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 North Miami
Lock installation and rekey in North Miami typically runs $65-$145 per cylinder for rekeying and $95-$240 per lock for new hardware installation, quoted in writing before we dispatch. That price is firm: the number we give you on the phone is the number on the invoice. No door surcharge, no “minimum trip fee” added when the tech arrives. If you’re dealing with a lock that won’t turn, a new home, or a tenant just moved out, call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll have a background-checked, uniformed technician to your door within 45 minutes in most North Miami neighborhoods.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is North Miami’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We work this city every day. Our technicians know the difference between a corroded cylinder on a 1972 garden apartment unit off NE 6th Avenue and a smart lock retrofit on a renovated bungalow in the Keystone Point area. That matters when you’re billing by the job and you don’t want three trips. We carry marine-grade replacement hardware on the truck, because standard zinc-alloy cylinders fail quickly in the salt air that rides in from Biscayne Bay.
Daniel Novak, who runs Novak Lock & Security, built the company around one clause that hasn’t changed since 2002: Haven Standard Clause 1, the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. North Miami renters and homeowners who’ve dealt with bait-and-switch call-out shops notice the difference. We’ve rekeyed thousands of rental units in North Miami’s garden apartment corridor, and most of our work here comes from repeat landlords and property managers who’ve learned what our written scope means: no surprises on the bill, a photo record left on site, and a documented warranty on every job.
We answer the phone 24/7 with a live person. Not a queue. Not an answering service that calls you back in 20 minutes. When you call at 2 a.m. from a locked courtyard on NE 125th Street, a real dispatcher picks up and quotes you a firm price on the spot.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in North Miami
Smart Lock Installation
Smart locks fail in North Miami if they’re not installed with stainless or marine-grade hardware. The problem isn’t the electronics. It’s the mounting plate, latch, and cylinder housing underneath them, which rust and seize in coastal humidity within 18 to 24 months. We install Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and Kwikset Halo systems on entry doors throughout North Miami, and we always replace the strike plate with a stainless one and seal the wiring path against salt intrusion. A typical smart lock installation in North Miami runs $189-$329 including hardware and labor, quoted in writing before we start.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry isn’t a luxury in North Miami’s rental market; it’s a management tool. Landlords along Biscayne Boulevard and NE 125th Street use keypad deadbolts so they don’t have to rekey mechanically between every tenant. We install keypad deadbolts and lever locks, program multiple user codes, and wipe the previous tenant’s access the same day. Keyless entry installation runs $145-$260 per door in North Miami, depending on the cylinder grade and whether you need a smart-enabled model with remote access.
Keypad Lock Repair & Replacement
Keypad locks on North Miami doors suffer two things: salt-corroded battery contacts and worn keypads from direct sun exposure. The canopy glass on older garden apartments doesn’t stop UV or humidity. We repair or replace keypad locks on the spot, carrying common Schlage and Kwikset keypad assemblies so a landlord doesn’t have to wait three days for a part. If your keypad beeps but won’t throw the bolt, call us; that’s usually a misaligned strike from frame shift, not a dead battery, and we fix it during a single visit.
Biometric Lock Installation
Biometric and fingerprint locks on North Miami’s coastline have to be humidity-tolerant. We prefer the Ultraloq and Samsung models with sealed sensor housings for exterior doors east of NE 6th Court, where salt fog is a daily event. Biometric lock installation runs $220-$380 including programming and the same stainless-hardware treatment we apply to every coastal install. If you’re renting, this is a structural change to the door, so you’ll want your landlord’s written OK. We’re happy to coordinate with property managers.
Trusted Brands We Service in North Miami
We work on everything from entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage hardware in rental turnovers to Mul-T-Lock and Abloy high-security cylinders on North Miami’s newer builds and renovated homes. When a Baldwin handleset on a Northeast Miami estate needs a working key instead of decorative hardware, we source factory parts rather than substituting Chinese knockoffs. Our trucks carry common cylinders, springs, pins, and tailpieces for North Miami’s aging hardware stock, because many of these garden apartment locks date to the 1970s and the manufacturer no longer sells the exact replacement. When that happens, we machine-fit a modern cylinder that seats correctly, rather than forcing a half-matching part.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in North Miami Homes
These are the failure modes we drive to every week between NE 6th Avenue and Biscayne Bay:
- Salt-seized cylinders that shear keys off. We replace a 1970s-era cylinder on a North Miami garden apartment where the key breaks off inside the plug on a normal turn. Not a dramatic forced entry. Just a tenant turning a key in a corroded lock. We extract the broken tip non-destructively and replace the cylinder, not the whole lock, saving the landlord the cost of new trim hardware.
