Non-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Rekey Locks Across Covina
Rekeying a lock in Covina means changing the internal pins so your old keys stop working, without replacing the hardware itself. Most Covina rekeys run $95 – $160 for the first lock and $25 – $45 per additional lock when they’re keyed alike in a single visit. It’s the fastest way to regain control after moving in, after a tenant leaves, or after a key goes missing. Call (956) 275-7388 and you’ll get a written price before anyone is dispatched to your door.
Why Ridley Locksmith & Security Is Covina’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Covina homeowners call us because they’ve been burned before. A phone quote that shifts the moment the tech sees a mortise lock instead of a “standard” Kwikset. A rekey that holds for three weeks before the worn cylinder drops its pins and the key stops turning. We hear those stories on a regular basis from customers around Citrus Avenue, Charter Oak, and the neighborhoods north of Badillo. Our response to that is simple: a written price before any work begins, on every single job. Not an estimate. A price. And if that price changes, you’ll know why before a tool touches your door.
Every Ridley technician is background-checked and arrives in a marked uniform. Not a subcontractor in an unmarked van. Not a call center dispatch with no name attached. When you call Ridley Locksmith & Security, a live person answers, any hour, 7 days a week. You’ll speak to someone who knows Covina’s housing stock and the locks that came with it.
Drew Kowalski runs our operation to The Garrison Standard, the written code every technician answers to. Since 2007, that standard has been the same: write the price, do the work right, and back it for one full year with a written guarantee. If a rekey fails inside that window, we come back and make it right at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise and it isn’t buried in fine print. It’s on every invoice.
Keyed Alike in Covina
Keyed alike in Covina is the fix for a house where you’re carrying three different keys for three exterior doors and it’s been that way since you moved in. The job means repinning every lock cylinder to the same internal configuration so a single key turns every deadbolt and knob. For older Covina homes near the downtown core, this often involves matching a newer Schlage deadbolt on the front door to two older Kwikset knobs on the side and back doors. It rarely requires new hardware. Most of the time, we pull the cylinders, repin the stacks, and hand you one key that works everything.
Keyed alike pricing in Covina typically runs $95 – $160 for the first lock and $25 – $45 for each additional lock done in the same visit. The range accounts for cylinder type. A standard Kwikset or Schlage pin-and-tumbler cylinder is quick work. An older mortise lock or a high-security Medeco takes more time and more precise pinning, which moves the price toward the top of that range. Either way, you’ll see the number in writing before we start.
One key for every door
We pull each cylinder, dump the old pins, and repin to a single key code. The hardware stays on the door. No new locks, no new keys for the neighbors, no change to the look of your front entry.
When a keyed-alike job turns into a cylinder replacement
In some 1960s Covina tract homes, the factory cylinders have been turned so many thousands of times that the pin chambers are worn oval. Repinning a worn cylinder means the pins won’t hold their shear line and the key fails within weeks. If we see that during the job, we show you and price a cylinder swap before doing it. You approve it. Nothing gets replaced on a guess.
Rekey Deadbolt in Covina
Rekey deadbolt in Covina is usually a faster job than people expect. A single deadbolt rekey without any other work runs $65 – $95 in most Covina neighborhoods, assuming the cylinder is in serviceable shape. The work takes 15 – 25 minutes on a standard Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt. If the deadbolt is paired with a knob or lever and you want both on the same key, that’s the keyed-alike pricing above.
One thing to know: rekeying a deadbolt does not mean replacing it. We hear from Covina homeowners who assumed a rekey meant new hardware and got quoted a full lock replacement elsewhere. That’s an expensive way to change a key. If the deadbolt itself is intact and the cylinder still holds pins correctly, repinning is all you need.
Deadbolt-only rekeys after a move
Moving into a house off Covina Hills Road or down near the 10, you don’t know how many keys are floating around from the previous owner. Rekeying the deadbolts kills every old key on day one. It’s the first thing we’d do before unpacking another box.
When the deadbolt needs more than a rekey
Some homes north of the freeway still have the original builder-grade deadbolts from the 70s and 80s. If the cylinder’s worn or the bolt itself has play in the strike plate, we’ll say so before we quote anything. A rekey on a failing deadbolt is a temporary patch, and we won’t write a guarantee for work that won’t hold.
Trusted Brands We Service in Covina
We work on the hardware Covina homes and storefronts actually have. That starts with Kwikset and Schlage, the two most common brands on tract home and apartment doors in the city. We also rekey Yale and Baldwin hardware where it shows up on older craftsman homes near the downtown citrus core, and we’re certified on Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, and Sargent high-security cylinders for commercial work. Because we keep a full pin kit and common cylinder parts stocked on every truck, most rekeys in Covina are done in a single visit. No “we’ll order the part and come back next week.” The part’s already on the truck.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Covina Homes
- Worn pre-war cylinders near downtown. Homes along Citrus Avenue and the surrounding streets often have original mortise locks or rim cylinders that have been pinned and repinned for decades. The pin chambers wear wide, and a fresh rekey won’t hold. We identify this before rekeying and offer a cylinder replacement at a flat, written price.
