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.
Fast, Reliable Lock Installation & Rekey Across Annapolis
Lock installation and rekeying in Annapolis is a different job than it is inland. The Chesapeake Bay’s salt-laden air gets inside every lock cylinder, pit, and pin, and it does its work quietly until a key snaps or a deadbolt seizes on a January night. We dispatch local crews to Annapolis neighborhoods daily, from the Historic District to Eastport, Bay Ridge, and Homewood. Our dispatchers quote a firm price on the phone before anyone rolls, and our techs arrive background-checked, uniformed, and ready to fit hardware that actually survives in a salt-air city. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written price before we start.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Annapolis’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Novak Lock & Security has been installing and rekeying locks since 2002, with 60,000+ locks, keys, and systems serviced under one rule: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. That rule matters in Annapolis, where homeowners dealing with corroded cylinders should not also have to negotiate with a technician on the doorstep. Our crews know the housing stock here. We work on 18th-century mortise locks in the Historic District, 1960s bungalows in Eastport, and newer builds off West Street and Forest Drive. We know which cylinders corrode first, which strikes pit through, and which keypads survive salt fog. Every visit ends with a documented photo record of the work, left with you at completion, per Haven Standard procedure. Annapolis customers call us because we name the problem, name the price, and fix the hardware the first time.
Response time to Annapolis runs fast, typically same day for rekeys and lock installations when called before early afternoon. We do not promise a precise arrival minute because we will not rush a salt-air job and do it twice. We will give you a window, a written price, and a technician’s name before dispatch. For locksmith work in Annapolis, that is the only sane way to run a call.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Annapolis
Here is what we install and rekey most often in Annapolis, with local context that matters for this city specifically.
Smart Lock Installation
Annapolis homeowners ask us about smart locks constantly, and our first question is always the same: where does your door face, and how close is the water. Salt air attacks the electronic contacts and motor housings in cheap smart locks faster than you would believe. We install keypad deadbolts from Schlage and Baldwin, and for waterfront homes in Eastport or along Spa Creek, we recommend stainless hardware rated for corrosion resistance. A smart lock that works in Bethesda can fail in an Annapolis autumn if it is not sealed properly. We install them right and show you how to maintain the battery compartment and strike alignment.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry is popular for Annapolis homeowners who live in the water-access communities and don’t want to carry keys while walking to the dock. We install standalone keypad deadbolts on front doors, side garage entries, and detached workshop doors, all with a written price before we start. For homes near the water we spec keypads with sealed battery compartments and marine-grade latch bolts, because the standard zinc components will seize within two or three seasons. Keyless entry in Annapolis is not a convenience feature; it is a replacement for hardware that salt air is going to kill anyway, and we build that reality into the installation.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks on Annapolis doors need different hardware than keypad locks inland. The salt fog that rolls off the Severn River and Spa Creek gets into the membrane switches and the bolt housing, and cheap keypads simply fail. We install weather-sealed keypad locks and rekey the mechanical back-up cylinder so you still have a physical key entry if the electronics go down. For Historic District rowhouses where a modern keypad would look wrong, we can mount a small weatherproof keypad in a less conspicuous location and retain the period mortise hardware on the front door. This is the kind of local knowledge that keeps Annapolis customers calling us back.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks are requested less often in Annapolis than keypads, but for a handful of waterfront homeowners, a fingerprint deadbolt on the back gate or the boathouse door makes sense. We install biometric hardware from factory-authorized lines and we are honest about the maintenance burden salt air adds. The fingerprint sensor needs regular cleaning here, and we would rather tell you that on the front end than let it surprise you. If biometric is the right call for your Annapolis property, we will quote it in writing and fit it correctly. If a keypad does the job better for less money, we will say that instead.
Key Duplication
Key duplication in Annapolis is a simple job with a local twist: we cut keys on-site from our service vehicles and we keep blanks in stock for the most common locks in this city, including Schlage, Kwikset, Baldwin, and Mul-T-Lock. If you have a 1920s Baldwin mortise key from a Historic District rowhouse, we can duplicate that, too, and we can do it without sending you to a big-box kiosk that will miscut it. For boat owners, we duplicate cabin keys and dock-box keys in small batches so you have spares when corrosion or a lost key hits. We cut keys while you wait, priced in writing.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Annapolis
We are factory-authorized on premium hardware from Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, Sargent, and Abloy, and we service everything from entry-grade Schlage and Kwikset to high-security cylinders that resist picking and bumping. For Annapolis specifically, we stock solid-brass and marine-grade stainless padlocks and strike plates because the standard zinc-alloy versions sold at hardware stores corrode within a season near Spa Creek and the Severn River. When we rekey a Mul-T-Lock or fit a Baldwin mortise cylinder in the Historic District, we carry the parts on the truck. You do not wait a week for a part that should have been in the van when we arrived. That is the Novak standard.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Annapolis Homes
These are the failure modes we see repeatedly in Annapolis, and they are not random. The salt air and tidal moisture create the same problems across the city.
- Seized cylinders from salt-laden humidity. Chlorides from Chesapeake Bay air work their way into brass pins and springs inside the lock cylinder. Pins seize, springs fatigue, and one day a key snaps off in the cylinder during normal use. We remove the broken key, replace the cylinder, and rekey the lock to work again.
- Misaligned deadbolts from swelling door frames. Waterfront homes in Eastport and along Back Creek have door frames that swell and shift with tidal moisture. The deadbolt no longer lines up with the strike plate, so the lock binds, and homeowners force the key until it breaks. We realign the strike, fit a deeper throw deadbolt, and often replace the strike with a marine-grade stainless version.
