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 Farmers Branch
Lock installation and rekeying in Farmers Branch runs $65-$185 per cylinder for standard rekeys and $120-$320 per lock for new installations, quoted in writing before we dispatch. That’s the honest range for this market, and it’s the number that shows up on your invoice. No arrival surcharge, no bait-and-switch. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll give you the exact price for your specific hardware before a technician ever gets in the van.
We work in Farmers Branch weekly. We know the mid-century doors that warp, the apartment complexes along Stemmons that need bulk rekeys between tenant turns, and the foundation-shift issues that make deadbolts bind on Valwood Parkway homes. Local knowledge means we arrive knowing what we’re likely to find, not guessing at it.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Farmers Branch’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Daniel Novak founded this company in 2002 on a single rule that’s never been broken: the price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice. Haven Standard Clause 1. Every technician is background-checked, wears a uniform, and carries that written price to your door. When the job’s done, you get a documented photo record of the work, the hardware, and the condition we found things in. Not as a courtesy. As a procedure.
Farmers Branch customers call us because they’ve been burned by dispatchers who quote one number and technicians who show up quoting another. We don’t play that. We can’t. Daniel Novak built the company to be the locksmith that shows you the math before the truck rolls. That’s why property managers along the Stemmons corridor give us master-key contracts, and why homeowners off Valley View Lane keep our number in their phones.
Our response time to Farmers Branch is typically under 45 minutes for emergency calls, and same-day scheduling for planned lock installation and rekey work. We stock common hardware for mid-century homes and 1980s apartment builds on our trucks, so most jobs don’t need a second visit. Lock Installation & Rekey is our core trade, and in Farmers Branch it means something specific: old doors, odd hardware, and turnover volume.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Farmers Branch
Smart Lock Installation
Smart locks on Farmers Branch homes usually mean one of two scenarios. Either you’re in a 1950s ranch off Valwood Parkway with a small bore hole sized for an old tubular lock, or you’re in a late-1980s build near the Brookhaven area where the prep is more standard. The first case requires careful boring to accommodate electronic hardware, and we do that with the door reinforced around the latch. The second is often a straightforward swap. Pricing for smart lock installation in Farmers Branch typically runs $150-$350 depending on the lock you choose and the door prep involved.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry is the single most requested upgrade we see in Farmers Branch apartment properties and single-family homes alike. Property managers like it for turnover efficiency. Homeowners like not fishing for keys at night. We install keypad deadbolts and lever sets, and we’re factory-authorized on Yale and Baldwin electronic hardware. A typical keyless entry deadbolt install in Farmers Branch runs $130-$280, including the hardware if you buy it through us.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks on the older doors in Farmers Branch present a specific problem: the strike plates and latch bores were sized for thinner hardware, and modern keypad deadbolts have a heavier throw. If the door has shifted even slightly off plumb from clay soil movement, the new bolt binds. We address this before mounting the lock, not after you’ve spent two weeks fighting it. Keypad deadbolt installation typically runs $140-$300 in Farmers Branch, including strike adjustment.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks are uncommon but growing in Farmers Branch, mostly in commercial and light-industrial settings along Valwood Parkway and the Stemmons corridor. Fingerprint and keypad combination hardware requires a clean bore, a properly aligned strike, and wiring for power if you’re not using battery models. We’re one of the few locksmiths in the Farmers Branch area that regularly services Sargent and Mul-T-Lock biometric hardware. Installation pricing starts around $250 and tops out near $600 for high-security commercial units, quoted in writing before we begin.
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 Farmers Branch
We’re factory-authorized on Baldwin, Yale, and Mul-T-Lock hardware, and we routinely work on Sargent commercial hardware in the Valwood Parkway industrial corridor. For Farmers Branch homeowners with mid-century original hardware, that matters because original Baldwin mortise locks need genuine Baldwin parts, not generic replacements from a big-box shelf. We stock common parts for these brands locally and can typically complete a repair or rekey in one visit. For apartment managers running large master-key systems, our Mul-T-Lock and Schlage Primus key control experience means you’re not hiring someone to learn on your 200-unit property.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Farmers Branch Homes
- Warped original doors on 1950s and 60s builds: Farmers Branch has thousands of mid-century homes with solid wood doors that have moved over 60 years. A modern deadbolt won’t sit right in a door that’s bowed half an inch out of plane. We rehang or adjust before installing, because direct replacement on a warped door simply fails in a month.
