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 Cotati
Rekeying a lock in Cotati means replacing the pins inside the cylinder so every old key stops working, and on most Cotati doors this runs $20 to $35 per cylinder plus a service call of $45 to $75. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes per lock, not hours. We handle calls from homeowners off East Cotati Avenue, property managers near the Sonoma State corridor, and renters in the La Plaza area. Call (956) 275-7388 and a live person answers, day or night. We quote a written per-lock price before the van rolls, and that number is what you pay.
Why Ridley Locksmith & Security Is Cotati’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Cotati’s housing stock rewards a locksmith who knows what’s actually on the doors here. Most of our Rekey Locks calls in Cotati come from the 1950s through 1970s bungalows and rental units running original Schlage or Kwikset pin-and-tumbler hardware, often paired with a newer builder-grade deadbolt added during a flip or remodel. We carry fresh pins and key blanks for those cylinders on the van, so we’re not driving back to a shop or guessing at hardware. Drew Kowalski leads the Ridley team under The Garrison Standard, which has governed every job we’ve done since 2007. A written price lands in your hand before any tool comes out, and a written one-year guarantee tags along with the invoice. You know exactly who’s at your door: background-checked, uniformed, and dispatched by us, not a call center subcontracting to an unmarked van.
When Cotati customers call, they’re usually dealing with a tenant turnover, a lost key, or a new house where the previous owner’s key copies are still floating around. We answer the phone with a person, not a menu tree. We name the price per lock before dispatch, and our technician confirms it at the door before starting. If anything changes because a second lock needs work, we quote that lock separately and you approve it first. That’s the whole point: no surprise line items.
Locksmith Rekey in Cotati
Locksmith Rekey in Cotati is the work of pulling a lock cylinder, swapping the old pins for new ones cut to a fresh key, and reinstalling the cylinder, all without replacing the hardware. A Cotati homeowner asks for it when a tenant moves out, keys go missing, or a contractor who had a key finishes a job. It’s faster and cheaper than swapping deadbolts, and it keeps the existing door finish intact.
What the job actually involves
We remove the cylinder from the knob or deadbolt, drop the old pins, load pins matched to a new key, and test the lock through several throws. If the cylinder is a standard Schlage or Kwikset pin-and-tumbler, it’s straightforward. If it’s a sealed or smart unit, rekeying may not be possible and we’ll tell you that before quoting anything.
Typical Cotati pricing
Most single-cylinder rekeys in Cotati land between $20 and $35 per lock, plus a $45 to $75 service call depending on where you are relative to the Old Redwood Highway core. We give the full per-lock number on the phone before dispatch.
Rekey Door Lock in Cotati
Rekey Door Lock in Cotati means re-pinning the cylinder inside an entry door lock so the old key no longer turns it. The most common call we get is a property manager or landlord on the west side near West Sierra Avenue who needs every prior tenant’s key killed before the next lease starts. We rekey the knob and deadbolt to the same new key, test both, and hand over as many copies as you ask for.
Rental turns and move-ins
Turnover work near the Sonoma State corridor runs in waves. A manager will call and say the prior tenant returned the house key, but they don’t know how many copies exist. We rekey every entry lock on the unit to one fresh key, and that’s the end of the old key’s usefulness.
Multi-lock rekeys
When a Cotati property has a front door, a back door, and a side gate all keyed alike, we can rekey them all to a single new key during one visit. Per-lock pricing stays the same; you just multiply the per-cylinder rate by the number of locks. We’ll confirm the count on the phone and then on the doorstep before work starts.
Trusted Brands We Service in Cotati
Cotati doors mostly wear Schlage and Kwikset cylinders, with Medeco showing up on some commercial suites and higher-end homes. We service all three, and we stock the pin kits and key blanks to rekey them on the spot. If you’re unsure what’s on your door, we can tell you over the phone by the shape of the keyway or from a photo you text over. For standard residential hardware, there is rarely a need to special-order anything. For Medeco or other high-security lines, we’ll confirm key control requirements with you before cutting anything, because those systems carry card-controlled duplication and we will not cut a key we aren’t authorized to cut.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Cotati Homes
- Mismatched hardware on the same door. A 1960s bungalow gets a newer deadbolt added above the original knob, and now one cylinder is Schlage and the other is Kwikset. Rekeying both to a single key can require swapping one cylinder, which changes the quote. We catch that on the phone when you describe the keyway.
