5 Mistakes to Avoid With Rekey Locks

5 Mistakes to Avoid With Rekey Locks

Rekeying a lock means changing the internal pins so the old key stops working and a new key takes over. The hardware stays on the door. The five mistakes below are the ones that turn a routine rekey into a security problem, a second service call, or a bill that doesn’t match the phone quote. They’re all avoidable if you know what to look for before the technician shows up.

If you’d rather not sort through this yourself, call Ridley Locksmith & Security at (956) 275-7388. We’ll give you a written price before any work starts.

Mistake 1: Rekeying Without Keeping the Original Key on Hand

Here’s a scenario we see regularly in Los Angeles. A homeowner buys a house, schedules a rekey, and the locksmith rekeys everything to a new key. Then the homeowner wants two extra copies. The problem? The original key that came with the house is now useless, and the new key hasn’t been copied yet. If the new key is a restricted keyway, a standard hardware-store key machine won’t cut it.

Once a rekey is done, the new key becomes the master bitting reference. That means the technician needs the new key in hand to cut duplicates. If you’ve only got one of those keys and you lose it, the lock has to be rekeyed again.

Before you rekey, decide how many working keys you need for the household: one for each driver, one for the housekeeper if you have one, one spare in a lockbox or with a trusted neighbor. Give that count to the technician so duplicates get cut on the spot. At Ridley Locksmith & Security, we ask this question on every residential rekey call in Los Angeles because the answer changes the job scope, and it’s cheaper to cut four keys in one visit than to schedule a second trip for copies.

Mistake 2: Assuming Every Lock in the House Is the Same Brand and Keyway

Most people assume the front door, back door, and garage door all use the same keyway. In older Los Angeles homes, that assumption falls apart quickly. Decades of repairs, a flipped house, a handyman who swapped a deadbolt, a landlord who replaced a knob with whatever was on sale: all of it leaves mixed hardware behind.

You might have a Schlage on the front door, a Kwikset on the back, and a Baldwin on the side gate. Those cylinders take different key blanks. That doesn’t mean they can’t be keyed alike, but it does mean the technician has to carry the right pins and blanks for each brand. A rookie with a limited truck stock will rekey the Schlage cylinder and tell you the Kwikset “can’t be done today.” It can. It just needs the right parts on the truck.

We stock Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, and Baldwin hardware on every Ridley Locksmith & Security van in Los Angeles, along with high-security lines including Sargent and Abloy. That’s the difference between a rekey done in one visit and a two-visit job with a second minimum charge.

Mistake 3: Booking Based on Phone Price Alone

Paying $35 for a rekey that takes forty-five minutes, covers six cylinders, and comes with a warranty isn’t a deal. It’s a signal that something is wrong with the pricing, the scope, or the person doing the work. A legitimate technician at that rate is losing money on labor, parts, insurance, and drive time. So either the price changes when the van pulls up, or the job scope shrinks to one lock while the other five “need” replacement hardware at a markup.

Most bait-and-switch schemes in the Los Angeles locksmith trade live in the gap between the phone quote and the invoice. The phone quote covers “a rekey.” The invoice covers a service call, a per-cylinder labor charge, pins, a new key, and a trip fee. Suddenly the $35 job is $240.

Here’s what to ask before you book: Does the price include parts, labor, and every cylinder in the home? How many cylinders does the quote cover? Is there a separate service call fee? At Ridley Locksmith & Security, you get a written price before any work starts, on every single job. The number we give you on the phone covers the cylinders we agreed to rekey, the keys, the labor, and the trip. If the scope changes mid-job, you’ll see the new number in writing before we touch another screw.

Mistake 4: Rekeying Without Assessing the Lock’s Security Grade First

Rekeying changes the key. It doesn’t change the lock. That distinction matters, because a rekey on a Grade 3 deadbolt leaves you with a Grade 3 deadbolt and a new key. Grade 3 is the lowest residential rating under the ANSI/BHMA grading system: it’s built for light residential use and it fails quickly under forced entry.

In Los Angeles, we rekey plenty of Grade 3 hardware that’s been on the door since the Reagan administration. The homeowner’s reasoning is usually sound: a rekey is cheaper than a new deadbolt, so let’s rekey. The problem is the lock’s security value was never in the key. It’s in the bolt throw, the strike plate, the cylinder’s resistance to picking and drilling, and the screws holding it all together.

Mistake 4 is treating a rekey as a complete security refresh. It isn’t. It’s a credential change. If the lock itself is worn, loose, or low-grade, rekeying it is maintenance, not an upgrade. Our technicians at Ridley Locksmith & Security check the grade and condition of every cylinder before touching the pins. If the lock is a Grade 3 with a wobbly bolt and a strike plate held in by half-inch screws, we’ll tell you. Then you decide whether to rekey it or replace it with something that actually holds the door shut. A rekey you understand is a rekey you won’t regret.

