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 Dunwoody
Lock installation and rekey in Dunwoody runs $65-$145 for a standard deadbolt rekey and $180-$420 for a full smart lock installation, and we quote that price in writing before anyone gets in a van. That price is the price on the invoice. Novak Lock & Security has been doing this work since 2002, and we’ve rekeyed enough 1980s brick ranches off Vermack Road and enough Perimeter Center office suites off Ashford-Dunwoody to know exactly what we’re walking into before we knock. Call (331) 310-8471 and a live person answers. No voicemail tree. No callback window. We’ll give you a firm number over the phone.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Dunwoody’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Dunwoody is not a typical suburban locksmith market. It’s the Perimeter Center corridor, which has one of the Southeast’s densest concentrations of Class-A office space outside a downtown core. What that means for us, day to day, is that facility managers here routinely require restricted or patented key systems, like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock, with contractual key control: keys that cannot be duplicated at a hardware-store kiosk, traced by serial number, and rekeyed only by an authorized dealer. A locksmith working mostly in Chamblee or Tucker almost never sees that at the same volume. We do, and we carry the cylinders, blanks, and programming tools for it every day.
At the same time, Dunwoody’s residential core keeps us busy with a different kind of work. The Georgetown, Dunwoody Club Forest, and Vermack Road corridor subdivisions were built largely in the 1970s and 1980s, and those original builder-grade deadbolts are now 40 to 50 years old. Worn pin-and-tumbler cylinders are easily bumped. Strike plates are misaligned. Door frames swell in summer. Homeowners don’t notice until a break-in or an after-hours lockout forces the issue. We’ve seen it enough times that we know to check the frame before we touch the cylinder.
Every Dunwoody job is done by a background-checked, uniformed technician working under Lock Installation & Rekey procedures that have not changed since 2002: written price before the first screw turns, a documented photo record left with you when the job is done, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise on every lock, cylinder, and key we touch. Daniel Novak founded this company on a single clause. Haven Standard Clause 1: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Dunwoody
Smart Lock Installation
Smart lock installation in Dunwoody typically runs $220-$420 for a standard deadbolt-replacement unit, and the job usually takes about an hour. We install Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and Kwikset Halo units regularly in Perimeter Center condos and townhomes, where thinner hollow-core doors often require a heavier-gauge strike plate and longer screws to make the smart lock actually mean something. If you live in a larger single-family home near Dunwoody Country Club with a tall, wide front door and a multi-point locking system, we’ll integrate the smart lock with the existing mortise lock rather than bypassing it, which is where cheap installations fail.
Keyless Entry & Keypad Lock
Keypad and keyless entry systems in Dunwoody run $180-$350 installed, depending on whether you want a standalone deadbolt keypad or a full lever-and-keypad arrangement for a side or garage door. These are the most common request we get from homeowners in the 30338 ZIP code who want to give a dog walker, cleaner, or contractor a code instead of a key. The code gets deleted when the arrangement ends. That’s simpler and cheaper than rekeying every time someone’s access changes.
Biometric Lock Installation
Biometric locks, fingerprint or otherwise, run $280-$520 installed in Dunwoody. We’re honest about where they make sense. On a high-end home office, a gun safe room, or a door where you want an audit trail of who entered and when, they work well. On a Georgia back door that faces three months of summer humidity and the occasional January ice event, we sometimes recommend against them, or at least insist on a mechanical key override. A biometric reader that fails in freezing weather is a lockout waiting to happen. We’ll tell you straight up what we’d do on our own house.
Key Duplication
Key duplication in Dunwoody is not a kiosk transaction when you’re dealing with anything above a basic Kwikset or Schlage blank. We cut standard keys, sure, but the real work is duplicating restricted and patented keys: Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, Sargent. Those require a signed authorization card, and we do it same-day for Dunwoody homeowners and Perimeter Center facility managers who need a controlled duplicate without waiting on a mail-order authorization from a distributor. Bring us any key with “Do Not Duplicate” stamped on it, and we’ll tell you what it actually takes to duplicate it legally. Sometimes the answer is no, and we’ll explain why.
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 Dunwoody
We’re factory-authorized for Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, and Sargent, which covers a lot of what we see in Dunwoody. Baldwin handles the high-end residential side: the mortise locksets on older Dunwoody Country Club homes and the polished brass entry hardware on Georgian-style brick fronts. Mul-T-Lock and Sargent cover the commercial and restricted-key side of the Perimeter Center corridor. We stock local parts for these brands and others, including Schlage and Kwikset, so a rekey in Dunwoody doesn’t wait on a FedEx package from a distributor in Ohio. If we don’t have the cylinder in the van, we typically don’t have to drive more than 20 minutes to get it. That’s the advantage of a crew that works this part of metro Atlanta every day.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Dunwoody Homes
- Swollen door frames on 1970s and 1980s brick ranches. Dunwoody’s humid subtropical climate makes the wood frames on Georgetown and Dunwoody Club Forest homes expand noticeably every summer. The deadbolt stops aligning, the key turns hard, and the homeowner thinks they need a rekey. What they actually need is a strike plate realignment, which takes 20 minutes and costs a fraction of what some outfits will quote for a “full lock replacement.”
