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 Upper Arlington
Lock installation and rekeying in Upper Arlington typically costs $85-$220 per lock for standard residential work, and rekeying alone runs $25-$65 per cylinder. Most jobs we service in Upper Arlington are completed the same day, often within a two-hour window. The older homes here change the math, though. A 1940s Corbin mortise lock needs different handling than a new-build Kwikset deadbolt, and we carry the parts for both. Call (331) 310-8471 and our dispatcher will quote a firm price before anyone rolls a truck.
Upper Arlington’s streets are lined with Colonial Revivals, Tudors, and Capes built between the 1920s and 1950s. That means solid-wood doors cut to non-standard widths, original brass faceplates, and lock hardware that predates modern cylinder standards. We know what’s behind those doors because we’ve rebuilt, rekeyed, and replaced thousands of them. Daniel Novak has built this company since 2002 on a single rule: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. That rule applies on every Upper Arlington job, from a simple rekey in Kingsdale to a full smart lock retrofit along Cambridge Boulevard.
Why Upper Arlington Homeowners Call Novak Lock & Security for Lock Installation & Rekey
Three things set us apart in Upper Arlington. First, our technicians understand the hardware. When a homeowner on Guilford Road refuses to swap a 1940s Sargent mortise lock for a modern deadbolt, we don’t argue with them. We rebuild the Sargent. We source period-matching cylinders, rekey the five-pin tumbler to a new restricted key, and keep the brass faceplate untouched. That’s not a service most locksmiths offer, because most locksmiths don’t inventory parts from defunct pattern books.
Second, our pricing holds. The dispatcher quotes a written price before dispatch, and the technician is contractually prohibited from changing it on your doorstep. Haven Standard Clause 1. That’s been our rule since 2002, and it’s the reason homeowners in Upper Arlington come back to us when they buy their next house. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. No “the lock is worse than expected” upcharge. The number on the phone is the number on the invoice.
Third, every visit ends with a documented photo record left with you. Not a promise. A procedure. You’ll see what we saw, what we did, and the condition of the hardware before and after. Daniel Novak built that standard because a real name in a trade built on trust is the whole argument.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Upper Arlington
Smart Lock Installation
Smart lock installation in Upper Arlington runs $150-$350 depending on the lock model and door preparation. The complication here is the door. Most UA homes have solid-wood entry doors that are thicker than the standard 1-3/4 inches, and many smart lock tailpieces aren’t long enough for the job. We stock extension kits and adapter plates for Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, August, and Kwikset Halo, and we test the lock through its full range before we leave. If you bought a smart lock at a big-box store and it won’t fit your colonial’s front door, call us before you drill anything.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry installation in Upper Arlington typically costs $120-$280. For most homes, that means a keypad deadbolt or a lever with a code. On an older Tudor, it often means retrofitting a keypad onto a door that still has a mortise lock. We can add a standalone keypad deadbolt above the original lock without removing the vintage hardware, or we can install a mortise-compatible keypad cylinder if you want one lock to do both jobs. We’ll show you the options on paper before we start.
Keypad Lock
A keypad lock in Upper Arlington runs $90-$250 installed. We recommend models with a physical key backup rather than keypad-only units, especially on older doors where frame movement can shift the strike plate seasonally. We see this most often along Cambridge Boulevard and in the Golden Triangle, where original door frames have settled out of plumb and need a technician who can adjust both the lock and the frame. All keypad installs include programming, a demo, and a written record of your codes.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks in Upper Arlington are a growing request, mostly for interior doors: home offices, wine rooms, gun safes, and supply closets. Installed prices run $220-$450 per lock. Fingerprint recognition doesn’t work well outdoors in Central Ohio winters, so we’ll tell you plainly if a biometric lock is the wrong choice for your front door. For interior doors where you want audit-trail access control without carrying a key, they’re excellent. We stock and service biometric hardware from Samsung, eufy, and Ultraloq.
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 Upper Arlington
We’re factory-authorized for work on Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, Sargent, and Abloy, along with full residential lines from Schlage and Kwikset. That matters in Upper Arlington because so many homes here have original Sargent mortise locks still in daily use, and Baldwin hardware appears on the high-end replacements. We stock cylinders, springs, cams, strike plates, and faceplates for these brands in our Columbus-area inventory, which means most Upper Arlington jobs are completed in one visit without waiting on a parts order. If you have a restricted key system from Mul-T-Lock or Medeco, we can rekey it, duplicate keys, and manage key control without compromising the patent.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Upper Arlington Homes
- Vintage mortise locks that nobody will touch. The original Corbin and Sargent units in 1930s-1950s Colonials and Tudors have worn tumblers, broken springs inside the lock case, and skeleton keys that no longer engage. Most locksmiths recommend a full replacement. We rebuild them, rekey them to modern keys, and preserve the period faceplate.
