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 Encino
Lock rekeying in Encino typically costs $18-$35 per cylinder, plus a $49-$79 service call fee depending on where in the neighborhood you are. A new deadbolt installation, including the hardware and labor, runs $95-$220 for entry-grade and $175-$400 for high-security. Those are firm numbers, quoted in writing on the phone before anyone is dispatched. That’s how Novak Lock & Security has worked since 2002, and it’s the rule our technicians in Encino are contractually required to follow: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. Call (331) 310-8471 and you’ll get a live person, a written quote, and no bait-and-switch at the door.
We know Encino’s streets well enough to tell you what’s causing the problem before we even arrive. North of Ventura Boulevard, it’s usually heat-warped gate frames and estate properties with four to six separate access points. South of Ventura, it’s 1950s and 1960s ranch homes with original builder-grade deadbolts that have been binding for a decade. That matters because the fix is different in each case, and the price should be different too.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Encino’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We’ve installed or serviced over 60,000 locks, keys, and systems since 2002, and a significant share of that work happens right here in Encino, from the flat ranch tracts south of Ventura Boulevard to the gated estates in Encino Hills. The work in those two zones doesn’t look the same. South of the Boulevard, we’re often rekeying original Kwikset and Weiser hardware on settled door frames that haven’t been touched since the Johnson administration. North of the Boulevard, we’re swapping in Medeco and Mul-T-Lock cylinders on guesthouses, pool houses, and motorized gates served by the same key system.
Every technician we send into Encino is background-checked, uniformed, and works to The Haven Standard, the same documented quality framework we’ve applied on every job for over two decades. Before any work starts, you get a written scope with line-item pricing. After the job is done, you get a documented photo record of what was installed or rekeyed. That’s not an upgrade. It’s procedure.
Our dispatch is coordinated from the brand’s Los Angeles office, and crews serve Encino locally, so response times are typically under an hour for emergency calls anywhere between the 405 and White Oak Avenue. For scheduled installation and rekeying work, we arrive in a two-hour window and call when we’re 20 minutes out. Nobody from Novak Lock & Security shows up unannounced or unprepared.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Encino
Smart Lock Installation
A smart lock in Encino has to survive two things: 105°F-plus summer heat that expands door frames, and the reality that many homes south of Ventura Boulevard still have original 1960s door prep that doesn’t align with modern deadbolt geometry. We install Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and Baldwin smart locks, and we’ll tell you honestly if your existing door prep needs adjustment before the lock will throw cleanly. That conversation happens on the phone, with the price in writing, before we ever touch the door. Smart lock installation in Encino runs $150-$280 in labor plus hardware.
Keypad Lock Installation
Keypad locks are popular in Encino for the same reason they’re popular everywhere: no key to lose, and a code you can change after a contractor or housekeeper has had access. But on Encino’s west- and south-facing doors, the bigger issue is mechanical. Aluminum door frames on those exposures thermally expand in the August heat and visibly misalign the deadbolt throw. We’ll install a keypad lock and verify the bolt seats fully in both the cool morning and the 4 p.m. heat peak, because a lock that works at 9 a.m. can fail at 3 p.m. if the frame is shifting. Keypad lock installation in Encino runs $120-$240 in labor plus hardware.
High-Security Rekeying (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock)
If your Encino home currently uses builder-grade Schlage or Kwikset hardware, rekeying to a high-security cylinder is the single highest-value upgrade you can make. Medeco and Mul-T-Lock cylinders cannot be picked or bumped with standard tools, and their keys cannot be cut at a hardware store. That means a former contractor, a previous owner, or anyone who ever held a key to your home cannot simply have a copy made. In Encino, where secondary structures like guesthouses and pool houses mean there are often six or more locks on one property, a master key system on high-security cylinders is the cleanest solution. High-security rekeying in Encino runs $35-$75 per cylinder, depending on the brand and keying configuration.
