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 Portland
Lock installation and rekeying in Portland typically runs $65-$145 for a standard cylindrical deadbolt install and $18-$35 per cylinder for a rekey, with most jobs completed the same day we hear from you. If you own a pre-war Craftsman in Irvington or a condo in the Pearl District, the price and approach change meaningfully, and we’ll explain exactly why before you commit to anything. Our Portland crews carry parts for everything from a Kwikset entry knob to a century-old Corbin mortise body. Call (331) 310-8471 and you’ll get a firm written price before anyone is dispatched.
We know Portland’s housing stock the way a mechanic knows a specific engine. That matters when the lock on your door is older than the technician who shows up to fix it. The Lock Installation & Rekey in Portland work we do leans heavily on older hardware that national chains won’t touch, plus the smart-lock retrofits that Portland homeowners keep asking for.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Portland’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We’ve been doing Lock Installation & Rekey work across Portland long enough to know which neighborhoods still carry original mortise hardware, which condo buildings use fob systems we can’t interfere with, and which eastside bungalows need a frame adjustment more than a new deadbolt. That local knowledge changes the diagnosis. A lockout in Sellwood in November is usually not a lock failure. It’s a fir frame swollen by five months of rain, and we treat it accordingly.
60,000+ locks, keys, and systems installed or serviced since 2002. Every one with a written price before we started and a documented photo record when we left. Daniel Novak built the company on a single rule that’s been in place since day one: the dispatcher quotes a firm price, and the technician is contractually prohibited from changing it at the door. Haven Standard Clause 1. That’s why Portland customers who read three-star reviews and want the price visible before they call tend to land here. We answer the phone with a live person, 24/7, and we tell you what the job costs before you hang up.
Response time to most Portland neighborhoods is 45-60 minutes for emergency lockouts. For scheduled installs and rekeys, we book in two-hour windows. Background-checked, uniformed technicians on every visit, and you get a documented photo record of the work when we leave. Not as an upgrade. As standard procedure.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Portland
Smart Lock Installation
Portland homeowners ask for smart locks more than any other upgrade, and the pre-war housing stock complicates it. A 1922 Craftsman in Richmond might have a mortise lock body that won’t accept a standard smart deadbolt without an adapter plate or a custom escutcheon. We install Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and Kwikset Halo systems, and we tell you before we start whether your vintage door can take one cleanly or whether you’re better off with a keypad deadbolt mounted above the original lock. A smart lock install in Portland typically runs $185-$295 including hardware and labor, quoted in writing before we begin.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry means different things in different parts of Portland. In a Pearl District condo, it’s usually a building-wide fob or intercom system we’re not authorized to touch. On a detached house in Alameda or Woodstock, it’s a standalone keypad deadbolt that gives you codes for a dog walker, a cleaner, or an ADU tenant. We install keyless entry on single-family homes and small multi-unit conversions throughout Portland, and we program codes on site, show you how to change them, and leave you a written record of the system configuration.
Keypad Lock
Keypad deadbolts are the most common request from Portland homeowners who rent out an ADU or a basement unit. The typical job is $150-$240 including the lock, and we match the finish to existing hardware. Portland’s ADU boom, which took off after the city relaxed its rules earlier than almost any other US city, means a lot of single-family lots now have a backyard cottage with a separate entrance. A keypad lock on that door, keyed independently from the main house, solves the practical problem of giving a tenant access without surrendering a copy of your own house key.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks have a narrower use case in Portland, mostly detached garages, workshops, and a few home offices where the owner wants fingerprint access without a phone app. We install them, but we’re straight about the trade-offs. Portland’s mild freeze-thaw cycles can affect battery performance in unheated outbuildings, which is common in the detached garages that accompany so many Portland ADU conversions. If a biometric lock is going to sit in a damp garage through a Portland winter, we’ll tell you whether a keypad with a physical key override is the more reliable choice. Biometric installs typically run $220-$320.
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 Portland
We’re factory-authorized on Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy, and we service the full spectrum from entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage to high-security cylinders that cannot be picked or bumped by standard tools. For Portland’s historic homes, that authorization matters. A century-old Corbin mortise lockset in a Sellwood bungalow isn’t something you hand to a technician who’s only seen modern cylindrical locks. We stock parts locally for Portland jobs and can usually rebuild or rekey an original mortise lock on site rather than ordering components and coming back a second time.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Portland Homes
- Original mortise locks swapped for modern deadbolts. A handyman tells the owner the old lock is “worn out” and replaces it with a cylindrical deadbolt that requires drilling the door. In Irvington, Sellwood, and Woodstock, that change damages resale character and often violates the spirit of historic-district guidelines. We can rebuild the original lock in place instead.
