Lock Change in Los Angeles

Lock change is the umbrella term for three different jobs that often get confused: rekeying an existing lock so old keys no longer work, swapping the entire lock hardware for a new mechanical deadbolt or knob, and converting a traditional lock to a smart lock with keypad or app entry. Each costs different money, takes different time, and protects you in slightly different ways. The right answer depends on whether the existing hardware is in good condition, whether you want backward compatibility with old keys, and whether the door has been kicked, drilled, or worn out from years of use across the Los Angeles rental market.

Rekeying keeps the existing deadbolt or knob and only swaps the internal pins so a new key works while the old keys stop working. Most Kwikset locks made after 2008 use SmartKey technology, which lets a homeowner rekey in about a minute with a small tool that comes with the lock — no locksmith needed. Older Kwikset locks, all Schlage locks, and most commercial-grade locks need a licensed locksmith with a pinning kit, because the cylinder has to come out and the pins have to be cut and stacked to a new key bitting. A rekey is the right call when the hardware is solid and you only need to invalidate old keys after a move-in, contractor visit, or roommate change.

A full lock change replaces the hardware itself — new deadbolt, new strike plate, sometimes a new knob or lever to match. This is the right call when the old lock is worn, sticky, drilled, kicked, or aesthetically wrong for the door. It is also the easiest path when you want to standardize on one key across the front door, back door, and garage entry, because you can install matched-keyed Schlage or Kwikset sets straight from the box at Home Depot. A standard deadbolt swap is genuinely a fifteen-minute job for someone who has done it once before, which is why many Los Angeles homeowners handle it themselves and only call a handyman when something is stuck or the door has shifted.

You just moved into a new place, bought a new home, or took over a lease — and you have no idea who else has a working key. Previous tenants, their friends, the seller's realtor, the listing photographer, contractors, the cleaner, and the previous owner's adult kids may all still have copies. Rekey or swap every exterior lock within the first week. This is the single most common reason people change locks in Los Angeles, especially in renter-heavy neighborhoods like Koreatown, DTLA, Hollywood, and East Hollywood where turnover is high and key control was loose before you arrived.

You went through a roommate change, a breakup, or a tenant just moved out of a unit you own. You do not need new hardware — a rekey is enough, and it is faster and cheaper. If the old roommate had keys to the mailbox, garage, or storage unit, those need attention too. Landlords with multiple units across Mid-City, Echo Park, or Silver Lake often standardize on Kwikset SmartKey for exactly this reason: a one-minute rekey between tenants beats paying a locksmith on every turnover.

The lock is failing mechanically — the key sticks, the deadbolt does not throw smoothly, the knob spins loose, or the door will not lock unless you lift it. Twenty-year-old Schlage and Kwikset hardware in older Los Feliz, Pasadena, and West Adams homes wears out gradually and then suddenly becomes a lockout risk. Replace before it strands you outside.

You were burglarized, someone tried to kick the door, or a key was lost or stolen. In any of these cases rekey is not enough if the hardware itself was compromised — go to a full lock change, and consider upgrading the strike plate to a four-screw reinforced plate with three-inch screws into the framing, because most kicked-door entries fail at the strike, not the deadbolt.

You want to upgrade to a smart lock with keypad entry, app control, or auto-lock — common in WeHo, Silicon Beach, Mar Vista, and the tech-heavy parts of Venice and Santa Monica. The trigger is usually short-term rentals where you do not want to hand out physical keys, dog walkers and house cleaners who need temporary codes, or simply being tired of locking yourself out. Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and August retrofit all fit standard deadbolt prep without modifying the door.

Decide first whether you need rekey, lock change, or smart conversion. If hardware is sound and you only want to invalidate old keys, rekey is cheapest and fastest. If hardware is worn, drilled, or wrong, swap. If you want app or keypad control, plan a smart lock install. Mixing these up is the most expensive mistake — paying a locksmith $180 to rekey a tired twenty-year-old lock that you will replace in six months anyway.

Match the brand to the existing latch and bore. Schlage and Kwikset both fit the standard 2-1/8 inch bore and 1-inch edge bore on almost every American residential door, but the latch faceplates and strike plates have slightly different shapes. Putting a Schlage deadbolt with a Kwikset latch will not seat correctly. Buy a complete set or confirm faceplate compatibility before you start.

Verify whether you need a licensed locksmith or a handyman is enough. Standard mechanical deadbolt swaps, Kwikset SmartKey rekeys, and most smart lock retrofits sit cleanly inside what a vetted handyman handles every week. Key cutting, broken-key extraction, rekeying non-SmartKey locks, opening a locked door without damage, and any commercial lock work want a licensed locksmith — California requires locksmiths to hold a Bureau of Security and Investigative Services license, and the work is regulated separately from general handyman work.

