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 Pontiac
Lock installation and rekey in Pontiac costs $65-$185 per cylinder for rekeying and $120-$420 per lock for a full replacement, depending on the hardware grade and door condition. We quote a firm price on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and that price is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. Call (331) 310-8471 for a free estimate.
Pontiac is not a generic suburb. The housing stock here runs from 1910s bungalows off Baldwin Road to foursquares near Pontiac High School that were built for GM line workers a century ago. Those doors were never designed for modern deadbolts, and after decades of freeze-thaw cycles, deferred maintenance, and far too many forced entries, a standard lock swap rarely goes smoothly. We know the difference because we work these streets every week, from the Oakland County Land Bank rehabs downtown to the rentals off Perry Street. Daniel Novak built this company on a simple rule: name the part, name the price, and do what you said you would do. That rule holds on every job in Pontiac.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Pontiac’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Our reputation in Pontiac is built on the jobs other shops send back. When a rekey involves a corroded mortise cylinder, a stripped strike plate, and a door frame that has moved an eighth of an inch out of square, a quick pin swap is not enough. Our techs report what they find, in writing, and they fix it. That is why Oakland County investors who buy at the Treasurer’s auction keep our number in their phones.
We answer calls with a live person, 24/7. No voicemail queue and no callback window. If you are locked out of a house you just bought off Woodward Avenue at 11 p.m., you will speak to a dispatcher who can send a background-checked, uniformed technician to Pontiac within the hour. Every visit ends with a documented photo record of the work, left with you as standard procedure, not an upgrade. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every lock installation and rekey we perform in Pontiac: if it is not done right, we make it right.
Our factory-authorized work on Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, and Baldwin hardware means we can service high-security cylinders that a general locksmith would have to send out. For Pontiac landlords and flippers, that means one visit, not two.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey team serves Pontiac directly, with scheduling coordinated from our Detroit office. The tech arrives in a van with the Novak name on the side and a written scope in hand.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Pontiac
Smart Lock Installation
Pontiac homeowners who commute to jobs in Troy or Southfield like the idea of a smart lock. We install and program Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and Kwikset Halo locks on the older doors common here, which almost always means drilling a new cross-bore or retrofitting an existing mortise pocket. A smart lock installed in Pontiac typically runs $225-$520 including the hardware and the door prep. We test the bolt throw in both directions before we leave, because a door that works in July can bind by February.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry for a Pontiac rental or a rehabbed flip usually means a keypad deadbolt rather than a full smart system. We install and code keypad locks starting around $150-$280, depending on whether the existing bore is standard or needs modification. For landlords with multiple units near the Phoenix Center, we can key all keypads to a single master code and provide individual tenant codes that delete in seconds when a lease ends.
Keypad Lock
A standalone keypad lock is the fastest way to stop handing out physical keys on a Pontiac property. We stock keypad deadbolts and lever locks for both residential and light commercial doors. Installation runs $140-$260 in most Pontiac homes, and we show you how to change codes yourself before we leave.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks are less common in Pontiac’s older housing stock, but we service and install them on request. A fingerprint deadbolt runs $250-$550 installed. The real question is whether your door frame can support the strike plate properly. If it cannot, we will tell you before we sell you the lock.
Key Duplication
We cut standard and high-security keys in Pontiac, including restricted blanks from Mul-T-Lock and Abloy that big-box stores cannot duplicate. Standard key duplication runs $3-$8 per key; restricted keys run $15-$40 and require proof of ownership. If you bought a house at the Oakland County auction and the seller handed you one worn key, start here.
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 Pontiac
We are factory-authorized for Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy, and we service everything from entry-grade Kwikset to Sargent commercial hardware. For Pontiac customers, that means we can rekey or replace almost any cylinder in one trip, including obsolete formats found on 1920s mortise locks. We stock common Baldwin and Schlage parts on the van so we do not have to order and reschedule when a Pontiac job needs a specific tailpiece or strike.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Pontiac Homes
- Corroded mortise cylinders. Homes built near the old GM plants still carry original mortise locksets. The cylinder internals are often corroded from decades of Michigan humidity and road salt tracked in from Woodward. Rekeying a corroded cylinder usually fails within a season; replacement is the honest call.
- Stripped strike plates from forced entries. Properties that went through tax foreclosure frequently show signs of prior break-ins. The strike plate screws are stripped, the wood behind them is pulverized, and a new deadbolt will not hold. We rebuild the frame before we install anything.