- Builder-grade Kwikset deadbolts on 1960s – 80s tract homes. These cylinders were never meant to be rekeyed six times over forty years. The keyway gets sloppy and keys stop turning within a few weeks of a fresh repin. We typically replace the cylinder or upgrade the deadbolt and adjust the cost before starting.
- Mixed hardware on one door. A newer Schlage deadbolt paired with an older Kwikset knob on the same door makes a keyed-alike job more involved. The two cylinders use different pin depths and sometimes different keyways. We can still key them alike in most cases, but it takes longer and the written price reflects that.
- Tenants with copied keys. Covina landlords call us between renters on a regular basis. A rekey kills every old copy immediately, and for rentals we often recommend moving to a restricted keyway like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock so keys can’t be duplicated at a hardware store kiosk without your authorization.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Covina, CA
Here are the numbers we quote every day in Covina. A single deadbolt rekey runs $65 – $95. A full exterior door set, keyed alike, runs $95 – $160 for the first lock and $25 – $45 for each additional lock. Rentals and commercial spaces with mortise locks or high-security cylinders like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock sit higher, generally $120 – $200 per lock depending on cylinder type and key control requirements. We stock parts locally in Covina and carry the full pin kit on every truck, so you’re not paying for a second trip. Every quote is written before work starts, and that written price is the price on the invoice. Call (956) 275-7388 for a free estimate on your specific hardware.
We Also Serve Cities Near Covina
Our Rekey Locks team covers Covina and the surrounding communities. If you’re across the city line in Azusa, West Covina, Baldwin Park, or Glendora, the same written-price promise and one-year guarantee apply. Our Covina crews know these neighborhoods and can usually reach you the same day you call.
Serving Covina, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Covina area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Rekey Locks in Covina
Yes. In most Covina homes, we can key every exterior lock alike so one key operates all of them. The job involves pulling each cylinder and repinning it to the same key code. Full exterior sets typically run $95 – $160 for the first lock and $25 – $45 per additional lock. Call (956) 275-7388 for a written quote on your specific doors.
Most deadbolts in Covina can be rekeyed without replacement. If the cylinder is intact and the bolt still throws cleanly, a rekey is all you need and runs $65 – $95 per deadbolt. If the cylinder is worn or the deadbolt itself is failing, we’ll show you before quoting any replacement. You approve any new hardware before it goes on the invoice.
For a standard single-family home with three exterior doors, a full keyed-alike rekey in Covina takes 45 minutes to an hour in most cases. A single deadbolt is 15 – 25 minutes. Older mortise locks or high-security cylinders add time and we’ll reflect that in the written quote before we begin.
Every Ridley technician In Covina arrives in a marked uniform and can show you their company ID. We dispatch directly from our Los Angeles office to Covina addresses, and the person standing at your door will match the name you got when you called. No subcontractors, no unmarked vans, no third-party dispatch. A live person answers our phone 24/7, so you can confirm any arrival with one call.
A standard rekey resets the key code but doesn’t change the cylinder’s vulnerability to bumping or picking. For Covina rental units where old tenants may have had keys copied, we usually recommend a restricted keyway like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock. These use key controls that prevent unauthorized duplication at hardware-store kiosks and add real bump resistance. We’ll quote both options in writing so you decide with the numbers in front of you. Call (956) 275-7388 to talk it through.
How a Covina Rekey Works: One Local Job, Done in Under an Hour
Covina’s housing stock splits sharply between pre-war bungalows near the downtown Citrus Avenue core and 1960s – 80s tract homes north of the 10 freeway. That split changes how every rekey goes. A recent job off Citrus Avenue in Old Town Covina had three exterior doors on one key, but the back slider’s deadbolt was a 40-year-old builder-grade Kwikset that no longer matched the front Schlage. We pulled the lock cylinder, dumped the old pins from the pin-and-tumbler stack, and repinned all three to a single keyed-alike set. No new hardware, no non-destructive entry drama, done in under an hour. The homeowner paid the written price we quoted before dispatch. Nothing moved.
That’s the difference between a rekey done right and a rekey that’s just a phone number and a guess. On older Covina cylinders, worn pins drop and keys stop turning within weeks of a sloppy repin. On newer tract homes, the cylinder might be fine but the keyway’s been duplicated so many times the original key no longer seats cleanly. A real rekey handles what’s actually on the door, not what a dispatcher in another state assumes is there.
If you need a Rekey Locks job done in Covina, call (956) 275-7388. You’ll get a written price before any work starts, a background-checked technician in uniform, and a one-year written guarantee on the work. That’s The Garrison Standard. Drew Kowalski runs every job to it.
Written by Drew Kowalski, Owner at Ridley Locksmith & Security, serving Covina since 2007.