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 Gravesend
Lock installation and rekey in Gravesend, NY typically runs $95-$185 for a standard deadbolt install, $25-$45 per cylinder for a rekey, and $250-$500 for a smart lock installation on an older row home door. We usually reach Gravesend homes within 30-45 minutes for scheduled work, and we quote every price in writing before dispatch. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. If you need a lock replaced, rekeyed, or upgraded on a 1920s brick semi-detached or a mid-century apartment off Avenue U, call (331) 310-8471 and a live person answers.
We work in Gravesend every week. This neighborhood has its own set of lock problems, and most of them trace back to two things: age and salt air. The housing stock east of McDonald Avenue and down toward Gravesend Bay is dense, brick, and built between the 1920s and 1950s. A lot of those front doors still carry their original mortise locks, and salt-laden humidity off the Bay finds its way into every one of them.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Gravesend’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Daniel Novak founded Novak Lock & Security in 2002, and the shop has since installed or serviced more than 60,000 locks, keys, and systems. That volume matters in Gravesend because this neighborhood throws a specific set of hardware failures at you: corroded mortise cases, seized cylinders, pitted strike plates, and door preps that were cut for hardware nobody stocks anymore. A locksmith who only knows modern cylindrical locks will struggle here. We know both.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey team carries backsets and replacement cases for the 2¾-inch mortise locks common on Gravesend row homes, and our technicians are background-checked and uniformed on every visit. The dispatcher quotes a firm price on the phone, and that price is the price on the invoice. That rule has been in place since 2002 under Haven Standard Clause 1, and it applies to every job in Gravesend without exception.
We also leave a documented photo record of the completed work with every customer. Not as an upgrade. As standard procedure. If a lock is rekeyed or a smart lock is installed, you see exactly what was done to your door before we leave.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Gravesend
Smart Lock Installation
Smart lock installation in Gravesend runs $250-$500 including the hardware, depending on the lock model and how much retrofitting the existing door prep requires. On many 1930s row homes near the original Gravesend grid around Village Road, the front door prep was cut for a mortise case, not a modern cylindrical deadbolt, so a smart lock install often involves adapting or replacing the case first. Salt air is a real factor here too: we recommend smart locks with marine-grade internal components or at minimum a sealed exterior escutcheon, because a standard zinc-alloy smart lock on a south-facing Gravesend door will start showing internal corrosion within two to three years.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry installs in Gravesend cost $220-$480, and the local consideration is the same as with smart locks: the mechanism has to survive a humid marine microclimate. We fit keyless entry systems with stainless or marine-grade strike plates and sealed keypads when the door faces south or west toward Gravesend Bay. If you are keeping the original mortise lock as a secondary lock, we can key the keyless system to the same key if you want one key for everything.
Keypad Lock
A keypad lock install in Gravesend typically runs $180-$350 for a quality deadbolt-integrated unit. On older row homes near Avenue U and Kings Highway, the challenge is the door prep: many of these doors have a 2¾-inch backset mortise pocket that was never meant to carry a standalone keypad deadbolt. We either ream the prep to spec (done carefully, without blowing out the door edge) or adapt a mortise-compatible keypad. The salt air concern applies here too: we always recommend a sealed keypad face and a stainless strike.
Biometric Lock
Biometric lock installation in Gravesend starts around $350 and goes up to $600 on original mortise doors that need case adaptation. Fingerprint readers are sensitive to grime and oxidation, so on Gravesend doors near the water we recommend units with an IP65 or better exterior rating and a secondary mechanical key override. We also rekey the mechanical cylinder during install so you are not inheriting the factory key from the manufacturer.
Key Duplication
Standard key duplication in Gravesend runs $3-$8 per key, and high-security key duplication for restricted systems (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy) runs $15-$40 per key with proof of ownership. We cut keys on-site from the original, and if the original key is heavily worn or showing early signs of brass pitting from salt exposure, we will tell you before we cut a copy, because a copied worn key just duplicates the problem.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
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 Gravesend
We are factory-authorized on Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, Baldwin, and Schlage hardware, and we stock replacement cylinders, mortise cases, and strike plates for the Baldwin and Sargent mortise locks that show up regularly on older Gravesend row homes. For high-security work we lean on Mul-T-Lock and Abloy cylinders, which hold up better against the salt air off Gravesend Bay than standard brass. If you have a Baldwin mortise lockset that is seizing, we would rather overhaul the original case than swap in a cheap replacement, because the original solid brass cases on these homes are often worth saving.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Gravesend Homes
- Internal corrosion of pin and tumbler stacks: Salt-laden humidity from Gravesend Bay seeps into cylinders over years, especially on south- and west-facing doors. The key still enters, but pins stick, the plug drags, and eventually a key snaps off in the cylinder. We see this constantly on homes off McDonald Avenue and along Avenue V.
