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 Silver Spring
Lock installation and rekeying in Silver Spring typically runs between $95 and $240 for a standard residential rekey, and $180 to $420 for a deadbolt and knob replacement, depending on hardware grade and cylinder count. We’re Novak Lock & Security, and we service the full length of Georgia Avenue, Colesville Road, and every neighborhood in between, from Woodside to Sligo Park. If you need a lock installed, an apartment rekeyed, or a tenant locked out without a drill hole through a door the freeholder owns, call (331) 310-8471. A live person answers, and the dispatcher gives you a written price before anyone rolls a truck. That rule has been in place since 2002, and it isn’t going anywhere.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Silver Spring’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Silver Spring is Montgomery County’s densest, most turnover-heavy rental market. Property managers along the Georgia Avenue corridor call us for rekeys at a volume you’d expect in downtown DC, not a Maryland suburb. The reason is simple: Montgomery County landlord-tenant code requires lock rekeying between tenancies. That means every time a unit in a 1960s garden apartment building on Fenton Street or East-West Highway turns over, a licensed locksmith has to reset the cylinders. We know the buildings. We know which ones still run original Kwikset hardware from the Johnson administration, which ones have been retrofitted three times by three different management companies, and which ones need master key system work that most locksmiths won’t touch.
Our Silver Spring customers see the same thing every visit: a background-checked, uniformed technician who arrives with a written scope of work, does the job, and leaves a documented photo record before heading out. Daniel Novak built the company on the Haven Standard, and Clause 1 of that standard is the whole deal: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. No technician is permitted to change it at the door. No exceptions, no fine print. We’ve installed or serviced more than 60,000 locks, keys, and systems since 2002, and every single one of those jobs started with a written price. Silver Spring homeowners who read the three-star reviews before they call tend to appreciate that.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Silver Spring
Rekeying
Rekeying is our most common call in Silver Spring, and for good reason. Montgomery County’s rekey mandate between tenancies keeps us busy every week along Georgia Avenue, Colesville Road, and Fenton Street. A standard rekey in Silver Spring runs $19 to $29 per cylinder, plus a service call, and we do it on-site. If you bought a house in Woodside and don’t know who holds a spare key from the previous owner, rekey every exterior lock the day you close. If you’re a landlord on Sligo Creek Parkway, rekey between every tenancy and document it. We’ll give you the photo record either way.
Smart Lock Installation
Downtown Silver Spring’s newer high-rises around the Metro increasingly spec electronic access control, and single-family homeowners are following. Smart lock installation in Silver Spring runs $150 to $400, depending on whether you want a retrofit over the existing deadbolt or a full replacement with the smart module integrated. We install and program Kwikset, Schlage, and Baldwin smart locks, and we configure keypad codes, app access, and temporary guest codes on-site. If you live in a condo building on East-West Highway, check with your board before buying hardware. Some Silver Spring buildings still restrict smart lock installation on common-area doors.
Keyless Entry and Keypad Locks
Keyless entry is a practical answer for Silver Spring households with teenagers, dog-walkers, or Airbnb turnover. A keypad deadbolt installation runs $80 to $180 in labor, plus the lock. The good part in this climate: keypad locks eliminate the keyway that Silver Spring’s humid summers and freeze-thaw winters corrode. No keyway, no seized cylinder, no frozen pin and tumbler to fight at 2 a.m. in February. We install keyless entry systems on single-family homes throughout Silver Spring, and we program every code in front of you before we leave.
Biometric Locks
For Silver Spring homeowners who want a fingerprint-scanning deadbolt, installation runs $250 to $500 including the lock. Biometric locks make sense on doors where key control matters, like a home office or a basement unit with restricted access. They’re also useful for rental property owners along Georgia Avenue who can’t keep reissuing keys every time a tenant changes. One note for our market: high-security biometric hardware, including Mul-T-Lock and Abloy models, requires factory-authorized installation to keep the warranty valid. We’re authorized on those brands, and we do the work in Silver Spring with documentation a freeholder or property manager can file with the lease.
What happens when you call
- 1
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 Silver Spring
We work on the full spectrum of lock hardware in Silver Spring, from entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage to high-security Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, and Sargent. That matters in this market specifically because the Georgia Avenue apartment corridor is notorious for mismatched hardware: a Schlage deadbolt paired with a Kwikset knob and a third-party mail lock. One brand’s cylinder geometry doesn’t always accept another brand’s master pins, which is why those retrofits fail silently. We stock common parts for these buildings, and we can usually rekey or service a Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, or Sargent lock in Silver Spring the same day. If you have a high-security cylinder, we can also cut restricted keys that a hardware store cannot duplicate. We’ll explain what that means for your building’s key control before you pay for anything.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Silver Spring Homes
- Seized deadbolts after ice storms. Silver Spring sits in the mid-Atlantic ice-storm belt, and freeze-thaw winters are rough on exterior locks. On Fenton Street we were called to a 1960s garden apartment where a tenant had been locked out by a seized Kwikset deadbolt after a February storm. Our tech used non-destructive entry to work the frozen pin and tumbler cylinder, then rekeyed the lock to a new key and upgraded the strike plate to an ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt so the property manager wouldn’t face the same call next winter.