- Foundation-shift misalignment: DFW clay soil expands and contracts, and Farmers Branch homes are not immune. A deadbolt that worked in October might bind hard by August. We diagnose this as a strike plate or latch alignment issue, not a broken lock, and we fix it without selling you hardware you don’t need.
- Original mortise locks in 1950s homes: A mortise lock body isn’t rekeyable with a standard cylinder swap. If the lock is original and worn, the honest answer is often replacement or custom fabrication. We’ll tell you which one applies to your door, and the price is the same either way: written before we start.
- Freeze-seized exterior cylinders: The February 2021 hard freeze seized thousands of pin-tumbler cylinders across Farmers Branch, especially on exterior gates, storage units, and padlocks in the industrial zones off Stemmons. Moisture gets in, freezes, and the cylinder won’t turn. We carry dry lubricant and replacement cylinders for exactly this call, and it’s one of the most common emergency requests we field in winter.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Farmers Branch, TX
Here’s the straight math. Standard rekey of a common cylinder in Farmers Branch: $65-$110 per lock. High-security rekey, like Mul-T-Lock or Medeco: $95-$185 per cylinder. New deadbolt installation with hardware: $120-$250. Smart or keypad lock installation: $130-$350. Mortise lock replacement on a mid-century door: $220-$450 depending on whether the lock body can be sourced or needs custom work. Apartment bulk rekeying is priced per cylinder at a discounted rate, quoted after a walkthrough. Every quote is firm, written, and delivered before any work begins. Call (331) 310-8471 and you’ll get the exact figure for your home, not a range we revise when the technician arrives.
We Also Serve Cities Near Farmers Branch
While this page focuses on Lock Installation & Rekey in Farmers Branch, our crews regularly work in Dallas, Addison, Carrollton, and the surrounding metro. The same written-price rule applies everywhere we go, and our response times to those cities are comparable to Farmers Branch. If you’re a property manager with properties in multiple DFW cities, one call sets up service across all of them. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from the Dallas-Fort Worth office, with crews serving Farmers Branch locally.
Serving Farmers Branch, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Farmers Branch 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 Farmers Branch
It depends on the lock body’s condition, but the honest answer for most 1962-era mortise locks in Farmers Branch is that replacement beats rekeying. Original mortise cylinders can sometimes be rekeyed if the lock body is still solid, but we rarely find 60-year-old mortise bodies that haven’t worn beyond service. We’ll tell you which one applies after a look at the hardware, and the price for either path is written before we lift a tool. Call (331) 310-8471 for a straight answer on your specific door.
Foundation movement from DFW clay soil is shifting your door slab slightly out of plumb, and the deadbolt throw and strike plate fall out of alignment during wet and dry cycles. The lock isn’t broken. The fix is strike plate adjustment or, in some cases, re-hanging the door. We do this work routinely in Farmers Branch, and it typically costs $85-$150, not a full lock replacement. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll diagnose it correctly the first visit.
Yes. Farmers Branch has a high concentration of 1970s and 1980s apartment properties along the I-35E and Stemmons corridor, some running 200 to 300 units, and bulk tenant-turnover rekeying is a significant part of our volume here. We’ve completed multi-building master-key overhauls on properties where old keys were circulating uncontrollably. One Valwood Parkway complex built in 1983 needed 140 units rekeyed between lease cycles. We installed Schlage Primus key control cylinders, cut 500 new keys, and restored ANSI Grade 1 deadbolts on all perimeter doors, all inside two weeks without disrupting residents. Property managers in Farmers Branch call us because we can handle that volume without stalling other work. Call (331) 310-8471 to discuss your property’s turnover schedule and a per-cylinder rate.
Yes, in most cases. The original bore holes on 1950s and 60s Farmers Branch doors are often smaller than what modern smart locks require, but we can enlarge the bore and reinforce the latch area to accept electronic hardware. This is standard work for us, not a novel challenge. The installation typically runs $150-$350 depending on the lock and how much door prep is needed. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll tell you if your specific door is a candidate before you buy hardware.
Don’t force it with a key or a tool, because a seized pin-tumbler cylinder is often recoverable with the right dry lubricant and can be broken permanently if you muscle it. Call us at (331) 310-8471 and we’ll get to your Farmers Branch home quickly, free the cylinder if possible, and replace it if the freeze warped the pins or cracked the plug. That’s a $75-$150 fix in most cases, quoted on the phone before we send anyone out.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, providing lock installation and rekeying services to Farmers Branch since 2002.