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 Daly City
Daly City runs on keys. After a tenant moves out of a duplex off Mission Street, after a contractor finishes a kitchen remodel near Skyline, after a roommate situation goes sideways in Westlake, someone needs those old keys to stop working. That’s a rekey, and for most Daly City homes it takes under an hour. We’re Ridley Locksmith & Security, part of the Garrison Partners family since 2007, and we rekey standard residential and high-security locks across Daly City every week. Call (956) 275-7388 and you’ll get a live person, a written price before dispatch, and a tech in a branded van who knows this city’s lock hardware cold.
Why Ridley Locksmith & Security Is Daly City’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Every lock we touch carries The Garrison Standard, which is the accountability structure most independent shops don’t have and most big call-center operations won’t show you. That means a background-checked, uniformed technician on your doorstep in Daly City. It means a written price handed to you before any work begins. And it means a written guarantee covering the rekey for one full year. If that rekey fails inside that window, we come back at no charge. That’s our 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it applies on every single job we do in Daly City. No asterisks.
We know the housing here. Daly City’s mid-century single-family homes and tightly packed multi-unit buildings are full of original mortise locks and builder-grade Schlage or Kwikset cylinders. That’s exactly the hardware we rekey most often. We don’t push replacement when a rekey is the right fix, and we stock pins and parts for the common cylinders on our vans, so we’re not driving back to a shop mid-job. When you call (956) 275-7388 from the Serramonte area, a live person answers, gets your address and lock type, and gives you a firm price before anyone is dispatched.
Rekey Service in Daly City
Rekey Service in Daly City means changing the internal pins inside your existing lock cylinder so the old keys no longer turn it. The hardware stays. The new key is the only one that works. For Daly City homeowners and landlords, this is usually the right call after a move-out, a lost key, a break-in attempt, or a contractor who never returned a set of keys. On standard Schlage or Kwikset cylinders, a rekey typically runs $40 – $85 per lock in Daly City, including the new keys. High-security cylinders like Medeco run higher, usually $65 – $120 per lock, because the pins and key blanks cost more and the work takes longer.
Move-Out and New-Tenant Rekeys
If you just bought a house in Broadmoor or you’re turning over a rental near Westlake, don’t assume the seller or the previous tenant handed back every key. They usually didn’t. A rekey gives you key control immediately. On a typical Daly City front door with a deadbolt and a knob, we can rekey both to the same new key while you wait.
Lost Key and Security Rekeys
A lost key in Daly City is a key that could be in anyone’s pocket. If your keys were stolen with something that has your address on it, rekey that same day. We dispatch to Daly City neighborhoods regularly and can usually have a tech at your door within 60 to 90 minutes for a standard rekey call.
Keyed Alike in Daly City
Keyed Alike in Daly City means rekeying two or more of your locks so they all work on one single key. For a landlord with a four-unit building near John F. Kennedy Elementary, or a homeowner with three exterior doors leading into a hillside house off Skyline Boulevard, this simplifies life considerably. One key operates the front door, back door, side door, and maybe a storage room or mailbox lock. In Daly City, keyed alike service runs roughly $60 – $110 for the first two locks rekeyed to match, with each additional lock typically $25 – $45, depending on cylinder type. You decide which doors stay on which key, and we’ll talk through the key control implications before cutting anything.
Master Key Systems for Multi-Unit Buildings
Daly City has a lot of duplexes and small apartment buildings, and a surprising number still operate on a ring of mismatched keys. That’s unsafe and inefficient. A master key system lets each tenant keep a key that only opens their unit, while you as the owner or manager carry one key that opens every door. We’ll survey the property, write a clear scope and per-cylinder price, and schedule the work. No last-minute surprises at the door.
Keyed Alike for Homes with Multiple Entry Points
A hillside home in Daly City often has a front door on one level, a garage door on another, and a back door facing the Pacifica side. If each of those is on a different key, you’re carrying a janitor’s ring every time you take the trash out. Keyed alike fixes that on the spot. We rekey all exterior cylinders to one new key, verify each one turns smoothly, and hand you the matching keys before we leave.
Trusted Brands We Service in Daly City
We work on the hardware already in your Daly City home, not just the brands we’d like to sell you. Our techs are trained across the full spectrum, from standard residential lines like Schlage and Kwikset to high-security cylinders from Medeco. So whether you have a 1960s mortise lock on a Broadmoor front door or a newer Kwikset smart deadbolt on a Westlake townhouse, the pins, springs, and knowledge are already on the van. We stock common local parts for the cylinders we see most in Daly City, which keeps turnaround fast and means we rarely need a second visit to finish a rekey.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Daly City Homes
Daly City’s housing stock is specific, and so are the problems that come with it. Here’s what we run into most:
- Original mortise locks on mid-century homes. Many Broadmoor and Serramonte houses still have their original mortise lock bodies, and the cylinders inside them are often worn to the point that a standard rekey kit won’t seat new pins correctly. A tech who doesn’t know mortise work will tell you the whole lock needs replacing. We rekey the cylinder in place, non-destructively, and the lock stays.
