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 Washington Heights
Lock installation and rekey in Washington Heights runs on a different set of rules than most of the city, because this neighborhood is built around pre-war apartment housing with mortise locksets that predate modern deadbolt standards. A standard rekey on a mortise cylinder here costs $35-$55 per cylinder, quoted in writing before we touch a screw. Smart lock installation on a pre-war door with a thumbturn mortise runs $180-$340 depending on the hardware and what retrofitting the door requires. If you need a lock installed or rekeyed in Washington Heights, call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll give you a firm price on the phone, then send a background-checked technician who will not change that price at the door.
We have been working in Washington Heights long enough to know which buildings on Wadsworth Avenue still have their original Sargent mortise locks, which co-ops on Fort Washington Avenue have updated to electronic access, and which supers keep a drawer full of salvaged Yale parts because they know how hard the good ones are to find. That local knowledge matters because the hardware in these buildings does not always cooperate with off-the-shelf solutions. It rekeys fine in most cases. It does not always retrofit fine. Knowing the difference before we start is what keeps a $95 rekey from turning into a $450 lock replacement.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Washington Heights’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Novak Lock & Security has been doing lock installation and rekey work since 2002, and our techs have serviced more than 60,000 locks, keys, and systems in that time, every one with a written price before we started and a documented record when we left. That record matters in Washington Heights, where building supers need proof of work for management companies and landlords need documentation that a rekey was done to code. We do not ask you to take our word for it. You get a photo record of the work on every visit, included as standard, not as an upgrade.
Daniel Novak runs this company, and the rule that defines how we operate goes back to the day he opened: the dispatcher quotes a firm price, and the technician is contractually prohibited from changing it at the door. Haven Standard Clause 1 states it plainly: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. That means when a tenant on Pinehurst Avenue calls about a frozen mortise cylinder in February, they know what the job will cost before we arrive. No call-out surcharge added at the door. No bait-pricing. No “well, once we got here we saw…” games.
Every technician we send into Washington Heights is background-checked and uniformed. Calls are answered by a live person 24/7, not a voicemail queue. And every job, from a single cylinder rekey in a Riverside Drive co-op to a building-wide master key hierarchy rebuild off Broadway, carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not done right, we make it right.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Washington Heights
We offer the full Lock Installation & Rekey range, adapted to what Washington Heights buildings actually need. The pre-war stock here changes everything about how we approach a job. Here is what we do most in this neighborhood.
Smart Lock Installation
Smart locks in Washington Heights almost always mean retrofitting a mortise-style door that was not built for a standard cylindrical deadbolt. Most of the 1920s-1940s walk-ups and elevator buildings here still have mortise cassettes with a thumbturn on the inside, not a separate deadbolt hole. That does not mean a smart lock is impossible, it means the retrofit has to be planned. We have installed keypad smart locks on mortise doors throughout Washington Heights by mounting the smart mechanism at the existing cylinder position and wiring it to the deadlatch, preserving the original faceplate. A typical retrofit runs $220-$380 including the lock, quoted in writing before the tech leaves our office.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry in Washington Heights is most often requested by landlords and property managers who want to eliminate the cost of rekeying between tenants. A keypad system that uses changeable codes instead of physical keys solves the turnover problem, because the code changes in 30 seconds and the cylinder never needs to be touched. On a standard door, a keyless entry lock installation runs $180-$290. On a mortise door, we quote it case-by-case after seeing the door, but we will give you that quote in writing before any work starts.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks are the most common upgrade we install in Washington Heights rental units, for a simple reason: NYC Admin Code §27-2041 requires landlords to rekey between every tenancy, and a keypad eliminates that recurring labor cost. The landlord changes the code, not the cylinder. We install keypad deadbolts and keypad mortise-compatible systems throughout Washington Heights, and we are honest with you if your existing door will take the keypad cleanly or if the frame needs work first. Installed keypad deadbolts run $140-$240; mortise-compatible keypads run higher because of the retrofit labor.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks are rare in Washington Heights residential buildings, but we do install them where the tenant or owner wants fingerprint access and is willing to accept the maintenance tradeoff. The fundamental issue in this neighborhood is that pre-war mortise doors and biometric locks do not always play well together, because biometric hardware is designed around modern door prep. When a biometric install is feasible, it runs $280-$500 including the unit and integration. We will tell you straight if a biometric lock is a bad idea for your specific door, and recommend what actually works.
Master Key System
This is where Washington Heights work gets interesting. Multi-family buildings with supers need master key hierarchies, plain and simple. When a new super starts at a 5-story walk-up off St. Nicholas Avenue, or when management changes at a rent-stabilized building near J. Hood Wright Park, the master key system has to be rebuilt or re-pinned. We design and cut master key systems for Washington Heights buildings of every size, and we have the key control protocols in place so a random copy made at a hardware store does not break the hierarchy. A full building re-pin with new master and tenant keys runs $12-$18 per cylinder, plus the cost of new keys, with the full scope in writing before we start.
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 Washington Heights
We are factory-authorized on a range that covers everything from entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage to high-security Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, Baldwin, and Sargent. The Sargent and Mul-T-Lock names come up constantly in Washington Heights, because those are the mortise brands still in service in the old buildings and the high-security brands property managers specify when they want key control. When a super needs a Sargent mortise cylinder rekeyed and the original faceplate preserved, we can do that. When a management company wants Mul-T-Lock key control so tenants cannot duplicate keys at a hardware store, we can do that too. We keep parts for these systems stocked so Washington Heights customers are not waiting a week for a specialty component.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Washington Heights Homes
- Frozen or jammed mortise cylinders in pre-war doors. The original Sargent and Yale mortise locksets in Washington Heights buildings are now 80-100 years old, and the brass pins inside the cylinder wear down. When a tenant forces a key in a worn cylinder, the pins shear and the cylinder seizes. In most cases we can rekey the cylinder without replacing the lockset, but it requires non-destructive entry and patience, not a drill.