- October-May rainy-season deadbolt binding. Portland’s old-growth fir door frames absorb moisture for half the year and swell around the deadbolt throw. The key won’t turn, the bolt won’t retract, and the homeowner assumes the lock failed. We use non-destructive entry, then adjust the frame or the strike plate so the same deadbolt works in February.
- Unauthorized key duplication in condo and apartment conversions. A resident copies a key at a hardware store, and suddenly the building’s key control is gone. For Portland rental properties and multi-unit buildings, we set up restricted keyways where copies can only be made through us with written authorization. That applies in the Pearl District, South Waterfront, and everywhere else where one copied key becomes a building-wide problem.
- Smart lock installs that ignore the mortise door. A big-box smart deadbolt goes on a pre-war door with a mortise lock body, and the door either doesn’t seal or the smart lock sits awkwardly above the original. We plan the retrofit so the smart lock works cleanly and the vintage hardware stays intact.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Portland, OR
Standard cylindrical deadbolt installation in Portland runs $65-$145 per lock, including the hardware for entry-grade models and labor for mid-range brands. Rekeying a standard pin-tumbler cylinder runs $18-$35 per cylinder, with a typical three-lock house rekeyed for $90-$140 total. High-security rekeying, which uses restricted keyways from Mul-T-Lock or Abloy, runs $45-$85 per cylinder. Mortise lockset rebuilds in Portland’s pre-war homes are quoted per job after we see the condition of the lock body, and we give you that quote in writing before any work starts. A smart lock installation runs $185-$295 including hardware and labor. Every price on this page is a firm figure, quoted on the phone before dispatch, and it is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. No bait pricing. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote on your specific hardware, and we will review any competitor’s written estimate at no charge.
We Also Serve Cities Near Portland
Our Portland office dispatches crews throughout the metro area, including Lake Oswego, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Gresham. If you’re just outside the city line and need a rekey or a smart lock installed, call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll give you a firm quote and a straight arrival window. The same written pricing rule applies everywhere.
Serving Portland, OR - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Portland 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 Portland
Yes. We rekey original Corbin and Yale mortise cylinders in place without drilling or replacing the lockset. We remove the cylinder from the mortise body, re-pin it to a new key, and reinstall it so the century-old hardware functions as designed. The cost runs $45-$85 per cylinder depending on the keyway, and we quote it in writing before we start.
Because the old-growth fir door frame swells during Portland’s October-May rainy season, and the swollen frame tightens around the deadbolt throw. The cylinder and bolt are usually mechanically fine, which is why replacing the lock doesn’t fix the problem. We adjust the strike plate or shave the frame channel so the same deadbolt operates smoothly through the wet months. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll diagnose it before we touch the hardware.
You mount the smart deadbolt above the existing mortise lock and leave the original hardware untouched. That’s the standard approach for Portland Craftsman and Four-Square homes, and it means the vintage lockset stays functional for appearance and the smart lock handles daily entry. We install Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and Kwikset Halo this way, typically for $185-$295 including hardware and labor, quoted in writing before we begin.
No. If the building’s entry system uses key fobs or an intercom, the door hardware is the property owner’s equipment, and changing or rekeying it without written authorization usually violates your lease. What we can do is install a portable door brace or an interior security device that you own and that doesn’t modify the door. And if the property owner wants the unit rekeyed independently, we’ll coordinate that with them directly.
Yes, especially if you’re renting to tenants and want key control. A bump-resistant cylinder, typically Mul-T-Lock or Abloy, prevents standard bump-key attacks and allows restricted key duplication so copies can only be made through us with your written authorization. For a Hawthorne rental unit, the cost runs $45-$85 per cylinder, and it solves the problem of a tenant copying a key at a hardware store without your knowledge. Call (331) 310-8471 for a firm quote.
Call Novak Lock & Security for Lock Installation & Rekey in Portland
If you need a lock installed, a mortise lockset rebuilt, a deadbolt rekeyed, or a smart lock retrofitted to a pre-war door, call (331) 310-8471. You’ll speak to a live person, get a firm written price before anyone is dispatched, and know exactly what the job will cost before we arrive. That’s been the rule since 2002, and it’s not changing. Daniel Novak’s name is on the van and on the invoice. That’s the whole argument.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Portland and the surrounding metro since 2002.
Lock Installation & Rekey in Nearby Areas