- Mismatched hardware generations on Georgia Avenue. Older apartment buildings in the Georgia Avenue corridor frequently show three or four generations of lock brands installed by successive management companies. A Schlage deadbolt with a Kwikset knob and a third-party mail lock is common in that stretch. Master key system retrofits fail when one brand’s cylinder geometry doesn’t accept the master pins from another. We map the existing hardware first, report what we find, then do the retrofit in a way that actually works.
- Corrosion in high-humidity garden apartments. Silver Spring’s humid summers pull moisture into lock cylinders, especially in the older garden apartment complexes where pin tumblers go years without lubrication. A rushed rekey that doesn’t clean the cylinder leaves the new key grinding, and eventually the lock jams. We service the cylinder and the tailpiece before we rekey, so the deadbolt turns clean and throws properly.
- Deferred maintenance on Colesville Road. Property managers on Colesville Road run high-turnover buildings and often defer lubrication until something seizes. Rekeying a corroded lock without servicing the tailpiece leads to a deadbolt that turns but won’t throw. We see that exact call every month. The fix takes us twenty extra minutes, and it prevents a 2 a.m. lockout the following winter.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Silver Spring, MD
Here’s what you can expect to pay in Silver Spring, in writing, before we dispatch anyone:
| Service | Silver Spring Price Range |
|---|---|
| Standard rekey (per cylinder) | $19-$29 |
| Rekey plus service call | $95-$140 |
| Deadbolt replacement (entry-grade) | $180-$260 installed |
| Deadbolt replacement (ANSI Grade 1) | $280-$420 installed |
| Keypad or smart lock installation (labor only) | $80-$180 |
| Biometric lock installation (labor and hardware) | $250-$500 |
| Master key system retrofit (per door, surveyed) | $45-$90 |
| Key duplication (standard) | $2-$5 per key |
| Restricted or bump-resistant key duplication | $8-$25 per key |
The price your dispatcher quotes on the phone is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added at the door, no “parts fee” invented in your driveway. We survey master key and commercial jobs first, then issue a written scope and a flat per-lock price. If you already have a competitor’s written estimate, bring it to us. We offer a free second opinion on any written estimate for Lock Installation & Rekey work, no charge and no obligation.
We Also Serve Cities Near Silver Spring
Beyond Silver Spring, our lock installation and rekey team covers the surrounding Montgomery County market, including Lock Installation & Rekey in Silver Spring plus Bethesda and Rockville to the west, and Olney and Potomac to the north. If you’re in any of those areas, the same pricing rules apply: written quote on the phone, no changes at the door, documented photo record on every visit. Call (331) 310-8471 and ask for Daniel Novak’s team.
Serving Silver Spring, MD - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Silver Spring 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 Silver Spring
Yes. Montgomery County’s landlord-tenant code requires lock rekeying between tenancies. That means a landlord cannot hand the same key to a new tenant that the previous tenant held. For Silver Spring renters and property owners alike, this is why rekeying is a standing cost of doing business in this market, and why the garden apartment corridors along Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road generate near-constant rekey volume. We document every rekey with a photo record you can file with the lease. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written price before your next turnover.
Most 1960s mortise locks in Silver Spring’s East-West Highway buildings can be rekeyed, provided the cylinder and housing are still serviceable. Mortise locks use a different cylinder geometry than bored deadbolts, so the rekey requires a mortise-specific pin kit and an understanding of the original brand. If the lock body is corroded or the strike is failing, we’ll tell you that replacement is cheaper than repeated rekeying, and we’ll quote the replacement in writing before any work starts. Call (331) 310-8471 for a free estimate.
In most cases, yes. We use non-destructive entry techniques on Silver Spring apartment doors, including bypass tools and specialized picks for the specific brands involved, before considering any drilling. That matters on a freeholder-owned door, because drilling means a damage report and a replacement door bill. If we do have to drill, you get that in writing first, and the price includes the new lock and hardware. Call (331) 310-8471 with the location and we’ll give you a firm price on the phone.
We survey every door in the building first, document the cylinder brand and geometry on each, and then map which doors accept master pins and which need cylinder replacement. In the Georgia Avenue corridor, we regularly see a building where door one is Schlage, door two is Kwikset, and the mail locks are a third brand entirely. Some of those cylinders simply won’t accept the master pins from a different manufacturer. The fix is a phased retrofit with a written per-door price, so the property owner isn’t replacing every lock at once. Call (331) 310-8471 and ask for a master key system survey. It’s free.
Yes. We cut restricted and bump-resistant keys in Silver Spring from Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, and Sargent blanks. A restricted key requires a signature card and a locksmith-issued code to duplicate, which means the building handyman cannot walk into a hardware store and get a copy made for $3. That’s the point. If you live in a condo on East-West Highway or anywhere else in Silver Spring where key control matters, we’ll set up a restricted key system with documentation. Call (331) 310-8471 and ask for Daniel Novak’s team.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Silver Spring since 2002.