewer's first name and the source. Nothing invented.
Rekeys · Houses, apartments, duplexes
Rekey Your Locks So Old Keys Stop Working
Same hardware, new key. Done on your doorstep, usually the same day, for anyone in El Cajon who doesn't know how many copies of their key are out there.
(619) 837-7178When to rekey
A rekey changes the pins inside your lock so it takes a new key and rejects the old ones. You keep the hardware. It's the right call whenever you can't account for every key.
- You just moved in. The last tenant, their roommate, the cleaner and the property manager's old vendor may all have copies. Rekey the day you get the keys, before the boxes come in.
- A roommate, partner or ex moved out. Getting the key back is not the same as knowing no copy was made at the hardware store on Broadway.
- A key went missing. If it was on a ring with anything showing your address, don't wait to see if it turns up.
- Someone had a key for a job. Contractors, dog walkers, a house sitter over the summer. Good people, but the key is still out there.
- You bought a resale ranch house. A 1950s Fletcher Hills or Granite Hills home has had sixty years of owners, renters, and in-laws with a key. Nobody knows how many.
- Duplex or fourplex. When an owner and a tenant share a gate or a laundry-room key, a rekey at turnover keeps the common key under control too.
Rekey or replace?
Rekey when the hardware is sound. A working Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt from any decade will take new pins and keep going for years. Replace when the lock is worn, sticks, spins, or is the thin builder-grade kind that came with the door, or when you want something stronger than what's there. Those are the only reasons. We don't push new hardware on a lock that works, and if you ask us to replace something that only needs a rekey we'll tell you the cheaper option first.
When the door itself is the problem, a short strike plate, a hollow jamb, a slider that lifts out of its track, a rekey won't fix it. That's a different job and it's on the security upgrades page: when a rekey isn't enough because the hardware is worn or weak.
One key for every door
Most households in El Cajon leave with fewer keys than they started with. While we're rekeying, we can key the front door, back door, garage entry door and the slider handle lock alike, so one key runs the house. Same for a detached garage or a workshop out back in Granite Hills.
The catch is keyways. Kwikset-style locks and Schlage-style locks take different key blanks, so a Kwikset front door and a Schlage back door can't share a key no matter how they're pinned. If your doors are mixed, we'll show you which ones can be grouped and what it would cost to swap one cylinder so everything matches. Often it's one cylinder, not a new set of locks.
Cluster mailboxes, padlocks and the laundry-room door are usually on their own keyways and stay separate. We'll say so up front rather than promise a single key and hand you three.
Renting? What California lets you do
Plain-language version. This isn't legal advice, and you should read your own lease.
- Your landlord has to give you working deadbolts. California Civil Code 1941.3 requires a deadbolt on the main swinging entry doors of a rental unit and working locks on windows that open, along with locking common-area doors and gates. If the deadbolt on your apartment door doesn't work, that's the landlord's repair.
- If you're in danger, you can require a lock change. Under Civil Code 1941.5 and 1941.6, a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or elder abuse can give the landlord written notice and documentation and the landlord must change the locks within 24 hours. If the landlord doesn't, the tenant can change them and give the landlord a key.
- Otherwise, check the lease. Most leases require permission for a lock change and a copy of the new key for the landlord. Text your landlord, get the yes in writing, and we'll rekey and cut the extra key for them the same visit.
Official sources: the California Courts self-help guide on tenant rights and the Department of Consumer Affairs guide "California Tenants." Moving here from out of state or from overseas and unsure how any of this works? We explain it in Spanish and Arabic too.
How a rekey visit goes
- ID and proof of residence. Driver's license or passport plus a lease, a bill or a piece of mail with the address. Every time, for everyone. It takes thirty seconds.
- Pins changed on site. The cylinder comes out, the old pins come out, new pins go in to match a fresh key. A standard lock takes a few minutes; a deadbolt and a knob on the same door go faster together.
- Every key tested in every door. New keys in, old keys out, on each lock we touched, while you watch.
- You keep the old keys, or we take them. They're just metal now. Most people like to see one fail in the lock before they throw it away.
Plan on well under an hour for a typical apartment and about an hour for a house with four or five locks and a slider.
What you'll hear on the phone
Rekey from $25 per lock plus the trip charge, quoted on the phone
Extra keys, keying alike and cylinder swaps are line items you'll hear before we start. The full table, including the trip charge and after-hours rules, is on the pricing page.
Questions renters ask
Do I need my landlord's OK to rekey my apartment?
Read your lease first. Most El Cajon leases say you need the landlord's permission, or at least have to give them a copy of the new key. Many landlords say yes on the spot when a tenant asks, because a rekey protects their unit too. If you're covered by California's protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or elder abuse, you can ask for a lock change in writing and the landlord has 24 hours to do it; if they don't, you can have it done yourself and give them a key. Bring that written notice or your landlord's OK and we'll do the work.
Can you match my mailbox key to my door key?
Usually not, and here is why. Most mailbox locks use a different keyway than a Kwikset or Schlage door lock, so they cannot share a key. What we can do is change a standalone mailbox lock or the compartment lock on a cluster box so the old key stops working. The carrier lock on a USPS cluster box belongs to the post office and we do not touch it.
What if my lock is a cheap one?
We'll tell you. Rekeying a builder-grade knob makes the old keys useless, which is the point of a rekey, but it doesn't make the door any stronger. If the deadbolt is loose, the strike plate is held in with half-inch screws, or the door doesn't latch without a shoulder, we'll say so and give you the install price. You decide. We don't replace hardware that still does its job.
Is rekeying cheaper than replacing the locks?
Almost always. A rekey is a per-lock labor charge plus the trip; replacing means new hardware plus labor plus the trip. The exception is when your locks are worn out, when you have a mix of keyways that can't share a key, or when you want a better deadbolt anyway. Then a replacement is money well spent, and we'll show you the difference on the pricing page before you choose.
Can you come after work?
The office runs Mon–Sat 7am–7pm, so evening rekeys are normal. Later than that is by appointment; ask when you call. Lockouts are separate and answered around the clock.
Own the building? Turnover rekeys, per-unit rates and master key systems are on the apartments and commercial page.