- Worn pin-and-tumbler cylinders that bump open in seconds. The original deadbolts on 40-to-50-year-old Dunwoody homes are not difficult to open with a bump key. We demonstrate this on request. The fix is a bump-resistant cylinder, which costs $35-$60 per lock and takes less time than the demonstration.
- Perimeter Center office fobs that don’t work after a tenant build-out. This is one of the most common commercial emergency calls we get in Dunwoody. A tenant moves out, the suite gets renovated, and the new tenant’s key fobs don’t function on the access-control panel because the system’s master key arrangement changed during construction. We run rekey and reprogram jobs across the Perimeter Center district on short notice, and we document every credential we issue.
- Smart locks installed without touching the multi-point locking mechanism. On tall, high-end doors in Dunwoody, a smart lock that only engages the deadbolt leaves the rest of the door’s locking points unused. That’s a security gap. We integrate the two systems so one turn locks everything, and we test it before we leave.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Dunwoody, GA
Here’s what you should expect to pay in Dunwoody. A standard single-cylinder deadbolt rekey runs $65-$95 per cylinder. Rekeying a whole house, typically three to five cylinders plus new keys, runs $150-$300 total. Smart lock installation runs $220-$420. Keyless entry or keypad installation runs $180-$350. Biometric locks run $280-$520. Restricted or patented key system rekeying, the Medeco and Mul-T-Lock work that Perimeter Center offices request, runs $35-$75 per cylinder plus a key-control record fee of $40-$90. A full commercial rekey of a small Perimeter Center office suite with electronic access typically runs $600-$1,800 depending on the number of doors and the credential count.
What affects cost: the age and condition of your existing hardware, whether door frames need realignment, the type of cylinder, and whether you’re integrating with an existing smart-home or alarm system. You get a written price before we start. If the work expands, you get a written change order before the extra work begins. That’s Haven Standard Clause 1, and it’s been the rule since 2002, not a marketing slogan. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote. Estimates are free and there is no call-out surcharge added when the technician arrives.
We Also Serve Cities Near Dunwoody
Our crews work the entire metro Atlanta north-perimeter corridor. Beyond Lock Installation & Rekey in Dunwoody, we regularly handle lock installation and rekey jobs in Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Johns Creek. Response times are similar across the corridor. The pricing is the same written-price model. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll tell you exactly what it costs before anyone drives out.
Serving Dunwoody, GA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody
Yes, we can rekey your Dunwoody home to a restricted key system like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock. With a restricted system, keys can only be duplicated by the authorized dealer who holds your key-control card, and every duplicate is documented. A former tenant or contractor cannot walk into a hardware store and get a copy made. The cost in Dunwoody runs $35-$75 per cylinder plus a $40-$90 key-control record fee, and we’ll provide you with the signed authorization paperwork and a written record of every key ever issued. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll tell you exactly what it costs for your home’s lock count.
It is almost always a door problem. What you’re describing is the classic Dunwoody summer: the humid subtropical climate swells the wood door frame, the bolt no longer lines up with the strike plate, and the key turns hard or won’t throw at all. A rekey won’t fix that. What fixes it is reaming the strike plate opening, realigning the plate, and sometimes replacing the frame screws with longer hardened screws. We do that as part of any rekey or lock installation in the Georgetown area, and we’ll show you what we found before we make the repair. Call (331) 310-8471 and we can be at your door in Dunwoody same-day.
Yes. We regularly program Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and other smart locks to work with existing systems in Perimeter Center condos and townhomes, including Z-Wave, Zigbee, Apple HomeKit, and alarm-panel integrations like Qolsys or 2GIG. We’ll ask what hub or panel you have when you call, because the lock hardware has to match the protocol. We’ll quote you the full price over the phone. The quote includes the lock, the programming, and the documented photo record afterward. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written estimate.
In most cases we can have a technician at a Perimeter Center office in Dunwoody within 60 to 90 minutes of your call, and a standard office rekey of three to five doors is done the same day. If the job involves access-control panel reprogramming or restricted key system setup, we schedule those during the same visit whenever possible. For tenant move-outs, we recommend booking in advance, but we understand that property managers sometimes learn about a move-out the day before. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll give you a written scope and a flat per-lock price before we dispatch anyone.
Yes. We install and integrate multi-point locking systems on tall and wide entry doors throughout Dunwoody, including homes around Dunwoody Country Club and the Vermack Road corridor. The key is integration: the multi-point mechanism has to work with the mortise lock body, and if you’re adding a smart lock, it has to trigger all the locking points, not just the deadbolt. We’ll assess the door, the frame condition, and the existing hardware, then quote you a written price for the full installation. Call (331) 310-8471 to schedule an assessment.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, providing lock installation and rekey services in Dunwoody, GA since 2002.