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 Kirkland
If you need a lock installed or rekeyed in Kirkland, WA, the work typically costs $95-$185 for a standard cylindrical lockset install and $18-$35 per cylinder for a rekey, quoted in writing before our tech rolls. That written quote covers labor, the hardware, and arrival; there is no dispatch fee tacked on at the door. We serve every neighborhood in Kirkland from Juanita and Finn Hill down through Houghton, North Rose Hill, downtown, and the Kingsgate corridor, usually arriving within 45-60 minutes for non-emergency calls. Call (331) 310-8471 and a live person answers, day or night.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Kirkland’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We’ve been doing lock work on the Eastside since 2002, and our Lock Installation & Rekey team knows this city block by block. The Houghton lakefront, the Totem Lake tech corridor, the 1980s builder-grade tracts in Kingsgate and Finn Hill: each area has its own door prep quirks, and our techs walk in knowing what to expect before they touch a screwdriver. Kirkland homeowners call us because the price we state on the phone is contractually the price on the invoice. That rule has been in place since day one, and our background-checked, uniformed technicians leave a documented photo record with every job. No exceptions to either.
Daniel Novak built the company on a single practice: name the price, name the part, and show the work. The 365-Day Done Right Promise applies to every lock install, rekey, and smart lock retrofit we do in Kirkland. If the hardware or the workmanship fails within a year, we come back and make it right. The documentation from every visit gives you a written record of what was found, what was installed, and what it cost, before and after.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Kirkland
Smart Lock Installation
Kirkland’s tech workforce, anchored by Google’s campus in the Totem Lake corridor and the spillover from Microsoft in Redmond, has made smart lock retrofits one of our most common calls. We install Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and August Wi-Fi locks into Z-Wave and Wi-Fi home automation setups daily. The complication in Kirkland is rarely the electronics. It’s the door. In Houghton and the Carillon Point-adjacent streets, renovated mid-century homes frequently have a 2-1/8″ bore with non-standard backset measurements from original 1950s or 1960s construction. A premium smart lock ordered online won’t sit flush on that prep. We recut the bore, source the backset adapter, or reinforce the strike plate as needed, and we show you the photo record when we’re done. Expect to pay $185-$320 for a standard smart lock installation, including hardware integration and reprogramming.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry installation in Kirkland can start as low as $145 for a mechanical keypad deadbolt and run up to $400 for a connected, app-controlled system. We install both. For the 1950s ranches in North Rose Hill with original wooden door frames, we often recommend a mechanical keypad with a reinforced strike plate rather than a full smart lock, simply because the frame wood has decades of seasonal movement. The fewer powered components against a moving door frame, the fewer failure points.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks are the workhorse of Kirkland’s condo market, especially in multi-tenant buildings where property managers want code-based access for cleaners, dog walkers, and maintenance staff. We quote a firm $150-$280 for keypad lock installation, depending on whether the door prep is standard or needs adjustment. For the 1980s builder-grade doors in Kingsgate and on Finn Hill, original Kwikset hardware is still common, but the frame openings tend to be tight. We recut or shim as the door requires, then set the code in front of you and show you how to change it.
Biometric Lock
Biometric or fingerprint locks are less common in Kirkland, but when they’re installed, it’s usually on a lakefront property or a home office. We install biometric deadbolts and handle the integration, and we are candid about the trade-off: fingerprint readers on shaded north-facing doors in Kirkland’s damp months can read slower than a keypad. We’ll tell you that on the phone, not after you’ve spent the money. Biometric lock installation typically ranges from $330-$520 including wiring and app setup.
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 Kirkland
We carry and service the brands Kirkland homeowners actually have on their doors. That includes entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage, plus factory-authorized work on Medeco, Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, and Yale. If you live in downtown Kirkland and need a Baldwin mortise lockset rekeyed or fitted to a thick lakefront entry door, we keep the common cylinders and tailpieces in our vans so the job doesn’t stall waiting on a part. Our factory authorization means warranty work stays valid, and we document the brand, the model, and the keyway on the written record we leave with you.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Kirkland Homes
Kirkland’s housing stock is old enough to be interesting and new enough to be inconsistent. Here are the failure modes we see most often.
- DIY smart-lock install fails on a non-standard bore. A 1950s Houghton ranch gets a new Schlage Encode from an online order, and the bolt won’t seat because the backset is off-standard. The door is left unsecured until we recut the bore and reset the lock properly. This is the single most common phone call we get from newer Kirkland residents.
