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 Oakland
Lock installation and rekey work in Oakland runs $95-$210 per cylinder for rekeying and $180-$420 for most deadbolt or smart lock installations, including the hardware. Those are real numbers for this market, and they’re the numbers we quote on the phone before anyone rolls a van. If you’re in Rockridge, Fruitvale, the Dimond District, or anywhere else in Oakland, we can usually get a background-checked technician to your door within 90 minutes. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written price before we dispatch.
Oakland’s housing stock doesn’t take standard locks the way a newer suburb does. Most homes in the flatlands were built between 1900 and 1940, which means original mortise lock bodies, old cylinder formats, and redwood door frames that have been swelling and shrinking through a century of bay humidity. That’s the work we do every day. Our Lock Installation & Rekey team knows which cylinders can be saved and which door prep needs to be redone before any lock will function correctly.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Oakland’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We’ve been doing this since 2002, and in that time we’ve installed or serviced more than 60,000 locks, keys, and systems across the Bay Area. Every single one started with a written price and ended with a documented photo record. That’s not a marketing line. It’s Haven Standard Clause 1: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. Our dispatcher quotes it. Our technician is not permitted to change it at the door. This rule has been in place since the day Daniel Novak founded the company, and it’s the reason Oakland homeowners call us after getting burned by a bait-and-switch call-out operation.
When we say we know Oakland, we mean neighborhoods like Temescal, East Oakland, and Montclair, where a 1923 Craftsman on a sloping lot behaves differently from a post-1991 Oakland Hills rebuild. We know which cylinder formats show up in which housing stock. We know that a lock that works fine in August will bind in February when the marine layer sits over the flats for three weeks straight. That local knowledge changes how we quote, what we recommend, and how long the work holds up.
We are independently owned and operated, and our work is governed by The Haven Standard, the same documentation framework used across all ten Haven brands. Every visit ends with a photo record of the completed work left with the customer. If it’s not done right, the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers it. You reach a live person on the phone, 24/7, not an answering service.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Oakland
Smart Lock Installation
Smart locks on Oakland’s older doors fail on installation when the door itself isn’t square. A motorized bolt that already has tight tolerances will jam against a strike plate that’s drifted 3/16 of an inch out of alignment after forty winters of humidity cycles. Before we mount any smart deadbolt, we check the frame alignment, the door sag, and the latch throw. On a warped 1920s door in West Oakland, we may need to correct the frame before the smart lock can work reliably. On a 1995 door in the Oakland Hills, it’s often a straight swap. Smart lock installation in Oakland typically runs $220-$450 including the hardware, depending on the model and door condition.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry systems make sense for Oakland renters and landlords, especially in multi-unit buildings near Lake Merritt or downtown where key turnover is constant. Instead of cutting six copies of a key every time a tenant moves out, you delete and add codes. We install standalone keypad deadbolts as well as networked systems that log entry events. For a 1910 Victorian near West Oakland BART, we’ll often recommend a keypad with a manual key override so you’re not locked out if the batteries die. Keyless entry installation in Oakland runs $200-$380 per door, quoted in writing before we start.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks are the workhorse of Oakland’s duplex and triplex conversions. A simple Grade 2 keypad deadbolt in a flatlands Craftsman runs $180-$260 installed. The job gets more involved when the existing bore is an old mortise prep, because retrofitting a cylindrical keypad into a mortise-cut door requires a wrap plate or custom drilling. In the Fruitvale and deep East Oakland flatlands, we quote a steel jamb armor kit alongside every keypad deadbolt because the original redwood frames split under a single kick. It adds $90-$140 and it’s the difference between a functional lock and an actual barrier.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks are where we tell Oakland homeowners what the marketing doesn’t. A fingerprint reader on a bedroom door or a home office makes sense. On a front door facing the Oakland estuary’s salt air, a fingerprint sensor needs periodic cleaning or it stops reading prints reliably. We carry Yale and Baldwin biometric models, and we’ll tell you honestly whether your entry exposure makes the technology worth it. Biometric lock installation in Oakland runs $280-$520 depending on model and door prep. If you’re near the waterfront in Jingletown or Embarcadero Cove, we’ll factor corrosion into the recommendation.
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.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Oakland
We’re factory-authorized for Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Baldwin, and a full range of Kwikset and Schlage hardware. That matters in Oakland because we stock the cylinders, tailpieces, and strike plates that match the lock bodies already in your door. We’re not running to a supply house mid-job for a 1920s mortise cylinder blank. If you’re replacing a Baldwin mortise lock in a Grand Lake Tudor or installing a Medeco high-security cylinder in a Rockridge bungalow, we have the parts on the van. The full security range from entry-grade to high-security is priced in writing before anyone turns a cylinder.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Oakland Homes
- Redwood door frames that split at the deadbolt. Original 1920s-1940s redwood is soft. When a deadbolt is installed without a steel jamb armor kit, a single kick splinters the frame and the lock doesn’t matter. We quote the armor kit on every flatlands install because it’s the only part of the assembly that actually stops a forced entry.