- Worn strikes and sagging doors. Older Cotati doors settle, and a rekeyed deadbolt still won’t throw cleanly if the strike plate is off by an eighth of an inch. We check throw and alignment during the rekey so you’re not calling back thinking the new pins are the problem.
- Forgotten locks on the same key. A landlord rekeys the front door but the side gate padlock or detached garage still runs on the old keyway. We’ll ask about every exterior lock during the call so the old tenant key stops working everywhere, not just at the front door.
- Sealed or smart cylinders that can’t be rekeyed. Some newer hardware uses sealed electronic cores or restricted keyways. We’ll identify that from your photos and tell you plainly whether replacement is your only avenue before we ever drive to Cotati.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Cotati, CA
Plan on $20 to $35 per cylinder for a standard Schlage or Kwikset rekey in Cotati, plus a $45 to $75 trip fee depending on where you are in town. A typical single-family rental with a front knob and deadbolt usually lands between $85 and $145 all in. Add a side gate or detached lock and you’re adding another per-cylinder charge, not another service fee. We quote the full number on the phone, in writing, before the technician leaves for your address. That written price is the price on the invoice. There is no call-out surcharge added when the van arrives, and no one starts drilling because “it was actually a different lock” without first getting your approval on a new number. Call (956) 275-7388 for an exact quote.
We Also Serve Cities Near Cotati
Our crews work across the Sonoma County corridor, including Rohnert Park, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and Sebastopol. If you’re just over the Cotati line, read more about how we operate in Cotati or call us and we’ll tell you straight whether you’re in our standard dispatch area. Dispatch and scheduling coordinate from our San Francisco Bay Area office, and the technician who arrives is background-checked and uniformed.
Serving Cotati, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Cotati 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 Cotati
If your lock has a standard pin-and-tumbler cylinder, it can almost always be rekeyed. Schlage and Kwikset hardware that takes a traditional metal key qualifies. If your lock uses a sealed electronic core, a restricted keyway, or a digital smart cylinder with no physical pins, rekeying often isn’t possible and you’ll need a new unit. Text us a photo of the key and the lock face and we’ll identify it before anyone heads out. Call (956) 275-7388 and we’ll walk through it in two minutes.
No. A rekey does not involve drilling. We remove the cylinder, replace the internal pins with new ones matched to a fresh key, and reinstall the cylinder. The lock hardware stays on the door. The only time a drill comes out is if the lock is broken or you lost every key and the cylinder cannot be removed any other way, and we’ll tell you that before we touch anything.
Yes. We rekey each entry lock on the property to a single new key, including the front door, back door, and any side gate or detached unit lock that runs on the same keyway. Once we re-pin a cylinder, every key cut to the old pinning stops working. Bring us all the locks you want cleared and we’ll confirm the per-lock total before starting. For an exact quote on your rental unit, call (956) 275-7388.
We stock Schlage and Kwikset key blanks and pin kits for the standard residential locks on most Cotati doors. Medeco requires controlled blanks and authorization before duplication, so we confirm key control ownership before cutting anything on Medeco systems. If your property has Medeco or another high-security line, call (956) 275-7388 and we’ll tell you what documentation you need.
Fifteen to twenty minutes per lock on a normal rekey. Add time if the door is sagging and the strike needs adjustment, if there are multiple locks spread across the property, or if we discover a mismatched cylinder that requires swapping hardware to match keys. We’ll give you a time window on the phone and confirm it when the technician arrives in Cotati.
Call Ridley Locksmith & Security for Rekey Locks in Cotati
You don’t need to guess your way through lock hardware. Call (956) 275-7388, tell us what’s on the door, and we’ll give you a written per-lock price before the van leaves. A live person answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every job carries The Garrison Standard: a written price before work starts, a written one-year guarantee on the repair, and a uniformed, background-checked technician at your door. If the work fails inside a year, Drew Kowalski’s team comes back and fixes it at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it applies on every Cotati rekey we do. Call today for a free estimate.
Written by Drew Kowalski, Owner at Ridley Locksmith & Security, serving Cotati under The Garrison Standard since 2007.