- Misaligned strikes and deadbolts that bind. CBS construction expands and shifts with the year-round heat, so the door frame moves a few millimeters out of alignment. Your deadbolt throws perfectly when the door is open and won’t turn when the door is closed. That’s a strike plate problem, not a lock problem, and it’s the most common repair call in North Miami’s 1960s and 1970s homes.
- Worn tumblers from rental turnover. High-turnover rental units in North Miami rarely get rekeyed between tenants. We find cylinders packed with years of worn pins and old grease, which is why a “new” tenant’s key can feel loose or sticky from day one. Rekeying a standard Schlage or Kwikset cylinder here costs $65-$95 and takes about 20 minutes per lock.
- Pitted hardware on bay-side properties. Deadbolts and handlesets within a few blocks of Biscayne Bay develop pitting on exposed metal surfaces within a year or two. Marine-grade stainless and brass hold up; zinc alloy and cheap steel do not. We install marine-grade Schlage B60 deadbolts and stainless strikes on any exterior door east of NE 6th Court where the hardware shows signs of salt damage.
In one case near NE 125th Street, we replaced a seized 1970s Kwikset knob-set on a rental unit where the tenant’s key sheared off in the cylinder. Our tech extracted the broken tip non-destructively, then installed a marine-grade Schlage B60 deadbolt with a stainless strike plate. The landlord had us rekey the new cylinder so the old tenant’s key was void, and the door now throws smoothly even as the CBS frame shifts with the heat.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in North Miami, FL
Here’s what we charge in North Miami, in writing, before the tech rolls:
- Standard rekey, per cylinder: $65-$95
- High-security rekey (Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, Medeco), per cylinder: $110-$155
- Deadbolt replacement with marine-grade hardware: $95-$180 installed
- New knob, lever, or handleset installation: $120-$240 installed
- Smart lock or keyless entry installation: $145-$329 including hardware
- Broken key extraction from cylinder: $85-$140, including new key
What affects the final number: the cylinder grade you choose, whether we’re rekeying an existing lock or installing new hardware, and how many locks you’re doing in one visit. Multiple locks in a single visit bring the per-lock cost down, because we bill one service call, not a fee per door. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll quote the full job over the phone. That quote is the invoice price, per Haven Standard Clause 1, and we send a written scope by text or email before dispatch.
We Also Serve Cities Near North Miami
Our Miami (South FL) scheduling office dispatches to North Miami and the surrounding corridor every day. If you’re in Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, or Orlando and need the same firm-pricing guarantee on lock installation and rekey, our technicians can usually route to your area within a single scheduling day. Same documented photo record, same 365-Day Done Right Promise, same written price before any work starts.
Serving North Miami, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Miami 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 North Miami
The cylinder inside your lock has corroded pins and springs from years of salt-humidity exposure, and the pins are catching instead of shearing cleanly when you turn the key. We clean and lubricate the cylinder where it’s salvageable, and replace it where the internal parts are pitted beyond repair. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll tell you over the phone whether it sounds like a clean-and-rekey or a full cylinder swap, with the price for either.
Every turnover, without exception. North Miami’s garden apartment stock has cylinders that accumulate worn tumblers and deferred maintenance between tenants, and a rekey costs $65-$95 per cylinder, which is less than one lost day of vacancy. We rekey multi-unit buildings in a single visit and leave each unit with a documented key count and a photo record.
If the cylinder is seized but the housing and trim are intact, we can often extract the old cylinder, machine-fit a modern replacement, and keep the original handleset. If the springs and internal plates have rusted through or the housing is pitted beyond use, full replacement with marine-grade hardware is the honest call. We’ll show you the opened lock and explain what we found before we recommend either path.
A smart lock with a stainless strike plate, sealed wiring, and marine-grade mounting hardware will hold up. The electronics are not the weak point; the cheap mounting bracket and zinc latch underneath them are. We install smart locks in North Miami with exactly the same coastal-hardware treatment we give to traditional deadbolts, and we warranty the installation through our 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Your door frame has shifted. The CBS construction that’s common all over North Miami expands and contracts with the heat, and the strike plate is now off by a few millimeters, so the bolt hits the edge of the plate instead of seating into the hole. We realign or replace the strike, sometimes shimming it, and the deadbolt will throw cleanly. This is a $95-$150 repair, quoted in writing before we start.
If your lock is fighting you, don’t force it. Forced keys break, and a broken key inside a seized cylinder costs more to extract than a rekey would have. Call (331) 310-8471 for a free estimate, day or night. We’ll give you the full price on the phone, and that’s the price on the invoice.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving North Miami with firm-priced lock installation and rekey since 2002.