- Mortise lock cylinders that bind every winter. Bay humidity swells the wooden door. The latch and bolt no longer align with the strike, and the key starts fighting you in November. Sometimes it’s a rekey and a strike adjustment. Sometimes the mortise body is so worn it needs replacement. We’ll tell you which.
- Smart locks jammed on warped doors. A 100-year-old door that’s moved 3/8 of an inch out of square will defeat any motorized bolt. The fix is frame correction first, then the smart lock. Skipping the frame work is why so many Oakland smart lock installs fail within a season.
- Obsolete cylinder formats on old mortise locks. Many original Oakland mortise locks use cylinders that modern blanks don’t fit. That’s a rekey that turns into a cylinder replacement, and we carry the specialty cylinders so the job doesn’t stall.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Oakland, CA
Here are the ranges you’ll actually pay in Oakland. Rekeying a standard cylinder runs $95-$175 for the first cylinder and $25-$40 for each additional cylinder keyed alike. Deadbolt installation runs $180-$320 including a Grade 1 Schlage B60, plus $90-$140 for steel jamb armor if your frame needs it. Smart lock installation runs $220-$450. Keypad locks run $180-$260. High-security cylinders from Medeco or Mul-T-Lock run $150-$280 per cylinder, installed.
| Service | Oakland Price Range |
|---|---|
| Rekey (first cylinder) | $95-$175 |
| Additional cylinders keyed alike | $25-$40 each |
| Deadbolt installation (Grade 1) | $180-$320 |
| Steel jamb armor kit | $90-$140 |
| Smart lock installation | $220-$450 |
| Keypad lock installation | $180-$260 |
| High-security cylinder (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock) | $150-$280 |
These are honest ranges, not teaser prices. The dispatcher quotes a firm number on the phone. That number is the number on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. If you bring us a competitor’s written estimate, we’ll review it at no charge as part of our free second opinion.
We Also Serve Cities Near Oakland
Our Lock Installation & Rekey in Oakland service area extends across the East Bay. We cover Alameda, San Leandro, Berkeley, and Castro Valley with the same written-price rule and the same documented photo record on every job. Same dispatcher, same standard, same 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Serving Oakland, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Oakland 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 Oakland
In many cases, yes. If the mortise lock body is mechanically sound and the cylinder has a standard removable core, we can rekey it to a new key for $95-$175. If the cylinder is an obsolete format that no modern blank fits, or the lock body itself is worn to the point that the bolt slops in the housing, a rekey won’t fix it. We’ll show you the condition of the hardware before we quote anything. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll tell you over the phone whether your lock is a rekey candidate or a replacement.
Because the redwood frames in Oakland’s 1920s-1940s flatlands split under a single kick, and a Grade 1 deadbolt mounted in a split frame is a decorative object, not a security device. In Fruitvale and deep East Oakland, we’ve seen too many post-break-in doors where the deadbolt was still locked and the frame was splintered around it. We quote the armor kit as standard. If you don’t want it, we’ll note that in writing, but we won’t pretend the job is complete without it. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote on your specific door.
It’s usually both. The lock is binding because the door has swollen or the frame has shifted, and the latch and strike are out of alignment. We start by checking the reveal around the door and the position of the bolt relative to the strike. Sometimes it’s a 20-minute strike adjustment. Sometimes the mortise body has been grinding for years and needs replacement. We’ll tell you which it is before we do anything. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll diagnose it over the phone.
That depends on what you’re protecting. A Medeco cylinder costs $150-$280 installed and it can’t be picked or bumped by standard tools, so it ends the most common non-destructive entry methods. If your Lake Merritt rental has had a break-in or you’re getting keys back from a former tenant who might have made copies, a high-security cylinder means those copies don’t matter because the blanks are restricted. If your unit has never had an incident and you’re replacing a working lock, a standard Grade 1 deadbolt is honest protection. We’ll give you both prices and let you decide. Call (331) 310-8471 for the numbers.
In most cases, we can. The challenge is that original Victorian doors often use mortise locks, and a modern cylindrical smart lock doesn’t fit a mortise prep without modification. We use wrap plates and custom boring where necessary, and we can leave the original mortise lock body in place where it functions as a secondary latch. We’ve done this on Victorians throughout West Oakland and around Lake Merritt. Call (331) 310-8471 and describe your door. We’ll tell you what’s possible before we schedule anything.
Contact Novak Lock & Security in Oakland
Call (331) 310-8471 for a free, written estimate on any lock installation or rekey in Oakland. You’ll speak to a live person who can quote the job in minutes. No call-out surcharge, no price changed at the door, no exceptions. That’s Haven Standard Clause 1.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Oakland since 2002.