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 Livonia
Lock installation and rekeying in Livonia runs $35-$110 per cylinder for rekeying and $150-$420 for a new deadbolt installed, depending on the door’s age and condition. Most jobs in Livonia are finished same-day or next-day, and every quote is written before we dispatch, so the price you hear on the phone is the price on the invoice. Daniel Novak founded Novak Lock & Security in 2002 around one rule: name the price in writing, then do exactly that work. If you live in a 1950s-1970s brick ranch or split-level in Livonia, there’s a good chance your locks are original to the house. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll tell you what you have, what it’s worth rekeying, and what actually needs replacing.
Livonia’s housing stock was built out in one fast postwar push, mostly between 1952 and 1975. That means tens of thousands of doors in this city still carry the same Kwikset and Schlage hardware they left the factory with. We know these doors. We know how the wooden jambs have moved over 60 Michigan winters. And we know that a rekey isn’t always the right fix when the door itself was never prepped for a deadbolt.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Livonia’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We work in Livonia every week, and our technicians know the difference between a 1963 ranch near Schoolcraft and a 1972 side-split off Newburgh Road. That matters because the door prep, the jamb condition, and the existing hardware are different in nearly every Livonia home. Our Lock Installation & Rekey team has handled over 60,000 locks, keys, and systems since 2002, every one with a written price before work started and a documented photo record when we left.
Livonia customers call us for three reasons. First, the dispatcher quotes a firm price on the phone and the technician is not permitted to change it at the door. Second, every visit closes with a photo record of the work and the written scope, so there’s no question about what was done. Third, our crews are background-checked, uniformed, and trained to The Haven Standard, which includes Clause 1 verbatim: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice.
We answer calls 24/7 with a live person. When a lock binds at 7 a.m. on a January morning because the cylinder lubricant froze overnight, you don’t want a voicemail queue. You want a human who knows Livonia’s streets and can tell you when the truck will arrive.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Livonia
Most of what we do in Livonia falls into one of four categories. Here’s how each works on the homes we see here.
Deadbolt Installation
This is the most common job in Livonia, and it’s the one where local knowledge matters most. Many original doors in the ranch-home corridors between Five Mile and Eight Mile roads have only a single-cylinder knob lock and no deadbolt at all. Rekeying that knob doesn’t improve security because the door itself was never prepped for a deadbolt. We retrofit proper deadbolts into these doors, including repositioning strike plates on jambs that have racked out of plumb over decades of freeze-thaw. A new deadbolt installation in Livonia typically runs $150-$420, depending on the door and lock grade.
Smart Lock Installation
Smart locks can work on Livonia’s older doors, but not always as a drop-in. If your door has a standard 2⅛-inch bore and a deadbolt prep, a Yale or Schlage smart lock usually fits with minor adjustment. If the jamb has shifted and the deadbolt throw binds, the smart lock will inherit the same problem. We fix the jamb alignment first, then install. Smart lock installation in Livonia runs $200-$500 including the lock and labor, quoted in writing before we start.
Keypad Entry
Keypad locks are the most practical upgrade for Livonia’s layout, where the garage is often the actual entry door. A Baldwin or Schlage keypad deadbolt on the side door means you don’t fumble for keys with groceries. Keypad lock installation runs $180-$450 in Livonia. We stock common keypad models locally, so most installs don’t wait on parts.
Rekeying
Rekeying is the right call when the existing hardware is sound but you don’t know who has keys. For a new buyer in a 1970s Livonia split-level whose seller handed over three different keys for three different locks, rekeying every cylinder to one key is usually the cleanest, cheapest fix. Rekeying in Livonia runs $35-$110 per cylinder, plus a service call. If the original knob lock has a worn tailpiece or a frozen cylinder, we’ll tell you honestly whether rekeying it is worth the money or whether replacement is the better spend.
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 Livonia
We carry and service the brands that are actually on Livonia’s doors. Schlage and Kwikset are the originals on most 1950s-1970s homes. We also work factory-authorized on Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, and Sargent hardware for homeowners upgrading to something more serious. Because we stock common cylinders, tailpieces, and deadbolt prep kits for these older doors, most Livonia jobs are completed in one visit without waiting on a parts order.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Livonia Homes
- Deadbolt strikes that miss the plate. Livonia’s wooden door frames rack away from plumb over freeze-thaw cycles, so the deadbolt throw drifts off the strike plate. A quarter-inch shift in a 1963 ranch near Five Mile means the bolt doesn’t seat. We reposition the strike plate, which fixes the bind without replacing the door.
- Knob-lock-only front doors. Many original subdivisions were built with a single-cylinder knob lock and no deadbolt prep. Rekeying the knob doesn’t change the fact that the door kicks in. These doors need a deadbolt retrofit, not a cylinder swap.
- Frozen cylinders in January and February. Dried-out lubricant inside a 50-year-old cylinder hardens in a cold snap, and suddenly the correct key won’t turn. It’s one of the most common emergency calls we get from Livonia’s older homeowners. The fix is usually a disassemble, clean, and proper lubricant, not a new lock.
- Worn tailpieces on original knob locks. The key turns in the cylinder but the latch doesn’t retract. This is a mechanical failure that rekeying cannot fix. The tailpiece is worn. We replace the lock body and, when necessary, rekey the new cylinder to match your existing keys.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Livonia, MI
Here is what the work costs in Livonia, in writing. Rekeying runs $35-$110 per cylinder. Deadbolt installation runs $150-$420, including the lock. Smart lock installation runs $200-$500 with the lock included. Keypad entry runs $180-$450. The exact number depends on the door’s prep, the jamb condition, the hardware grade, and whether we’re matching existing keys. We quote the full price on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and there is no added call-out surcharge when the technician arrives. The number on the invoice is the number you were quoted. Estimates are free. Call (331) 310-8471.
We Also Serve Cities Near Livonia
Novak Lock & Security handles Lock Installation & Rekey in Livonia and the surrounding communities. We regularly work in Westland, Redford, Canton, and Dearborn Heights, covering the same ranch-home stock and freeze-thaw door problems throughout western Wayne County. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our Detroit office, with crews serving Livonia locally.
Serving Livonia, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Livonia 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 Livonia
If the door has only a knob lock and no deadbolt prep, rekeying it does not improve security. You need a deadbolt retrofit. We can install one into the existing door without drilling through the exterior, and the job usually runs $150-$420. Call (331) 310-8471 and describe the door; we’ll tell you what’s involved and quote it in writing.
It’s almost always the frame, not the lock. Livonia’s wooden door frames expand and contract through hard freeze-thaw cycles, and by mid-winter the deadbolt throw has drifted off the strike plate. We reposition the strike plate and check the cylinder lubricant. This is one of the most common January calls we answer in Livonia.
That’s a replacement. The tailpiece inside the knob is worn, and no amount of rekeying fixes a mechanical failure. We’ll replace the lock body and rekey the new cylinder to match your existing keys if you want to keep them. The work is quoted in writing before dispatch.
In most cases, yes, if the door has a standard 2⅛-inch bore and deadbolt prep. If the jamb has racked so far that the deadbolt binds, we correct the strike plate alignment first, then install. Smart lock installation in Livonia runs $200-$500 with the lock included. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote.
Rekey everything to one key if the hardware is still mechanically sound. That’s $35-$110 per cylinder and is usually done in one visit. If any of the locks have worn tailpieces, frozen cylinders, or are knob-lock-only with no deadbolt, we’ll recommend replacement on those specific doors and quote both options in writing before starting.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Livonia since 2002.