- Seized deadbolt bolts inside original mortise cases: The bolt and the strike plate both corrode, pit, and freeze. The key turns, but the bolt will not throw. On 2¾-inch backset mortise locks from the 1920s and 1930s, the fix is usually a full case swap, not lubrication. Penetrating oil will not bring back a case that has been breathing salt air for eighty years.
- Corroded strike plates that warp or split the door frame: A pitted strike plate catches the bolt, the homeowner forces the door, and the frame splits. This is common on attached and semi-detached row homes where the front door faces the wind off the Bay. We replace the strike with a marine-grade stainless plate and re-seat the frame before it fails completely.
- Backset mismatches on replacement hardware: Big-box stores sell 2⅜-inch backset deadbolts by default. Gravesend doors from the 1920s through the 1950s frequently have 2¾-inch backset mortise preps. Homeowners buy a standard deadbolt, drill a new hole, and end up weakening the door edge. We keep 2¾-inch backsets and period mortise cases in stock specifically because this neighborhood needs them.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Gravesend, NY
Here is what you can expect to pay in Gravesend, quoted in writing before we dispatch:
- Standard deadbolt installation: $95-$185 per lock, labor included.
- Rekey (standard cylinder): $25-$45 per cylinder. Rekeying multiple cylinders to one key: $25 for the first, $15-$25 per additional.
- Mortise case overhaul or swap (2¾-inch backset): $180-$320 depending on whether the original case can be salvaged or requires replacement with a marine-grade unit.
- Smart lock or keyless entry installation: $220-$500 including hardware.
- Biometric lock installation: $350-$600 on older mortise doors requiring case adaptation.
- Strike plate replacement (marine-grade stainless): $35-$75 installed.
These are honest ranges for Gravesend’s market. The main variable is the condition of the existing door prep. A 1930s mortise door that needs a case swap costs more than a 2005 door that takes a standard cylindrical deadbolt. The price we quote on the phone is the price on the invoice. No bait pricing, no arrival surcharge. Every estimate is free, and we are happy to review a competitor’s written quote at no charge.
We Also Serve Cities Near Gravesend
Novak Lock & Security serves Gravesend and the surrounding neighborhoods of New York City, including Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our New York City office, and crews are sent out to Gravesend jobs locally. Call (331) 310-8471 for service anywhere in the area.
Serving Gravesend, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Gravesend 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 Gravesend
Gravesend sits immediately inland from Gravesend Bay and within blocks of the Coney Island coastal strip, so the air carries a persistent salt-laden humidity that neighborhoods further inland do not get. That salt works its way into the pin and tumbler stacks and the deadbolt bolt itself, seizing them from the inside out. The visible hardware often looks fine while the internals are corroded solid. This is why so many Gravesend mortise locks fail with no warning.
Call (331) 310-8471 if your key is sticking or your bolt is dragging. We’ll quote the fix in writing before anyone is dispatched.
Yes, in most cases we can rekey the original mortise lock without replacing the case. The cylinder comes out, the pins are swapped to a new key, and the original hardware stays in the door. The exception is when the case itself is so corroded that the bolt will not throw cleanly. At that point, rekeying the cylinder does not fix the actual problem, so we recommend a case overhaul or swap. We will show you the condition of the case before recommending replacement.
A 2¾-inch backset mortise case is a rectangular lock body mounted inside the edge of the door, set 2¾ inches back from the door edge. It was standard on 1920s through 1950s row homes, and it is largely phased out of modern production. Big-box stores default to 2⅜-inch cylindrical deadbolts, which do not fit these preps. On Gravesend doors, the challenge compounds because salt air corrodes the case internally, so a simple cylinder swap is often not enough. Sourcing compatible cases and adapting modern hardware to century-old door preps is a practical specialty we handle regularly here.
Salt air accelerates internal corrosion in smart locks, particularly on south- and west-facing doors that catch the wind off Gravesend Bay. Standard zinc-alloy smart locks can start showing internal problems within two to three years. We recommend smart locks with sealed exterior escutcheons, marine-grade strikes, and at minimum an IP65 weather rating. We also rekey the mechanical override cylinder during install so you are not relying on the manufacturer’s factory key.
Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote on a smart lock install in Gravesend. Estimates are free, and the price is written before dispatch.
We arrive, examine the lock, and tell you what we found before any work is quoted. On a seized mortise lock near Avenue U, that usually means pulling the cylinder, inspecting the pin stacks for salt corrosion, and checking whether the case and bolt are salvageable. You get a written price to overhaul or replace the case, a written price to rekey, and a documented photo record of the condition before and after. No work starts until you approve the written scope.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security. Serving Gravesend, NY with written-price lock installation and rekey since 2002.