- Smart locks that don’t fit the door. Big-box smart locks are built for modern 1-3/4-inch doors. Upper Arlington’s solid-wood doors are often 2 inches thick or shimmed unevenly. We modify the mortise pocket or install a proper adapter plate so the lock sits flush and turns cleanly.
- Frozen or gummed keyways after ice storms. Central Ohio freeze-thaw cycles freeze the exposed keyways on original brass mortise locks several times each winter. If anyone has already sprayed WD-40 inside, the pin and tumbler mechanism is gummed with residue and needs a full disassembly and cleaning.
- Multi-point locks on tall entry doors out of alignment. We see these on newer high-end builds along Riverside Drive and in the Kingsdale area. Freeze-thaw cycles shift the door frame, the multi-point lock binds, and the homeowner can’t open the door. We realign the lock and adjust the frame without damaging the hardware.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Upper Arlington, OH
Here’s the honest range for Upper Arlington, quoted in writing before we dispatch. Standard rekey per cylinder: $25-$45. New deadbolt installation: $90-$180. Smart lock installation: $150-$350. Full lock replacement with hardware: $120-$300 per door. Commercial or multi-point systems are surveyed and quoted as a written scope with a flat per-lock price. What changes the price in Upper Arlington is the door itself: thick solid-wood frames, mortise pockets that need modification, and vintage hardware that needs rebuilding rather than replacing. Call (331) 310-8471 for a free estimate over the phone. The full price is quoted before anyone is dispatched, and that is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. Ever.
We Also Serve Cities Near Upper Arlington
Our Lock Installation & Rekey team covers Upper Arlington and the surrounding Central Ohio market, including Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo. If you’re in a neighboring city and need the same written-price guarantee and factory-authorized work, call (331) 310-8471. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our Cleveland office; crews serve Upper Arlington locally with our full parts inventory.
Serving Upper Arlington, OH - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Upper Arlington 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 Upper Arlington
Yes. We rekey original Corbin and Sargent mortise locks while leaving the brass faceplate and trim intact, and this is one of the most common jobs we do in Upper Arlington’s older housing stock. The lock case comes out of the door, we remove the cylinder, replace the pins to a new key, and reassemble everything with the original faceplate in place. We can even cut new keys that match the period look. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote, and we’ll tell you on the phone whether your specific lock is a candidate for rekeying or if the springs inside need rebuilding first.
Restricted and patented keys can only be duplicated by a locksmith authorized for that keyway system, and yes, we are factory-authorized for Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy. You’ll need to provide your key control card or system owner information, and we verify the authorization before cutting anything. Duplication for restricted keys in Upper Arlington runs $12-$35 per key depending on the system. Bring us the key, the card, and a photo ID, or call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll walk you through what’s needed.
Usually yes, and this is one of the most common service calls we handle in Upper Arlington’s 1920s-1950s housing stock. The fix is typically an adapter plate or a longer tailpiece kit, and in some cases we modify the mortise pocket in the door to accept the new lock body. Expect to pay $150-$350 for smart lock installation when door modification is required. Call (331) 310-8471 with the make and model of the lock and we’ll tell you in five minutes whether it can be fitted to your door.
In Upper Arlington, the most common cause is seasonal frame movement from Central Ohio’s freeze-thaw cycles, which pulls the door frame out of plumb and shifts the strike plate so the bolt binds against it. On older brass mortise locks, a second cause is that the original keyway lacks the sealed cylinder of a modern deadbolt, so ice and road grit accumulate inside and make the pins stick. We fix both problems: we realign the strike plate or router the pocket for clearance, and we clean and lubricate the cylinder internals. If the keyway is heavily corroded, we’ll quote a cylinder replacement. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll diagnose it over the phone before sending anyone out.
Yes, we add keypad deadbolts to homes that currently rely only on skeleton-key mortise locks, and we do it without removing the original hardware. We bore a standard deadbolt hole above the mortise lock, install a keypad deadbolt, and leave the vintage lock working as it always has. That’s the most common request from Upper Arlington homeowners who want keyless entry without losing the period look of their front door. Keypad deadbolt installation runs $90-$250 in Upper Arlington. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written estimate before we dispatch.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Upper Arlington since 2002.