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 Little Elm
Lock installation and rekeying in Little Elm typically runs $85-$160 for a standard rekey (first cylinder, with each additional cylinder $15-$25) and $220-$450 for full deadbolt replacement or smart lock installation, with the written quote given before we dispatch. Most jobs in Little Elm are completed same-day. If you just bought a house here, the single most important call you can make this week is to have your locks rekeyed. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll walk you through what’s involved.
Little Elm is a unique locksmith market. Nearly the entire housing stock was built after 2005, which means nearly every home we enter has builder-grade Kwikset SmartKey locks on the doors. Those locks have a known vulnerability and a rekey mechanism that fails quietly. We’ll cover all of that below and tell you exactly what it costs to fix.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Little Elm’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We work the full sweep of Little Elm subdivisions, from Paloma Creek on the east side to Sunset Pointe, Frisco Hills, and the neighborhoods along Eldorado Parkway, and we know what those houses were built with. That matters. A locksmith who doesn’t know that a 2016 spec home on Blackland Prairie clay will have a racked front door frame by year five is going to misdiagnose your deadbolt as the problem when the real issue is the strike plate and the soil under the slab. We’ve seen it enough times that we check the frame before we touch the cylinder.
Since 2002, Novak Lock & Security has worked under one rule: the price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice. Haven Standard Clause 1. No technician is permitted to change it at the door. That rule was written before we ever picked up a rekey tool, and it applies on every single call in Little Elm, whether it’s a $95 rekey or a $600 high-security cylinder installation. Every visit ends with a documented photo record of the work, and every job is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right.
Our technicians arrive background-checked and in uniform. When you call, a live person answers. Not a queue. Not a callback request. The person who answers is the person who dispatches the technician to your street.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Little Elm
If you’re in Little Elm, you’re probably in a house built between 2008 and 2023, and you’re probably looking at Kwikset SmartKey or basic Schlage builder locks. Here’s how our Lock Installation & Rekey team handles the most common requests in this city.
Smart Lock Installation
Most Little Elm tract homes have standard deadbolt bores (2-1/8″ cross bore with a 1″ edge bore), so a Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, or similar smart lock drops into the existing hole with no door modification. We install, program, and test the lock with your Wi-Fi and the app before we leave. Plan on $240-$380 for a mid-grade smart deadbolt installed, hardware included. If you want a lock that works with your existing smart home system, tell the dispatcher which platform you run (Ring, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Alexa) so we bring compatible hardware.
Keyless Entry and Keypad Lock Installation
Keyless entry on a Little Elm home often means one of two things: a standalone keypad deadbolt (Schlage BE365 or Kwikset 913) or a full keypad handle set on the front door with a matching deadbolt above. The standalone keypad deadbolt is the most common install we do here, and it runs $180-$290 installed. We use the same bores your builder drilled, so the job takes under an hour in most cases.
Rekey After Home Purchase
This is the highest-volume call we run in Little Elm. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: your builder’s “key” may still open your door. When a subdivision goes up in phases, the crews use a small set of master keys across multiple houses. On closing day, that key ring in your hand might open your house. Rekeying all exterior doors off a single new cut typically runs $85-$130 for the first cylinder and $15-$25 per additional cylinder. If the locks are Kwikset SmartKey and haven’t been rekeyed, we’ll often recommend replacing the cylinders outright (roughly $45-$75 per cylinder installed for a standard Schlage pin-and-tumbler) because the SmartKey mechanism is vulnerable to force attacks. We’ll show you the difference in writing before we start.
Biometric and High-Security Lock Installation
For Little Elm homeowners who want a fingerprint or keypad-plus-cylinder setup, we install Mul-T-Lock, Medeco, Abloy, and Baldwin hardware. A Mul-T-Lock high-security cylinder with restricted key duplication starts around $120-$180 per cylinder installed. A Baldwin full handle set with a matching high-security deadbolt runs $350-$700 depending on finish and cylinder grade. These are quoted in writing before we commit to the job.
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 Little Elm
We work across the security spectrum, from entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage that builders installed, up to Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy high-security cylinders. We stock common parts locally, and if your Little Elm home has a brand we don’t carry on the truck, we can usually have it in hand the same day from our Dallas-Fort Worth parts network. And if a competitor has quoted you something in writing, we’ll give you a free second opinion on that estimate, no strings.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Little Elm Homes
- The builder’s key still opens the door after closing. This is so common in Little Elm that we budget time for it on nearly every rekey call. Builders hand over three keys that all look the same, and none of them are confirmed dead. We rekey every exterior door off a single new cut, show you the old keys don’t work, and document it in the photo record.