- Builder-grade Kwikset and Schlage cylinders with shared keyways. In Daly City’s multi-unit buildings, a lot of doors share the same keyway. That means one lost or copied key can compromise more than one unit. We map the keying before we cut anything, so you know exactly who has what after we leave.
- Keys copied so many times they no longer match the cylinder. Daly City landlords hand out keys to tenants, family, contractors, and cleaning services. Fifth-generation copies off a big-box kiosk often don’t turn cleanly. A rekey with fresh-cut keys solves that permanently.
- Deadbolts that were never upgraded for bump resistance. A rekey alone doesn’t make an entry door bump-proof, and we’ll tell you that clearly before touching the lock. If your deadbolt is a basic Grade 3, we can rekey the cylinder and recommend a Grade 1 deadbolt that actually resists forced entry. You decide. We just don’t leave you with a false sense of security.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Daly City, CA
Let’s talk straight about what this costs, because the rekey trade has a bait-pricing problem and we refuse to be part of it. A standard rekey in Daly City runs $40 – $85 per lock on common Schlage or Kwikset cylinders. High-security hardware like Medeco runs $65 – $120 per lock. Keyed alike setup typically starts around $60 for the first two locks and $25 – $45 for each additional lock. The price we quote on the phone is the full price. There is no dispatch fee added when the tech arrives, no fuel surcharge, and no surprise “lock replacement” upsell unless you ask us to evaluate the hardware for security. If the scope changes because the hardware is genuinely failing, we stop and show you a written price for the new work before touching anything. Call (956) 275-7388 for a free estimate. You’ll get the number in writing before anyone is dispatched.
We Also Serve Cities Near Daly City
If you’re in Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, or Pacifica, the same written-price policy and the same background-checked technicians apply. Our Rekey Locks team covers the entire northern Peninsula corridor, and you can reach a live person 24 hours a day at (956) 275-7388. For a deeper look at how we handle specific neighborhoods and lock types in town, see our Rekey Locks in Daly City guide.
Serving Daly City, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Daly City 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 Daly City
We can rekey nearly any mortise lock cylinder in place, including the original units still common in Broadmoor and Serramonte homes built before 1970. Replacement is rarely necessary unless the internal parts are physically broken or the cylinder is too worn to hold new pins securely. We’ll tell you the truth before we do any work, and the written price covers exactly what we find. Call (956) 275-7388 and describe the lock; we’ll tell you over the phone which route is likely.
Every Ridley tech wears a uniform and drives a branded vehicle, and every tech arrives with a dispatching record tied to your specific address. We are background-checked, on a payroll, and operating under The Garrison Code, not a subcontracted crew calling itself whatever the call center told it to say. You’ll get the tech’s name before dispatch, and the written price they carry matches the price you were quoted on the phone. If it doesn’t, don’t let them start.
Keyed alike means all the locks we rekey operate on one single key. For a Daly City landlord with a duplex or a homeowner with multiple exterior doors, it’s almost always worth it. You carry one key instead of three or four, and you can hand one key to a tenant, a neighbor, or a family member without having to sort through a ring. It costs less than replacing locks and takes about the same time as a standard rekey. Call (956) 275-7388 for a per-lock price on your specific doors.
Yes. Many Daly City homes now have a Schlage Encode, a Kwikset Halo, or another smart deadbolt with a physical key override cylinder. That cylinder rekeys just like any other, and we also rekey the lock when you want to retire an old user code at the same time. The smart features stay functional. The physical key changes. If you’re not sure whether your smart lock has a rekeyable cylinder, call (956) 275-7388 with the model name and we’ll confirm before dispatch.
Rekeying is typically half to two-thirds the cost of replacing hardware, and it’s faster. On a Daly City rental with original mortise locks or 1950s builder-grade hardware, replacing everything often means new door prep, new strike plates, and paint touch-up, which adds time and money. A rekey restores key control without any of that. For most landlords turning over a unit, rekeying every exterior cylinder is the right first step. Call (956) 275-7388 for a price on your specific unit count and lock types.
Rekeying in Daly City doesn’t have to involve a stranger with an unmarked van and a price that inflates at your front door. It should be a known technician, a written price, a real guarantee, and a lock that works the moment they leave. That’s what we do. Call Ridley Locksmith & Security at (956) 275-7388 for a free rekey estimate in Daly City. A live person answers, day or night.
Written by Drew Kowalski, Owner at Ridley Locksmith & Security, part of the Garrison Partners family since 2007.