- Warped door frames. Pontiac’s older homes sit through hard freezes every winter. Wood frames swell, shrink, and twist. A deadbolt that threw cleanly in September can bind by January unless the strike plate is realigned during installation.
- Hidden master wafers in former rentals. Many Pontiac homes spent years as rentals with a landlord master key. If we rekey without removing the master wafer, old keys can still turn the new cylinder. We check for that on every rekey in Pontiac. Most shops do not.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Pontiac, MI
Here are the honest ranges for Pontiac’s market. Full price is quoted on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and that price is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added on arrival.
- Rekey a standard cylinder: $65-$95 per cylinder
- Rekey a high-security cylinder (Mul-T-Lock, Abloy): $95-$185 per cylinder
- New deadbolt installation: $120-$280 including hardware
- Smart lock or keypad lock installation: $150-$520 depending on hardware and door prep
- Mortise lock replacement with modern deadbolt: $220-$420 including frame repair
What affects the price in Pontiac specifically: door frame condition, cylinder format, and whether a prior forced entry damaged the strike area. We tell you the price before we dispatch, and the tech is not permitted to change it at your door. Haven Standard Clause 1: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. Call (331) 310-8471 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Pontiac
Our crews regularly run lock installation and rekey jobs in Troy, Waterford, Sterling Heights, and Southfield for customers who work in Pontiac or own rental property here. If you own a Pontiac property but live in one of those cities, we will meet you at the door. This page focuses on Lock Installation & Rekey in Pontiac, but the same written-price rule applies everywhere we go.
Serving Pontiac, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Pontiac 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 Pontiac
It depends on the cylinder condition and the lock body. Many original mortise locks in Pontiac homes have corroded internals that will not survive a rekey. We will open the lock, inspect it, and tell you straight: if the springs are weak or the cylinder is pitted, replacement is cheaper than a rekey that fails in six months. If the mortise body is sound, we can rekey it in about 20 minutes. Call (331) 310-8471 and our tech will tell you which one you have.
You do not. That is the honest answer. A house that went through tax foreclosure may have had keys held by the prior owner, the bank, a property manager, a tenant, and whoever entered illegally while it sat vacant. The only way to restore key control is to rekey every exterior cylinder and verify that no master wafer remains. We do that on every Pontiac auction house we service, and we document the work with photos. Call (331) 310-8471 to schedule a full rekey before you move anything in.
Pontiac’s housing stock is older and less insulated than nearby Troy or Rochester Hills, and many door frames sit in direct exposure to Oakland County’s hard freeze cycles. When warm indoor air hits a cold cylinder, condensation forms inside and freezes. We use a dry graphite lubricant on Pontiac rekeys specifically to reduce that failure. If your lock freezes repeatedly, the cylinder may need replacement, not another shot of WD-40. Call (331) 310-8471 for an assessment.
Yes, and here is why: a keypad lock eliminates the key-control problem entirely. You will never wonder how many copies of the old key are floating around Pontiac. We install keypad deadbolts on rental rehabs for $150-$280 per door, and we show you how to delete a tenant code in under ten seconds. For a property with a history of unauthorized entry, that is the single best upgrade you can make. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written scope.
Often yes. The original door frames on Pontiac foursquares have usually been hit with a pry bar at least once, and the wood around the strike plate is compromised. Installing a new deadbolt without rebuilding that area means the lock will only hold against a gentle push. We inspect the frame on every installation and include the repair in the written quote upfront. That is the difference between a lock that works and a lock that actually protects. Call (331) 310-8471 for a free estimate.
What to Do When Your Pontiac Lock Has Seen Too Much
Pontiac’s tax-foreclosure turnover means a typical rekey here is not just resetting pins. It is restoring key control on a property where the new owner never received any keys, scrappers may have punched the cylinder, and the door frame has been hit hard enough to strip the strike plate screws from the wood. We were called to a 1920s bungalow on Osmun Street after an investor bought it at the Oakland County Treasurer’s auction. The original mortise lock on the front door had a corroded, frozen cylinder and the strike plate screws were stripped from a prior forced entry. Our tech replaced the mortise body with a new Schlage deadbolt, rebuilt the strike plate with longer screws into fresh wood, and rekeyed the back door to match, all in about two hours. The new owner left with zero unknown key copies and a written record of exactly what was done.
That is the standard on every Pontiac job. We tell you what you have, what it needs, and what it costs before any work starts. If a lock can be rekeyed, we rekey it. If it cannot, we say so and quote the replacement. No pressure, no bait pricing, no surprises at the door. Call (331) 310-8471 and speak to a live person who knows Pontiac’s doors.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Pontiac since 2002.
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