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 Boston
A lock installation or full rekey in Boston typically runs $95-$260 per lock depending on whether we’re fitting new hardware into an existing door prep or rekeying cylinders on a century-old mortise set. Most jobs are completed same-day, and because we stock our vans for the city’s specific housing stock, we’re not making second trips across the Charles for parts. We quote a firm price on the phone before anyone leaves our Boston dispatch desk, and that number is the number on your invoice. Call (331) 310-8471 and you’ll talk to a live person, not a queue.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Boston’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We’ve worked enough triple-deckers in Dorchester, brownstones on Beacon Hill, and gut-renovated condos in South Boston to know that Boston doesn’t have one kind of door. It has about six, and they all need different hardware. The original mortise locks in an 1880s Back Bay parlor apartment aren’t something a residential locksmith in a strip-mall suburb sees twice a month. Here, it’s Tuesday. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, every visit ends with a written record and a photo file of the work, and our 365-Day Done Right Promise applies the same in the South End as it does in East Boston.
Daniel Novak built the company on a rule that’s been in place since 2002: Haven Standard Clause 1, the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. A technician is not permitted to change that number on your doorstep. We say it plainly because in this trade, particularly in Boston’s rental-heavy neighborhoods, plenty of operators won’t. Every Lock Installation & Rekey job we’ve done, from a single Kwikset cylinder swap in Charlestown to a 12-unit master-key system in Allston, started with a written price and ended with a documented record.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Boston
Smart Lock Installation
Most smart lock installations in Boston run $180-$350 including hardware and labor when we’re working with standard door prep. That covers brands like Schlage Encode and Yale Assure, and we’ll check the Wi-Fi signal at the door before drilling anything. Older triple-deckers with non-standard preps often need a small retrofit plate, which we carry on the van rather than special-ordering. Callout to a Fenway condo or a single-family in West Roxbury is the same procedure: written price, standard work documented in photos, done right the first time.
Keyless Entry & Keypad Lock Installation
Keypad lock installation in Boston lands between $150-$320 depending on the grade of lock and the condition of the existing strike. We recommend stainless strikes as standard near the harbor because salt air eats plated brass within two winters. Landlords in Cambridge and Somerville commonly schedule keypad installs on multi-family entries between tenant turns so they can rotate codes instead of calling a locksmith every time a roommate moves out. We’ll explain the difference between a standalone keypad and a retrofit smart module before you commit to either.
Biometric Lock Installation
Biometric locks in Boston’s market are mostly going on high-traffic interior doors: offices in converted mills, restricted storage areas, and a growing number of short-term rental units. Realistic installed pricing starts around $260 and can run to $600 for weather-sealed fingerprint readers built into heavy deadbolts. Fingerprint readers on a Boston exterior door must be IP-rated and able to handle sub-freezing mornings; we won’t install an interior-grade reader outside without telling you what will happen to it by February.
Key Duplication
Standard key duplication is $4-$12 per key at our Boston service counter, and Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, or Sargent high-security duplications require the owner’s card and typically run $18-$45 per blank. We keep common Boston keyways in stock so a Jamaica Plain landlord picking up copies for three units doesn’t wait a week. For high-security cylinders, expect a short delay while the blank is verified against the system record. That’s how Medeco’s key control works, and we don’t bypass it.
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 Boston
Our techs are factory-authorized on Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, Baldwin, and Schlage, and we service Yale and Sargent on a daily basis. For Boston’s coastal-facing doors we lean on Schlage B560 and B660 deadbolts with stainless strikes, and for Beacon Hill and Back Bay mortise sets we carry Baldwin and Sargent-compatible components rather than forcing modern hardware into 140-year-old door preps. We stock the local stock: what fails in Boston’s climate is what we keep in the van. Full written quote before any work begins, on every job, including a single cylinder rekey in Chelsea or Everett.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Boston Homes
- Salt-air corrosion on coastal-facing doors. East Boston, South Boston, and Winthrop front doors get hit with marine salt and road spray year-round. Brass cylinders seize, keys stick, and the deadbolt eventually refuses to throw. We replace with weather-sealed cylinders and stainless strikes.
