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 Burbank
Lock installation and rekeying in Burbank, CA typically costs $95-$185 for a standard rekey and $165-$380 for new deadbolt or hardware installation, depending on the lock grade and door condition. We serve every Burbank neighborhood, from the Rancho equestrian district to Magnolia Park and the foothills, usually within 45-60 minutes for residential calls. Our Lock Installation & Rekey work is quoted in writing before anyone is dispatched, so you know the price before we arrive. Call (331) 310-8471 and a live person answers.
Burbank homes present a specific set of lock problems that you won’t find in newer LA suburbs. Many of the bungalows and ranch houses south of Glenoaks still carry their original or first-replacement Schlage and Kwikset hardware from the 1940s through 1960s. Those locks were well made, but six decades of wear leaves cylinders that accept any similar key or can be bumped open in under a minute. The good news: most of them can be rekeyed rather than replaced, and we’ll tell you honestly which is which.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Burbank’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Novak Lock & Security has handled lock installation and rekey work across Burbank since 2002, with over 60,000 locks, keys, and systems installed or serviced. Every technician is background-checked and uniformed, and every job ends with a documented photo record left with you, not buried in a file somewhere. Daniel Novak built this company on a single rule: the price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice. That’s the foundation we still work under today.
Burbank customers call us for two reasons. First, we answer the phone. A live person picks up 24/7, which matters when you’re standing outside your own front door at midnight in the Rancho district or near the Chandler Bike Path. Second, we know the housing stock. A locksmith who has only worked on new condo towers in Glendale doesn’t know what to do with a 1950s mortise lockset on a warped wooden door off Buena Vista. We do.
Our 365-Day Done Right Promise applies to every lock installation and rekey in Burbank. If something isn’t done right, we make it right. Not a warranty card you fill out and mail. A standing policy that we honor.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Burbank
Smart Lock Installation
Smart lock installation in Burbank runs $185-$420 depending on the lock model and whether we need to modify the existing door prep. Many post-WWII ranch homes near the Rancho district have original mortise-style doors that need a retrofit plate before a smart deadbolt will sit correctly. We install Schlage Encode, Kwikset Halo, and Yale Assure models, and we configure the Wi-Fi or Z-Wave connection before we leave so you can actually locked or unlock the door from your phone.
A note on smart locks and Burbank heat: the electronics are fine, but the door they mount on is often not. We check the frame and strike alignment during every install, because summer swelling on an original 1950s door will jam even the best smart deadbolt if the throw-bolt isn’t aligned.
Keyless Entry and Keypad Locks
Keyless entry installation in Burbank typically runs $165-$340, including the keypad hardware and labor. These are practical for the homeowners near the studios who have dog walkers, cleaning services, or out-of-town renters and don’t want to copy six sets of keys. We install mechanical keypad deadbolts and electronic keyless entry systems on the front door, back door, and garage access doors.
Keypad locks make particular sense on the south-facing doors all over Burbank where wood frames move with the heat. A key will fight the cylinder when a frame is misaligned, but a keypad deadbolt with a well-set strike plate will tolerate more seasonal movement.
Key Duplication
Key duplication in Burbank is one of our most common walk-in and same-day requests, especially around the production studios where new hires need building and office keys on day one. Standard Schlage and Kwikset keys are cut while you wait for $3-$8 per key. High-security keys for Medeco and Mul-T-Lock cylinders require a key card and authorization, and typically run $18-$45 per key depending on the system. We cut those accurately because we stock the key blanks and maintain the key-cutting equipment to factory tolerances.
Biometric Lock Installation
Biometric lock installation in Burbank runs $280-$650 for residential fingerprint or fingerprint-plus-keypad models fabricated from Baldwin and similar hardware lines. These are more common in the hillside homes around the Verdugo foothills where owners want entry without a key and without a phone. We explain the limitations up front: biometric locks still need power, and the batteries must be changed. We document everything in writing before install, per Haven Standard Clause 1.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Burbank
We install and service the full security spectrum in Burbank, from entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage through high-security Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, and Baldwin. If you’re on a Burbank studio lot or production office with a restricted keyway, that’s Mul-T-Lock or Medeco territory and you need a credentialed technician who can show chain of custody on every key. For residential ranch homes off Magnolia Boulevard, a Baldwin deadbolt or a Schlage keypad is often the right call. We stock parts and key blanks locally so we aren’t waiting on a distributor in another county.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Burbank Homes
- Summer heat swelling original wooden door frames. Burbank sits in a heat pocket at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley. When temperatures pass 100°F, the wooden jambs on 1940s-1960s homes expand and the deadbolt throw-bolt binds or fails to fully extend, leaving the door easily jimmied.
- Worn Schlage and Kwikset cylinders from the 1940s-1960s. The original pin and tumbler cylinders on many Burbank bungalows near Magnolia Park have been in service for 60+ years. They accept any similar key, and many can be bump-opened in under a minute. Rekeying with fresh pins often solves the security problem without replacing the hardware.
- Mortise lock cylinders in the Rancho equestrian district. The Rancho district has genuine horse-keeping properties with multi-outbuilding layouts and aged mortise locksets. The cylinder formats on many of these are no longer made, so they require custom pinning rather than a simple pin-and-tumbler swap.