For smart locks, decide between full replacement and retrofit before buying. Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and Kwikset Halo replace the entire deadbolt — clean look, integrated keypad, but visible from outside. August Smart Lock and Yale Assure Lock SL retrofit kits keep your existing exterior hardware and only motorize the interior thumbturn — invisible from outside, keeps your existing keys working, but bulkier inside. Renters often prefer retrofit because nothing visible changes.

Read recent reviews specifically for lock work. A pro with great TV mounting reviews may not have done many lock changes. Look for the last ten reviews mentioning locks, rekeys, or smart-lock installs, and confirm the pro has worked with your brand. Schlage and Kwikset are common; Yale, August, Medeco, and Mul-T-Lock are specialty.

Confirm in writing how many doors and how many locks per door. A typical Los Angeles single-family home has three to five exterior locks: front door deadbolt, front door knob, back or side door deadbolt, back or side door knob, and sometimes a garage-to-house door. Pricing per lock differs from pricing per door — clarify before booking, because $60 per cylinder is reasonable for one rekey but adds up fast across five cylinders.

A standard mechanical deadbolt swap on a door that is in good shape is genuinely a fifteen-minute DIY job. You need a Phillips screwdriver and a new deadbolt — that is it. Unscrew the two long bolts on the interior side, pull both halves of the old deadbolt out of the door, slide the new latch into the edge mortise, slide the new exterior cylinder in so the tail piece engages the latch, hold the interior side against the door, drive the two bolts in until snug, and test. The hardware comes with a paper template and clear instructions. If the new lock matches the old one in brand and style, the latch and strike plate usually do not need adjustment.

Kwikset SmartKey rekey is also DIY for anyone with steady hands. Insert the working key, turn it ninety degrees, push the SmartKey learn tool into the small slot on the front of the cylinder, remove both, insert the new key, turn it back. Done. The whole process takes about a minute and the tool ships with every SmartKey lock. For non-SmartKey rekeys — older Kwikset, all Schlage, and any commercial lock — a pinning kit costs around $60 to $90, but the learning curve is steep, the pins are tiny and easy to lose, and most homeowners are better off paying a locksmith $80 to $120 for one visit than buying a kit they will use twice.

Smart locks are mostly DIY for the physical mounting — the prep is identical to a mechanical deadbolt — but the WiFi and app setup is where many homeowners stall. Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and August all require a 2.4 GHz network, a phone with the right app, and patience to pair the device. If your home WiFi is solid, your phone is current, and you have done a smart-home install before, plan an hour and you will be fine. If you have ever called your kid to fix the printer, hire a pro for the install — the labor add for proper pairing, code creation, and auto-lock calibration is worth it, and a half-paired smart lock that locks you out at midnight is exactly the wrong outcome.

Not testing every key the locksmith was given before they leave. After a rekey across three or four doors, the locksmith hands you new keys and packs up. Try every key in every lock before they walk away — it is common for one cylinder to get pinned slightly off, and catching it on site costs nothing while a return visit costs another service-call fee. Same rule applies after a DIY swap: test the new key from outside, lock and unlock five times, and confirm the deadbolt fully retracts so the door is not dragging on the strike.

Mixing a Schlage deadbolt with a Kwikset latch or strike plate. The bores are the same but the faceplates are slightly different shapes — Kwikset faceplates are usually rounded corners, Schlage are square. The deadbolt will go in but the latch will not seat flush, leaving a gap or a sticking bolt. Buy a complete matched set or confirm faceplate compatibility before you start. This is the most common mistake on first DIY lock swaps.

Forgetting to rekey or change every exterior lock after a move-in. Homeowners change the front door and stop. The back door, the side gate to the yard, the door from the garage into the house, the mailbox, and any storage room all had keys handed out by the previous owner too. Rekey or change them all in one visit — the per-cylinder cost drops sharply after the first lock, and leaving even one door on the old key defeats the whole exercise.

Installing a smart lock without a backup plan for dead batteries. Every smart lock — Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, August, Kwikset Halo — runs on AA or AAA batteries and will warn you for weeks before they die. People ignore the warnings. Then the lock dies at 11pm, the keypad will not respond, and the app will not connect. Always keep a physical backup key in your wallet or with a neighbor, and confirm the smart lock has a physical key override before you buy — some retrofit models do not have one because they keep your existing exterior cylinder, but full-replacement smart locks vary, and a few app-only models intentionally have no key.

Hiring a handyman for work that requires a licensed locksmith, or paying a locksmith for work a handyman can do. A handyman swapping a Schlage deadbolt or installing a Schlage Encode is normal weekday work and saves you money. A handyman trying to extract a broken key from a cylinder, pick a locked door open, or rekey a non-SmartKey commercial lock is doing work that legally and practically belongs to a Bureau of Security and Investigative Services licensed locksmith. Match the job to the right pro — Shatun Brothers vetting flags which pros hold which credentials, so you do not have to figure it out alone.