When to call a pro: if you’re unsure whether your existing lock is worth rekeying, or you’ve got mixed brands on three doors and you want one key for all of them, that’s a service call, not a YouTube project. Call (956) 275-7388 and we’ll give you a written price before we start.

For a deeper look at what a full residential rekey involves, see our Rekey Locks in Los Angeles page. If you’re also weighing broader security upgrades for the whole home, our Residential Locksmith in Los Angeles guide covers deadbolt replacement, strike plate reinforcement, and high-security hardware options.

Mistake 5: Not Asking for All Locks Keyed Alike in One Visit

A rekey job isn’t just about the front door. Most homes in Los Angeles have three to five keyed entry points: front door, back door, side door, garage door, and sometimes a gate. If you rekey only the front and put off the rest, you’ve now got two key rings, two sets of keys to track, and a back door that still opens with the old key you were trying to retire.

Worse: if you call back a month later to finish the job, you’re paying a second minimum service charge. That’s not a mistake in workmanship. It’s a mistake in scheduling, and it adds up fast.

Ask the technician to key every lock alike during the same visit. The marginal cost of rekeying a second, third, or fourth cylinder is far lower than the cost of a return trip. We pulled one out of a garage over in Eagle Rock last week where the homeowner had rekeyed the front door in January, the back door in March, and was about to bring us back a third time for the side gate. Three trips, three minimum charges. One afternoon would have covered all three.

At Ridley Locksmith & Security, we walk the property with you before starting, count the keyed entry points, and tell you what it costs to key everything alike in one visit. You decide the scope, and the written price reflects the full scope. No partial rekey, no surprise second visit.

Related services in Los Angeles: for commercial properties and storefronts, keying alike is a bigger conversation involving master key systems and high-security cylinders. See our Commercial Locksmith in Los Angeles page for how we handle rekeys on multi-door commercial buildings.

Key Takeaways

• Keep the original key on hand before rekeying, or have the new key copied on the spot.
• Don’t assume every lock in the house uses the same keyway. Mixed brands are the norm in Los Angeles, not the exception.
• Ask what the phone quote covers: parts, labor, trip fee, and cylinder count. A written price kills the bait-and-switch.
• Rekeying changes the key, not the lock. A Grade 3 deadbolt is still a Grade 3 deadbolt after the rekey.
• Key all locks alike in one visit to avoid a second service call and a second minimum charge.

The Bottom Line

Rekeying is one of the most cost-effective security steps you can take when you move into a new place, lose a key, or fire a contractor who had access. But the savings vanish the moment you accept a phone quote that doesn’t match the invoice, rekey one door while leaving three others on the old key, or rekey a deadbolt that should have been replaced outright.

The five mistakes above share a root cause: decisions made before the technician arrives. Lock hardware is specific. Pricing should be specific. And the person doing the work should be accountable to a written standard, not just a phone script.

If you’re in Los Angeles and want a rekey done right the first time, Ridley Locksmith & Security offers free estimates by phone. Call (956) 275-7388 and we’ll give you a written price before any work starts, along with a written guarantee covering the repair for one full year. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it applies to every rekey we do.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to rekey locks in Los Angeles?

Expect to pay roughly $75 to $160 for a standard residential rekey covering two to three cylinders with a new key, depending on the hardware brand and the cylinder count. High-security cylinders from lines like Sargent or Abloy run higher because the pins and key blanks cost more. Call (956) 275-7388 for an exact quote on your home’s specific lock setup. Estimates are free, and the price we give you in writing is the price on the invoice.

Is the price you quote on the phone the final price?

Yes. At Ridley Locksmith & Security, the written price we provide before any work starts is the price you pay. It covers the parts, labor, new keys, and trip for the agreed scope. If we find something mid-job that changes the scope, you’ll see the new number in writing before we touch another tool. We don’t add call-out surcharges when the van arrives.

Can you rekey all my locks to one key in a single visit?

Yes, and that’s the standard way to do it. We count every keyed entry point on the property before we start, quote the full scope in writing, and key every lock alike in one afternoon. Mixed brands like Schlage and Kwikset are routine, and we carry the pins and blanks for both on every van in Los Angeles.

How do I know the technician is legitimate?

Ask who’s coming to the door before you book. At Ridley Locksmith & Security, every technician is background-checked and uniformed, not a subcontractor and not an unknown crew from a call center. We’re independently owned and operated under The Garrison Standard, and every job carries a written guarantee covering the repair for one full year. If the work fails inside that window, we return at no charge.

Written by Drew Kowalski, Owner at Ridley Locksmith & Security, serving Los Angeles since 2007.