- Pitted and corroded strike plates. The strike plate is the cheap part on most Annapolis doors, and it is the first thing to pit through after years of salt air. A pitted strike plate weakens the entire locking system even if the cylinder itself still turns. We replace pitted strikes with stainless and align the door so the bolt actually seats.
- Dock-box and marina gate padlocks that die young. Zinc-alloy padlocks on Spa Creek docks and marina gates rarely last one full season. Boat owners and marina operators replace them every spring until they find a locksmith who stocks solid-brass or marine-grade stainless padlocks. We stock those, and we supply them to Annapolis marina customers in quantities.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Annapolis, MD
Lock rekey in Annapolis typically runs $65 to $120 for the first cylinder and $15 to $30 per additional cylinder, depending on the lock type and whether it is a standard pin-and-tumbler or a high-security cylinder like Mul-T-Lock or Abloy. A full deadbolt installation on a standard door runs $150 to $320 including the hardware, and smart lock installation runs $180 to $400 depending on the unit and whether we are retrofitting an existing bore or cutting new ones. Key duplication in Annapolis runs $3 to $18 per key, with high-security blanks at the top of that range. The price we give you on the phone is the price on the invoice, full stop. No call-out surcharge added at the door. Haven Standard Clause 1. Call (331) 310-8471 and we will give you a written price before anyone leaves the shop.
We also offer a free second opinion on any written estimate. Bring us a competitor’s quote and we will review it at no charge and tell you whether the hardware and labor are priced honestly for Annapolis conditions. That offer has been in place since 2002 and it still works.
We Also Serve Cities Near Annapolis
Our crews cover Annapolis daily and also serve Severna Park, Odenton, Bowie, and Severn. If you are on the edge of town or just outside the city limits, we still quote a firm price on the phone and dispatch a technician who knows the salt-air and moisture conditions along the Chesapeake tributaries. For the full scope of our work, see Lock Installation & Rekey and call (331) 310-8471 for a written quote.
Serving Annapolis, MD - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Annapolis 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 - Lock Installation & Rekey in Annapolis
The salt air in Annapolis is not limited to waterfront properties. Chesapeake Bay humidity carries airborne chlorides across the city, from the Historic District up West Street and out toward Parole, and those chlorides settle into brass pins and springs inside lock cylinders. The pins oxidize, the springs fatigue, and the cylinder seizes even on homes a mile from the water. We see it on interior doors that share a wall with an exterior lock; the salt works its way through from the outside. The fix is a cylinder service and rekey with marine-grade internal components, plus a replacement of any pitted hardware. Call (331) 310-8471 and we will tell you exactly what your cylinders look like inside when we open them.
Yes, and we do this regularly in the Historic District. We do not remove original mortise hardware unless it is already failing. Instead, we can install a small weatherproof keypad or a discreet electronic deadbolt in a secondary location, or we can fit a retrofit smart cylinder inside the existing mortise lock body if the original hardware is sound. The period mortise lock stays in place and continues working. Annapolis preservation standards often require that any new hardware be reversible and concealed, and we install with that in mind. Call (331) 310-8471 for a quote; we will explain the options in writing before any work starts.
Standard zinc-alloy padlocks on Spa Creek and the Annapolis City Marina docks typically need replacement every 12 to 18 months, and sometimes every single season if they are directly exposed to spray. Solid-brass and marine-grade stainless padlocks last much longer, often three to five years with basic maintenance. We stock those marine-grade padlocks and we can supply them in quantities for slip holders and marina operators. We recommend a quick inspection in early spring and late fall so a corroded padlock is caught before it seizes and leaves you locked out of your dock box. Call (331) 310-8471 and we will quote padlocks and installation in writing.
Yes. We rekey boat cabin locks and ignition cylinders in Annapolis as a standard job, and we can set both to a single key when the cylinders are compatible. This is common work in a sailing city with dozens of marinas and the U.S. Sailboat Show in town every year. We carry blanks and kits for marine lock brands and we work carefully with marine cylinders because salt air and water exposure make them brittle and prone to snapping during disassembly. We also replace worn marine ignition cylinders when rekeying is no longer safe. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written quote on marine lock work.
Salt air will not change the bump-resistance rating of a properly built deadbolt cylinder, but it can degrade the internal pins and springs until the lock no longer functions at its rated level. A bump-resistant deadbolt with corroded springs becomes just a dead weight, and on Annapolis doors we see this happen in as little as five to seven years. The security rating is not compromised by salt; the functionality is. We recommend an annual cylinder inspection on any high-security deadbolt installed near the water, and we replace internal components with marine-grade parts when they show corrosion. Call (331) 310-8471 to schedule an inspection or get a firm price on a rekey.
Call Novak Lock & Security for Lock Installation & Rekey in Annapolis
We are led by Daniel Novak, and the company has run on one rule since 2002: a written price before any work starts, and no changes at the door. In Annapolis, where salt air eats locks faster than anywhere else in Maryland, you need a locksmith who names the problem, names the price, and fits hardware that actually survives the Bay. Call (331) 310-8471 for a free estimate on lock installation, rekeying, smart lock or keypad work, or marine lock service. A live person answers, 24/7, and you will have a price in writing before anyone is dispatched.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Annapolis since 2002.
Lock Installation & Rekey in Nearby Areas