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 Piedmont
Rekeying a lock in Piedmont typically costs $25 to $45 per cylinder, plus a service fee of $65 to $95. Most jobs with multiple doors run between $150 and $350 total, and we quote the full price before anyone gets in the van. Piedmont’s stock of older hillside homes means this work often involves original mortise locks and early pin-and-tumbler hardware that a generic suburban locksmith won’t carry parts for. We do. Call (956) 275-7388 and you’ll get a live person, a straight answer, and a written price before dispatch.
Why Ridley Locksmith & Security Is Piedmont’s Preferred Rekey Locks Company
Ridley Locksmith & Security has been part of the Garrison Partners family since 2007, operating under The Garrison Standard and The Garrison Code. What that means in plain English: every technician is background-checked, uniformed, and dispatched directly by us – not subcontracted out to whoever picks up the phone. When a Piedmont homeowner calls, they know the person walking up the front steps is the person we described on the phone.
Drew Kowalski runs our operation with a simple rule that shapes every job: a written price before any work starts, and a written guarantee covering that work for one full year. It’s called the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If a rekey fails inside that window, we return at no charge. No phone tag, no renegotiation. That document is handed to every customer in Piedmont, and it’s not a verbal promise – it’s on paper.
Response time to Piedmont is typically within the hour for residential calls. We schedule and dispatch from our San Francisco Bay Area office, and our crews work the entire Oakland hills corridor daily, so we know the streets, the parking quirks, and the lock hardware that shows up on these older homes.
Rekey Service in Piedmont
Rekey Service means changing the internal pins inside your existing lock cylinders so the old keys stop working, without replacing the hardware itself. In Piedmont, where many homes on streets like Wildwood Avenue, Crocker Avenue, and Scenic Avenue still carry their original brass mortise locks, a proper rekey is often the smartest security move after a key changes hands – a tenant move-out, a contractor finishing work, a caregiver no longer coming by.
We pull the cylinder, swap the pin stacks to match a new key, test every entrance, and hand you keys that work. Your old keys are dead. The hardware stays exactly where it was. In Piedmont this runs $25 to $45 per cylinder, and the service fee covers the trip and the first hour of labor. A typical three-door home with five cylinders lands around $220 to $310, all in.
When a rekey is the right call
A rekey is the right move any time you don’t know how many copies of a key are floating around. New home purchase, tenant turnover, a cleaner or dog walker who no longer works for you, a teenager who lost a key at school. Replacing hardware is not required, and on Piedmont’s original mortise locks, replacement often costs more and looks worse than keeping the existing brass.
Mortise cylinders and older hardware
Because Piedmont’s older hillside homes often retain original mortise and early pin-and-tumbler hardware rather than builder-grade cylindrical deadbolts, a rekey here can demand a larger cylinder stock and more hand-fitting than a typical suburban job. Our van carries a broader assortment of pin kits and cylinder blanks than a standard locksmith, because we know what these houses need. The rekey itself takes about 20 to 40 minutes per door.
Keyed Alike in Piedmont
Keyed Alike means configuring multiple locks so one key opens all of them – front door, back door, side door, garage. Instead of carrying four keys and trying each one in the dark, you carry one. In Piedmont, where side entrances and detached garages are common on the hillside lots, keyed-alike service is the difference between a functional house and an annoying one.
We do this by re-pinning each cylinder to the same key code, whether the locks are matching Schlage, mixed brands, or original mortise hardware. The work costs the same per cylinder as a standard rekey – $25 to $45 each – because the pinning labor is identical. What changes is the keying configuration, and we set that up on site.
Mixed hardware, one key
Not every door in a Piedmont house has matching locks. A Kwikset deadbolt on the back door and a Baldwin mortise lock on the front door can absolutely be keyed alike, as long as both cylinders can accept the same key profile. We carry the key blanks and pin kits to make that work without replacing anything.
Master key systems
Some Piedmont property owners and small landlords want a master key system. The owner’s key opens everything; each tenant’s key opens only their own unit. It’s a different pinning layout than a simple keyed-alike arrangement, and it’s worth talking through on the phone before we dispatch. The price is still set before we arrive.