- Deadbolts that bind every autumn and spring. The steel and wood door frames in these aging buildings expand and contract through New York’s freeze-thaw cycles. Sometime around late October, deadbolts that worked all summer suddenly will not throw. Sometime around late March, they jam again. It is the frame moving, not the lock failing. We re-align strike plates and adjust bolt depths rather than selling you a new lockset you do not need.
- Handymen who drilled out a frozen cylinder and destroyed the faceplate. A frozen mortise cylinder looks like a simple swap to someone with a drill and confidence. It is not. Drilling often destroys the ornamental faceplate and the mortise cassette behind it, turning a $55 rekey into a $400+ full mortise lock replacement that could have been avoided. We see this in Washington Heights regularly, especially after a turnover when a landlord wants the unit rekeyed fast and calls whoever is cheapest. The cheapest fix usually costs more.
- Cheap deadbolts installed on warped pre-war entry doors. A $30 Kwikset deadbolt installed on a 1930s wood door with a frame that sags seasonally will fail. The bolt will not fully throw, the lock jams, and the tenant gets locked out during the first spring thaw. The deadbolt is not defective. It is the wrong lock for a door that moves. We install hardware matched to the actual condition of the door and frame, and we check the alignment before we leave.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Washington Heights, NY
Here are the real price ranges for Washington Heights, in dollars, not vague promises.
- Standard cylinder rekey (mortise or rim cylinder): $35-$55 per cylinder, parts included, quoted in writing before we start.
- New deadbolt installation on a standard door: $140-$240 depending on the grade of the lock, including labor.
- Smart lock retrofit on a mortise door: $220-$380 including the lock and the retrofit labor.
- Keypad deadbolt install: $140-$240, depending on the door prep.
- Building master key system re-pin: $12-$18 per cylinder plus key cutting, scoped in writing.
- Emergency lockout with rekey: $95-$160 for most Washington Heights callouts, lock depending.
These are the prices you pay. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. No “the parts cost more than we thought” add-ons. Bring us a written estimate from another locksmith and we will review it at no charge, whether you hire us or not. That has been our practice since 2002 and we will put it in writing before you commit.
We Also Serve Cities Near Washington Heights
Novak Lock & Security serves all of Washington Heights and the surrounding boroughs, including New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. If your building is outside Washington Heights but within the metro area, call us at (331) 310-8471 and we will tell you straight whether we can get to you and what the visit will cost.
Serving Washington Heights, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Washington Heights 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 Washington Heights
Yes. NYC Admin Code §27-2041 requires that every apartment door be equipped with a deadlock or deadbolt that meets specific standards, and the practical effect is that landlords must change or rekey cylinders between tenancies so a departing tenant does not retain working keys. In Washington Heights, where rent-stabilized units turn over nearly year-round, this creates a continuous rekey workload that does not exist in owner-occupied neighborhoods. If you are a landlord or management company, call (331) 310-8471 and we will set up a rekey schedule that keeps you in compliance without disrupting your turnover timeline.
In most cases, yes. A frozen mortise cylinder is usually the result of worn brass pins, not a failed lockset. We use non-destructive entry to remove the cylinder, re-pin it, and reinstall it, keeping the original faceplate and mortise cassette untouched. The exceptions are cylinders that have been drilled by a previous handyman, or cassettes with broken internal pivot points. On a 1930s walk-up off St. Nicholas Avenue, our techs recently rebuilt two original Sargent mortise assemblies with new pin-and-tumbler cylinders and matching strike plates, then reinstalled the original faceplates to preserve the pre-war look, all without touching the door frames. That is the kind of repair we do in Washington Heights rather than defaulting to a replacement.
Because the building’s door frames move. The steel and wood frames in these 1920s-1940s buildings expand and contract through New York’s freeze-thaw cycles, and that seasonal shift is enough to throw a deadbolt out of alignment. It is not a failing lock, and replacing the deadbolt will not fix it. What fixes it is re-aligning the strike plate and adjusting the bolt depth to accommodate the frame movement. We do these adjustments throughout Washington Heights every autumn and early spring, and the repair typically runs $80-$120 including a service call, quoted in writing before we dispatch.
Yes, in most buildings. Mortise doors with a thumbturn lack the standard 2-1/8-inch deadbolt bore that most smart locks require, but there are retrofit approaches that keep the mortise function intact. We have installed keypad smart locks and keyless entry systems on mortise doors throughout Washington Heights by mounting the smart mechanism at the existing cylinder position. Each door is assessed individually, and the written quote includes any retrofit labor so there are no surprises. If your door is too far gone, we will tell you that before you spend money on hardware that will not work.
Because the good parts are getting hard to find, and a smart super knows that a salvage drawer beats a week of waiting for a specialty order. The 5-to-7-story walk-ups and elevator buildings in Washington Heights were mostly built between the 1920s and 1940s, and many still have their original Sargent, Yale, and Corbin mortise locksets. When a cylinder seizes or a latch bolt breaks, the replacement parts are no longer in every supply house. Supers who have been on the job for 15 years keep salvaged parts because they know the alternative is a full lockset replacement the landlord will not want to pay for. We understand that world. We keep our own stock, and we can often repair rather than replace precisely because we know where to find what those old buildings need.
When you need lock installation or rekey in Washington Heights, call (331) 310-8471. You will get a live person, a firm written price, and a technician who knows the difference between a pre-war mortise that can be rekeyed and a door that needs real work. Estimates are free, and the price we quote on the phone is the price on the invoice.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Washington Heights since 2002.