Estate-Wide Rekeying for Multi-Structure Properties
Encino’s large-lot estates north of Ventura Boulevard routinely have four to six separate access points: main house, guesthouse, pool house, detached garage, and sometimes a secondary gate or side entry. Rekeying all of them to a single key, or setting up a master key system where one key opens everything and subordinate keys open only specific doors, is a standard job for us. We quote it per cylinder in writing, and the document spells out exactly which locks are keyed alike, which are keyed differently, and what keying system applies. No surprises on the invoice. Haven Standard Clause 1: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice.
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 Encino
We work across the full security spectrum, from entry-grade Kwikset, Schlage, and Yale to high-security Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Baldwin, and Abloy. Most Encino homes we visit have a mix: a smart lock on the front door, a builder-grade deadbolt on the side door, and a high-security cylinder on the gate. That’s normal. We stock cylinders, tailpieces, strikes, and gate hardware in our service vehicles, and we keep heat-specific components on hand for Encino’s August-September call surge: stainless-steel strikes, oversized latch plates, and alignment shims. When you call for a rekey or installation in Encino, we bring the parts that actually survive this climate.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey team handles everything from a single door to an entire hillside estate, using brand-matched hardware and factory-authorized procedures. We’ll tell you which brand makes sense for which door, and the price is always in writing before anyone turns a cylinder.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Encino Homes
- Deadbolts that bind every August: Encino sits in a Valley heat pocket where summer temperatures hit 105-110°F, often 15°F hotter than coastal LA. Steel door frames and deadbolt bolts expand in that heat, and the bolt no longer seats. We see this on west- and south-facing doors most often, and we fix it with frame alignment adjustments or a stainless-steel strike plate rather than just forcing the bolt through.
- Latch and key jams on settled 1950s-1970s ranch frames: South of Ventura Boulevard, the original homes were built in the 1950s through 1970s, and the door frames have settled over decades. The original builder-grade hardware often still works, but the frame has shifted enough that the latch binds against the strike. A rekey can fix the key side of the problem, but the latch alignment needs to be corrected at the same time, or you’ll be back to jamming within a season.
- Motorized gate strikes that stop catching after a heat wave: On the hillside streets of Encino Hills, estate driveways have motorized gate systems whose strike plates and latch assemblies lose alignment after the July-August heat peaks warp the gate frame. We keep gate-hardware adjustment kits stocked specifically for the post-heatwave call surge that hits every August and September.
- Multiple structures with mismatched keying: A single Encino estate can have a main house, guesthouse, pool house, and two detached garages, each on a different key or cylinder type. Rekeying means four to six separate access points on one property, and the old DIY habit of “just match the locks to the house key” often leaves two or three cylinders with different keyways that can’t be rekeyed to the same key at all. We map the property, catalog the keyways, and give you a written keying schedule so every lock is accounted for.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Encino, CA
Here’s what you can expect to pay in Encino, and these numbers are what we quote on the phone, in writing, before we dispatch:
- Rekey existing lock (per cylinder): $18-$35
- High-security rekey (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, per cylinder): $35-$75
- New deadbolt installation (entry-grade, includes hardware): $95-$180
- New deadbolt installation (high-security, includes hardware): $175-$400
- Smart lock or keypad lock installation (labor only, hardware extra): $120-$280
- Service call fee (Encino): $49-$79, credited toward the work if you approve the job
- Emergency lockout response (Encino): $85-$140, including non-destructive entry
Two things affect your final price in Encino specifically: the age and condition of your door frames, and the number of access points on the property. A 1960s ranch south of Ventura with one door needs less work than an Encino Hills estate with a gate, guesthouse, and pool house. We quote the full price on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and that price is the price on the invoice. There is no call-out surcharge added on arrival, no “we found something else” upcharge. If we find an issue that changes the scope, we stop and get your written approval on the new line item before continuing. That’s been the rule since 2002.