- Lake moisture swells door frames and kills deadbolt alignment. Kirkland’s position on the eastern shore of Lake Washington means fall and winter marine moisture pushes wood frames out of true. Deadbolts stop throwing cleanly, and residents get locked out in October through February. We recut the strike plate or re-shim the jamb rather than tell you to live with a sticky bolt.
- Restricted keys get compromised at big-box stores. A downtown Kirkland apartment manager duplicates a master key at a hardware store, and the building’s key control goes out the window. We rekey the affected locks, reissue stamped restricted keys, and document the new key hierarchy in writing so the freeholder has a record.
- New electronic hardware on old fir frames. Kirkland’s lakefront renovation corridor has beautiful original fir doors that were never prepped for modern bore spacing. We can often retrofit without replacing the door, using a backset adapter or a thin-profile escutcheon to keep the original wood intact.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Kirkland, WA
Here are the numbers we quote on the phone, in writing, before anyone is dispatched to your Kirkland address. A standard cylindrical lockset installation runs $95-$185. Rekeying is $18-$35 per cylinder, with a $55-$75 trip minimum that covers the first cylinder on the job. Smart lock installation ranges $185-$320; keyless entry $145-$400 depending on connectivity; keypad locks $150-$280; biometric locks $330-$520. The quote includes labor, standard hardware, arrival, and the photo record. There is no call-out surcharge added when the van shows up, and no upsell at the door. If another shop has written you a lower estimate, bring it in and we’ll review it at no charge and tell you honestly whether it’s comparable.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kirkland
Our Kirkland crews regularly cross the city line for work in Redmond, Bellevue, Seattle, and Renton. Dispatch and scheduling for the area are coordinated from our Seattle office, but the technicians who service Kirkland are familiar with the local door stock, the lakefront moisture cycle, and the non-standard preps that come with 1950s and 1960s construction. The same written-price rule and photo record apply in every city we serve.
Serving Kirkland, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kirkland 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 Kirkland
Your door likely has a non-standard backset measurement from its original 1950s or 1960s construction, which means the lock’s bolt can’t align with the pre-drilled hole in the door edge. This is common throughout Houghton and the Carillon Point-adjacent renovation corridor, where premium electronic locks get bolted onto fir doors that were never prepped for modern hardware. We fix it by recutting the bore to standard spacing or installing a backset adapter, then we remount the lock with a reinforced strike plate. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll send a tech out to check the prep before you make any further changes.
Yes. We rekey individual condo units onto restricted master key systems, which requires sourcing the building’s exact keyway and pinning the new cylinder to fit both your unit key and the master. We coordinate with the building manager or freeholder first, reissue stamped keys that can’t be copied at a big-box store, and document the new key hierarchy in writing. The cost runs $18-$35 per cylinder plus the trip minimum, quoted in writing before we start. Call (331) 310-8471 with your building’s keyway info and we’ll give you an exact number.
Yes. Kirkland’s eastern shore position on Lake Washington exposes homes to persistent marine moisture every fall and winter, and wooden door frames swell enough to push the deadbolt out of alignment with the strike plate. The fix is usually re-shimming the hinge side or recutting the strike plate pocket, not replacing the lock. We can do that in one visit, for $95-$185 depending on the extent of the frame movement. The written quote you get on the phone is the invoice price, full stop.
Drilling is always our last resort. In most North Rose Hill apartments we can open a standard pin-tumbler deadbolt without touching the frame, using non-destructive methods first. If the lock is a high-security cylinder and drilling becomes unavoidable, we tell the freeholder or property manager before we do it, and we document the whole process with photos. The lock will need replacing after a drill-out, but the door and frame typically survive intact. Our emergency response to North Rose Hill is usually under 45 minutes. Call (331) 310-8471 and a live person answers now.
Almost always, yes. Those 1980s Kingsgate doors have standard 2-1/8″ bores, but the openings are often tight and the strike plates are shallow. We widen the bore slightly, deepen the strike plate mortise, and sometimes run a longer mounting screw into the stud behind the jamb to anchor everything. The door stays in place, and you get a keypad lock installed for $150-$280. We’ll quote the exact number before we dispatch, and it won’t change when the tech arrives.
Need a lock installed or rekeyed in Kirkland today? Call Novak Lock & Security at (331) 310-8471. A live dispatcher answers, writes up your price, and schedules a background-checked tech for a time that works. The quote covers arrival, labor, hardware, and the photo record. No call-out fee added at the door. Written price first, every single job, no exceptions.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Kirkland since 2002.