Trusted Brands We Service in Piedmont
We rekey and repair hardware from Kwikset, Schlage, Yale, Baldwin, and Medeco, among others. Piedmont homes carry a real mix – builder-grade Kwikset on the remodeled additions, original Baldwin mortise on the 1920s front doors, high-security Medeco on the home offices and wine rooms. Our van stocks the pin kits and cylinder parts for all of these, so we rarely need to leave and come back. When we do need a part, our Bay Area supply chain gets it to us the same day or next morning.
Common Rekey Locks Problems We See in Piedmont Homes
- Original mortise locks with worn pin chambers. These show up all over Piedmont’s older homes near Piedmont Avenue and Crocker Park. The cylinders still work, but after decades of use the pins seat poorly. We re-pin them carefully and test repeatedly.
- Mismatched hardware from previous remodels. A homeowner near the Piedmont High School campus might have a Kwikset deadbolt on the kitchen door and a Baldwin mortise on the front. Both can be rekeyed, but a tech needs both key profiles and pin kits on hand.
- More doors than expected on hillside lots. Piedmont properties often have side yard gates, basement entries, and garages with their own hardware. A phone estimate that assumes two doors will come up short when there are five. We ask about every access point before quoting.
- Sight-unseen flat quotes that don’t hold. The biggest complaint we hear from Piedmont homeowners is that another locksmith quoted a low number on the phone and raised it at the door. That’s why our price is written and confirmed before dispatch, and it’s the same number on the invoice.
Pricing for Rekey Locks in Piedmont, CA
Here’s what Piedmont homeowners should expect to pay for rekey work in 2026. A standard rekey runs $25 to $45 per cylinder. The service fee to your Piedmont address is $65 to $95, which covers dispatch, travel, and the first hour of labor. A whole house with five to seven cylinders typically lands between $200 and $350. A single lock rekey is usually $120 to $170 all in.
What moves the number is cylinder count, hardware type, and whether we’re doing a simple rekey or a keyed-alike configuration. Original mortise locks sometimes take a little longer to hand-fit. We tell you the full price on the phone, in writing, before anyone is dispatched. That’s the number on your invoice. No call-out surcharge added at your door.
Call (956) 275-7388 for a free estimate. A live person answers, asks the right questions, and gives you a number you can hold us to.
We Also Serve Cities Near Piedmont
Our crews work the entire East Bay corridor. If you’re in Emeryville, Oakland, Alameda, or Berkeley, you’ll get the same written price, the same background-checked technicians, and the same 365-Day Done Right Promise. Read more about our Rekey Locks service or see how we cover Rekey Locks in Piedmont specifically.
Serving Piedmont, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Piedmont 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 Piedmont
Yes. We ask about every exterior door, the type of hardware, and the work you want, then we give you a written price before any tech is sent. The number we quote on the phone is the number on the invoice when the work is done. No additional dispatch fee appears at your door in Piedmont.
We can rekey the originals. That’s the whole point. Original mortise locks and early pin-and-tumbler hardware from the 1920s and 1930s can be re-pinned without replacing the brass, the trim, or the deadbolt. We carry the cylinder parts and pin kits these older locks need. If a lock is genuinely beyond repair, we’ll tell you and show you why before recommending replacement.
A standard rekey on a cylindrical deadbolt takes about 20 minutes per door. Original mortise locks take closer to 40 minutes per door, since the cylinders require hand-fitting. A typical three-door Piedmont home is done inside two hours, start to finish, and we clean up after ourselves.
Every technician arrives in a marked Ridley Locksmith & Security uniform, drives a marked vehicle, and carries identification you can check before they step inside. They’re background-checked by us and dispatched directly from our Bay Area office. No subcontractors, no unmarked vans, no mystery crews. If you call the number back, the same person you spoke to can confirm who’s at your door.
Yes, and yes, it’s a specific configuration of a rekey. Keying alike means each lock is re-pinned to the same key code, so the front door, back door, and garage all open with the same key. It costs the same per cylinder as a standard rekey. The difference is the keying pattern, which we set up during the same visit.
For an exact price on your Piedmont home, call (956) 275-7388. A live person answers, and the estimate is free.
Written by Drew Kowalski, Owner at Ridley Locksmith & Security, serving Piedmont and the East Bay under The Garrison Standard since 2007.