- Builders-grade locksets on newer homes that look fine but aren’t. Even homes built in the 2010s and 2020s here often shipped with entry-grade Kwikset or Schlage locks that have never been rekeyed. A fresh rekey plus a grade-1 deadbolt upgrade changes the security picture without much cost.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Burbank, CA
Here’s what Burbank homeowners can expect to pay, with the price quoted in writing on the phone before anyone is dispatched:
- Lock rekey (standard pin and tumbler): $95-$145, including labor and new pins per cylinder
- Mortise lock cylinder rekey: $135-$185
- Key duplication (standard Schlage/Kwikset): $3-$8 per key
- Key duplication (high-security Medeco/Mul-T-Lock): $18-$45 per key, with owner or authorized key card
- New deadbolt installation (grade 2): $165-$240, hardware included
- High-security deadbolt installation (grade 1 Baldwin or similar): $240-$380
- Smart lock or keypad installation: $185-$420, depending on lock model and door prep
- Whole-house rekey (5-6 cylinders, new keys): $350-$550
The price on the phone is the price on the invoice. There is no call-out surcharge added when the technician arrives, and no “minimum service fee” that appears after the fact. If a door frame needs a strike adjustment to make the new or rekeyed lock throw cleanly, that’s included in the quoted price, not a surprise add-on. Free estimates are free estimates. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll give you a firm number.
We Also Serve Cities Near Burbank
Novak Lock & Security provides Lock Installation & Rekey in Burbank and the surrounding San Fernando Valley corridor, including Glendale, North Hollywood, Universal City, and Studio City. If you’re just over the city line near the 134 freeway or the 5, we’ll typically arrive within the same response window, and the same written-price policy applies regardless of what city you’re in.
Serving Burbank, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Burbank 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 Burbank
In most cases we can rekey the original mortise lock cylinders on a Burbank bungalow without replacing the hardware, as long as the internal mechanism is still sound and the cylinder format is not so obsolete that pinning parts are unavailable. The Rancho equestrian district is the exception; many of the mortise cylinders on those older properties require custom pinning because the formats are no longer manufactured. When a mortise lock is genuinely worn beyond service, we’ll tell you that in writing and quote a replacement that preserves the vintage door rather than cutting it up for modern hardware. Call (331) 310-8471 for a firm quote on your specific locks.
Burbank’s summer heat, regularly above 100°F at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, causes the wooden door frames and jambs on older homes to swell, which misaligns the deadbolt throw-bolt against the strike plate. The result is a deadbolt that binds and refuses to fully extend, which leaves the door vulnerable to being jimmied. The fix is usually a strike plate realignment or a slight reaming of the bolt hole to accommodate the seasonal movement, rather than replacing the lock altogether. This is the most predictable seasonal lock service call in Burbank, and we handle it every year starting in late July.
Yes, most Burbank production offices, studio lots, and multi-unit commercial spaces will benefit from a master key system, because it creates a single key that opens only the doors it’s authorized for while management retains a grand master key for the entire property. Burbank is the media capital of the world, home to Warner Bros., NBC/Telemundo, and Nickelodeon, and the commercial locksmith demand here skews heavily toward multi-level master key hierarchies and strict chain-of-custody rekeying between productions. We design master key systems with Medeco or Mul-T-Lock hardware, priced in writing before any pins are cut.
No, the SmartKey system on a modern Kwikset lock uses a completely different cylinder mechanism than the original pin and tumbler cylinders used in Kwikset locks from the 1960s, so you cannot retrofit a 1960s Kwikset lock to use SmartKey technology. You can, however, rekey the original cylinder with new pins so it responds to a new key, or replace the entire lock with a modern Kwikset SmartKey deadbolt or a Schlage keypad deadbolt that gives you keyless entry. On many Burbank ranch homes, the door prep for the original Kwikset hardware is identical to modern Kwikset SmartKey deadbolts, so replacement is straightforward. Call (331) 310-8471 for a firm written quote.
Rekeying means we replace the internal pins and springs inside the existing lock cylinder so the old key no longer operates it and a new key does; replacing means the entire lock body and cylinder are removed and a new lock is installed. The decision on a Burbank ranch home comes down to the condition of the lock mechanism and the door itself. If the cylinder is worn enough that any similar key might open it, if the deadbolt throw-bolt no longer engages fully due to frame warping, or if the hardware is so old that factory parts are no longer available, replacement is the honest call. If the lock mechanism is sound and the cylinder is repairable, rekeying is usually $95-$145 per cylinder and is the right choice. We’ll tell you which one applies before we quote a price.
Call Novak Lock & Security for Lock Installation & Rekey in Burbank
When you need lock installation or rekeying in Burbank, call (331) 310-8471. A live person answers, gives you a written price on the phone, and dispatches a background-checked, uniformed technician who will not change that price at your door. Every visit includes a documented photo record, and everything we do is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. Serving all of Burbank, from the Rancho equestrian district to Magnolia Park and the Verdugo foothills.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Burbank since 2002.
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