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 Altadena
If you’ve just moved into a home in Altadena, ended a rental, or let a contractor keep a key, the first call you make should be to someone who can rekey the locks before anyone with an old key shows up. In Altadena, that usually means working on original mortise locks from a 1920s bungalow, not just swapping a Kwikset cylinder on a modern deadbolt. Our crews know the difference because they drive these streets every week. A rekey keeps your existing hardware, changes the internal pins, and makes every old key useless. Call (956) 275-7388 and we’ll give you a written price before anyone is dispatched.
Why Ridley Locksmith & Security Is Altadena’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Altadena homeowners call us because we show up on time, in a marked van, with a uniformed technician who carries a written guarantee for the work. We’re part of the Garrison Partners family, operating to The Garrison Standard since 2007. That’s not a slogan. It means every technician answers to a written code of conduct and every job carries a document that says the repair is covered for one full year. If it fails inside that window, we return at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s included automatically.
We dispatch to Altadena from our Los Angeles office, so a live person answers the phone around the clock and crews are local to the San Gabriel Valley. No answering service. No voicemail at 2 a.m. You speak to a person, you get a real arrival window, and the price is written before work starts.
Rekey Service in Altadena
Rekey Service in Altadena typically runs $85 – $160 for the first lock and $25 – $40 per additional cylinder, depending on whether we’re working on a modern deadbolt or an original mortise lock from a Craftsman-era home. The first sentence of this page matters: you’ll get the exact figure on the phone before we dispatch anyone, and that’s the number on the invoice.
Rekeying means we disassemble the lock, swap the internal pins, and cut new keys to match. The old keys stop working instantly. We don’t replace the hardware unless it’s worn or damaged. That matters a lot in Altadena, where doors often carry original hardware worth keeping.
Mortise Lock Rework
A huge share of Altadena’s early-1900s homes still have working mortise locks from the original build. We re-pin the cylinder inside the lock body, inspect the spindle and springs for wear, and keep the original brass and finish intact. You keep the look. You lose the old key.
Mixed-Brand Cylinder Matching
Remodeled Altadena homes often have Baldwin trim over a Kwikset cylinder, or a Yale keyway on the front door and a Schlage on the side door. We re-pin all of them to the same key, even across brands and keyways, without replacing the trim.
Keyed Alike in Altadena
Keyed Alike service in Altadena means we re-tailor every lock you use regularly to a single key, including side doors, mudroom doors, and detached garage doors. Pricing runs $85 – $160 for the first cylinder and $25 – $40 for each additional one keyed to the same key. The price is quoted on the phone before dispatch, and it’s the price on the invoice.
In Altadena, the front door is often not the door you actually use. Side doors off the driveway, back doors near the kitchen, and garage entry doors built in the 1940s carry the daily traffic. A rekey that skips those doors means the old key still works somewhere on your property. We don’t skip them.
Multi-Door Single Key
We rekey deadbolts, mortise locks, and doorknobs across the property to one working key. That means one key on your ring instead of four, and we verify every door before we leave.
Key Count Documentation
We hand you a written count of every cylinder we keyed and every key we cut. If you’re on a multi-tenant lot or a multi-generation Altadena property, that document is how you know how many keys exist. Without it, a rekey isn’t finished.
Trusted Brands We Service in Altadena
We work on the hardware already on Altadena doors: Kwikset, Baldwin, Yale, Medeco, and more. Most Altadena homes mix brands after decades of remodels and hand-me-down locks from the original build. We stock pins and parts for all of them in our local service vehicles, so we don’t have to order parts across town and make you wait. If you have a high-security Medeco cylinder on a Craftsman door, we service that on the first visit. No second trip, no “we’ll get back to you.”
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Altadena Homes
- Original mortise locks still in service – Altadena’s early-1900s housing stock is full of working mortise locks from the original build. Many of them have never been re-pinned, which means the key count is unknown and the cylinder is likely worn past spec. We inspect and re-pin the original cylinder instead of ripping out history.
- The front door is not the door you actually use – Large Altadena lots mean the daily entry is often a side door off the driveway or a mudroom door near the kitchen. A rekey that only covers the front door leaves the house open. We ask which door carries the traffic and key every one of them.
- Mixed cylinder brands after a remodel – It’s common to find Baldwin trim over a Kwikset cylinder, or a Yale keyway paired with a Schlage deadbolt. That mix adds time to a rekey, and a flat per-lock quote that doesn’t account for it becomes an argument on the porch. We quote the real job, not a teaser.
- Missing key control on multi-tenant properties – Altadena has plenty of multi-generational homes and back-house rentals. Without a master key system or a documented key count, nobody knows how many copies of the old key exist. A rekey that doesn’t nail down key control isn’t done.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Altadena, CA
Here’s what you can expect to pay in Altadena. Rekey Service runs $85 – $160 for the first lock and $25 – $40 per additional cylinder. Keyed Alike work follows the same range. Mortise locks and mixed-brand cylinders land at the higher end because they take more time to disassemble, inspect, and re-pin. You’ll get a written price on the phone before we dispatch anyone. That’s the number you’ll see on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added on arrival, no moving number on the porch. Call (956) 275-7388 for an exact quote.
We Also Serve Cities Near Altadena
Our crews cross the city line all day. We handle rekey jobs in Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre, and South Pasadena with the same written price guarantee. If you’re in an unincorporated pocket near Altadena, call and we’ll let you know the dispatch window. Learn more about Rekey Locks or see how we cover Rekey Locks in Altadena and the surrounding foothill neighborhoods.
Serving Altadena, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Altadena 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 Altadena
We can rekey the original mortise lock in most cases. We pull the cylinder, re-pin it to a new key, inspect the internal springs and spindle, and put it back. We only recommend replacement if the cylinder is split, the keyway is shot, or the bolt won’t throw cleanly. Call (956) 275-7388 and we’ll tell you what your lock needs after we see it.
You get the written price on the phone before anyone is dispatched. That’s the number on the invoice. No call-out surcharge appears at the door. No “it’s worse than we thought” markup. We price by the cylinder and the lock type, and we tell you the range in advance. Call (956) 275-7388 for a free estimate.
Every technician arrives in a marked Ridley van, wearing a uniform with company identification, and carries a written estimate and a written guarantee. They’re background-checked and they work to The Garrison Standard. You can call (956) 275-7388 at any point and verify who’s on the way. No subcontractors, no unmarked vehicles.
A standard rekey on three to five cylinders, including a mortise lock or two, runs about 45 to 90 minutes. Older mortise locks and mixed-brand hardware add time. We’ll give you an accurate window when you call (956) 275-7388, and we don’t leave until every door is verified with the new key.
Yes. That’s our Keyed Alike service in Altadena. We re-pin every cylinder you use regularly, including side doors, mudroom doors, and detached garage doors, to a single key. If the front door is original mortise and the side door is a Kwikset deadbolt, we match them. Call (956) 275-7388 and we’ll give you a written price for the full set.
Written by Drew Kowalski, Owner at Ridley Locksmith & Security, serving Altadena under The Garrison Standard since 2007.