- A stripped Kwikset SmartKey cylinder that silently leaves the old key working. A new homeowner tries to rekey with the little tool included in the box, the mechanism strips, and now the lock looks rekeyed but the old key still turns. We see this constantly in Paloma Creek and Sunset Pointe. We replace the cylinder with a Schlage B60N or similar and rekey off a fresh cut.
- Deadbolts that bind when the weather changes. North Texas Blackland Prairie clay swells and shrinks with moisture. In Little Elm, a 5-15 year old home can have enough door frame movement that the deadbolt throw misses the strike plate. We see this alongside rekey calls all day. The fix is usually an elongated strike plate or a strike adjustment, not a new lock, and we’ll tell you which one it is before we do anything.
- Cracked keypad housings on west-facing doors after freeze events. The February 2021 Uri storm left a lot of Little Elm front and back doors with cracked plastic keypad housings. If your electronic deadbolt still works but the keypad is cracked, we replace the keypad assembly rather than the whole lock. If the cylinder seized too, full replacement runs $180-$300 installed.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Little Elm, TX
We publish real numbers because hiding the price is the oldest trick in the locksmith trade. We don’t do it. In Little Elm, here’s what our work costs, in writing, before we dispatch:
Little Elm Pricing Quick Reference
| Service | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Rekey first cylinder (per home visit) | $85-$130 |
| Each additional cylinder rekeyed | $15-$25 |
| Standard deadbolt installation (Schlage B60 / Kwikset 980) | $120-$180 per lock |
| Smart lock / keyless entry installation (hardware included) | $180-$380 |
| High-security cylinder (Mul-T-Lock / Medeco) | $120-$180 per cylinder |
| Key duplication (standard Schlage / Kwikset) | $4-$8 per key |
| Service call fee (waived if work is completed) | $45 |
All prices are quoted in full on the phone before a technician heads your way. That is the price on your invoice. There is no call-out surcharge added on arrival, and there is no “minimum labor” charge beyond the range quoted. If the job turns out to be bigger than the phone quote, we stop and tell you in writing before any additional work happens.
We Also Serve Cities Near Little Elm
If you’re outside Little Elm proper, we also cover Lock Installation & Rekey in Little Elm and the surrounding area, including Frisco, The Colony, Lewisville, and Denton. Same written-pricing rule, same 365-Day Done Right Promise, same live person on the phone.
Serving Little Elm, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Little Elm 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 Little Elm
You can’t know unless you test the builder’s keys against the locks yourself, which is exactly what we do on our first visit. We arrive, document the condition of every exterior cylinder, check whether the builder key still turns, and give you a written summary in the photo record. If the house was never rekeyed, we take care of it. Call (331) 310-8471 and ask for a post-closing rekey check, and we’ll give you a firm price on the phone.
In Little Elm, it’s usually a door problem. The Blackland Prairie clay under your slab shrinks in dry heat and swells in wet weather, which racks the door frame over time and pulls the strike plate out of alignment with the deadbolt throw. We check the frame first, before we touch the lock, and in most 5-15 year old homes the fix is a strike plate adjustment or an elongated strike, not a new deadbolt. We tell you which it is, in writing, before any work starts.
Yes, in most cases. A 2016 Little Elm tract home will have standard 2-1/8″ bore doors and 1″ edge bores, so a smart deadbolt like a Schlage Encode or Yale Assure mounts directly into the existing hole. The installation runs $240-$380 including hardware, quoted in writing before we dispatch. The only exception is if the door frame has moved enough that a new deadbolt won’t throw cleanly, in which case we address the strike first and tell you before we proceed.
If the keypad housing is cracked but the cylinder and motor still work, it’s a keypad assembly replacement, not a full lock replacement. That runs roughly $60-$110 for the part plus installation, depending on the brand and model. If the freeze also seized the cylinder or damaged the motor, full replacement makes more sense, and that runs $180-$300 installed for a new keypad deadbolt. We’ll show you the damage and the quote before we start.
Keying all your exterior house doors alike is standard and what we recommend. The side gate should be on a separate key so that a lost gate key doesn’t compromise your home, and so you can rekey the gate without touching the house. We do this on almost every multi-door Little Elm home we service, and we document the keying schedule in the photo record so you know exactly which key opens what. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written quote on your specific door count.
Contact Novak Lock & Security in Little Elm
If you’re in Little Elm and you just closed on a house, or your builder’s key still turns, or your deadbolt binds every time the rain comes, call us. A live person answers. You’ll get a firm price in writing before a technician leaves the office, and that price will not change at your door. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. No mystery labor. Just the price, the work, and a photo record when we leave. Call (331) 310-8471 now for a free estimate.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Little Elm with written-price lock installation and rekey work since 2002.
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