- Freeze-thaw frame swelling in old wood buildings. Dorchester triple-deckers and Jamaica Plain row houses built with long-grain fir door frames swell every winter when the heat goes off and on. The strike plate shifts a few millimeters, the deadbolt doesn’t align, and the door won’t lock. We fix it with repositioned strikes rather than telling you to lift the handle.
- Worn pin-and-tumbler cylinders on rental units. After 15 or 20 years of tenant turnover, original Kwikset or Schlage cylinders in Allston and Mission Hill apartments start accepting keys they were never cut for. That’s a security breach waiting for the wrong person. A rekey restores strict key control without replacing the entire lock body.
- September 1st mass turnover failures. Landlords who wait until the last week of August to schedule rekeying across a Boston rental portfolio often end up with partial service. We pre-stage rekeying kits by building and finish multi-unit buildings in one visit.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Boston, MA
Rekeying a standard cylinder in Boston runs $25-$45 per cylinder when done during a scheduled visit, and installing a new deadbolt runs $95-$260 depending on the lock grade. Here’s a tighter breakdown of what you’ll see before we start:
- Rekey single cylinder: $25-$45
- Rekey entire home (up to 6 cylinders): $150-$270
- New deadbolt install (standard prep): $95-$180
- Smart lock or keypad install: $150-$350
- Mortise lock rebuild or replacement: $260-$600 depending on box condition
- Strike replacement (stainless): $25-$60 installed
There’s no call-out surcharge added on arrival. The dispatcher gives you the price on the phone, the tech honors it in writing, and any extra work gets quoted on paper before a tool comes out. If you have a written estimate from another locksmith, bring it. We’ll review it at no charge.
We Also Serve Cities Near Boston
Beyond Boston, our crews cover Somerville, Cambridge, Chelsea, and Everett on the same dispatch schedule. A September 1st rekey in Somerville or a keypad install in a Cambridge condo is booked identically: firm phone quote, uniformed tech, written record when the job’s done.
Serving Boston, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Boston 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 Boston
Yes, if we can pre-schedule the building walkthrough in August. We pre-stage rekeying kits by building and coordinate access with the landlord so new tenants get keys at their scheduled move-in time. For buildings we’ve already documented, the rekey itself usually runs 20-30 minutes per unit. Call (331) 310-8471 in July or early August, because the week before September 1st is the one time we can’t promise same-day scheduling.
Salt air and road spray corrode the brass cylinder internals, and the freeze-thaw cycle makes the old wood frame swell. The bolt lands slightly off-center against the strike and jams. We replace the cylinder with a weather-sealed one and fit a stainless strike that gives the bolt a little more room. That usually solves it in one visit.
Yes, in most cases we can mount a modern keypad or smart lock above the original mortise lock and keep the original hardware intact for looks. We’ve done this on Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the South End. The door stays uncut, the old lock stays functional, and the new keypad controls the deadbolt from the outside. Expect $260-$450 for a proper mortise-compatible keypad install.
Same day if we have the blank for your keyway and your owner’s card is on file. Without the card, the blank can’t be legally cut. That’s the entire point of a Medeco system, and we don’t work around it. Most common Boston keyways we keep in stock, and a Medeco duplication runs $18-$45 per blank.
If the cylinder still turns smoothly and the key inserts without fighting, a $35 rekey is usually enough. If the key sticks, the bolt half-throws, or the tailpiece is visibly rusted, we’ll tell you to replace it. That’s a $95-$180 job with a better deadbolt and a stainless strike, and it will last far longer near the harbor. We’ll show you what we found before you decide.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Boston and the surrounding cities with the same written-price rule since the day we opened: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice.
Call for a Free Estimate in Boston
We answer our phones around the clock. If you need a lock installed, a home rekeyed, or a keypad that actually works through a Boston winter, call (331) 310-8471 now. You’ll get a live person, a written price, and a documented job you can keep on file.
Lock Installation & Rekey in Nearby Areas