We also offer a free second opinion on any written estimate. Bring us a competitor’s quote for lock installation or rekeying in Encino and we’ll review it at no charge. If our work doesn’t hold up, the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers it: if it’s not done right, we make it right.
We Also Serve Cities Near Encino
Novak Lock & Security serves the surrounding San Fernando Valley and Westside communities, including Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, and Canoga Park. If you’re researching Lock Installation & Rekey in Encino or just across the 405, the same written pricing rules and same documented procedures apply everywhere we go. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll let you know our current response time to your neighborhood.
Serving Encino, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Encino 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 Encino
Your deadbolts aren’t failing; your door frame is moving. Encino’s inland Valley location makes it one of the hottest spots in greater Los Angeles during heat events, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 105°F. Steel door frames and deadbolt bolts thermally expand in that dry heat, and on west- and south-facing doors the expansion is enough to misalign the throw so the bolt no longer seats cleanly. The fix is usually frame realignment with a stainless-steel strike, not replacing the lock itself. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll diagnose it over the phone and quote you the repair in writing.
Yes, in most cases. If the existing cylinders are compatible keyways, we can rekey every lock on the property to a single key, or set up a master key system where one key opens everything and subordinate keys open only specific doors. The variable is whether the existing hardware is all one brand and keyway; many Encino estates have a mix of Kwikset, Schlage, and occasional high-security cylinders that can’t be keyed alike. We catalog every lock, document the keying schedule in writing, and quote per cylinder before we start. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote.
It’s a locksmith job when the problem is the strike plate and latch assembly, which is what heat does to gate frames in Encino. The July-August heat peak warps the gate frame enough that the strike plate shifts, often by a quarter-inch or more, and the latch no longer engages. We keep gate-hardware adjustment kits and stainless-steel strikes on our Encino service vehicles specifically for this post-heatwave pattern. If the gate operator or hinges are the issue, we’ll tell you and refer you to a gate contractor. But the latch-and-strike alignment is ours. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written quote.
Full stainless-steel hardware with marine-grade finishes holds up best here: stainless strikes, stainless latch plates, and cylinders with corrosion-resistant internals. The heat is the bigger enemy than the marine air for most Encino doors, though, because thermal expansion is what binds deadbolts and warps gate frames. For high-security needs, Medeco and Mul-T-Lock cylinders perform reliably in this climate, which is why they’re common on Encino Hills estates. Our Lock Installation & Rekey team will recommend hardware based on the specific exposure of each door, not a one-size-fits-all part. Estimates are free, and the price is in writing before we start.
Rekeying is always step one, because it immediately cancels the security risk of keys that are floating around from previous owners, contractors, and housekeepers. Whether to replace depends on the condition of the frames and the grade of the existing hardware. Original 1960s builder-grade deadbolts on settled frames are often ANSI Grade 3, which is the lowest security rating; you can buy them at any hardware store for $12. Rekeying buys you key control, but it doesn’t buy you physical security if the deadbolt itself is weak. We’ll assess each door, tell you what you have, and quote both options in writing. You decide. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll walk you through it.
On a hillside estate in Encino Hills north of Ventura Boulevard, our tech found a motorized driveway gate whose strike plate had shifted a full quarter-inch after the August heat warped the gate frame, so the latch no longer engaged. We realigned the gate hardware with a stainless-steel strike, then rekeyed the six access points on the property: main house, guesthouse, pool house, and two detached garages. We switched the locks to Schlage B60N deadbolts with bump-resistant cylinders and set up a master key system so the owner only needs one key for the entire estate. That’s the Encino job in a nutshell: heat damage on the gate, multiple structures on one keying schedule, and hardware chosen for the climate.
For honest, written pricing and a locksmith who shows up on time and documents the work, call Novak Lock & Security at (331) 310-8471. We serve Encino seven days a week, answer the phone with a live person, and quote the full price before anyone is dispatched. Daniel Novak stands behind every job, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise means if it’s not done right, we make it right.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Encino since the company’s founding in 2002.