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 Palo Alto
Lock rekey in Palo Alto typically runs $25-$45 per cylinder for standard residential locks, and a full smart lock installation generally lands between $180 and $380 including hardware setup and app programming. We quote the exact number on the phone before anyone gets in a van, and that number is the number on the invoice. Haven Standard Clause 1: the price on the phone is the price at the door. No bait, no add-on at the threshold, no “discovered damage” upcharge.
Lock Installation & Rekey is what we do every day across Palo Alto, from Professorville to Midtown to the Baylands edge. Our team works the full spectrum: factory-authorized Medeco and Mul-T-Lock work, Schlage and Baldwin hardware, Yale and August smart locks with Apple HomeKit and Google Home integration, plus key duplication for restricted and patented keyways that the hardware-store kiosk cannot touch. Every visit ends with a photo record of exactly what we found and what we did. Call (331) 310-8471 and a live person answers, 24/7.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Palo Alto’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Novak Lock & Security has been installing and rekeying locks since 2002. Daniel Novak built the company on a single rule: the dispatcher names a firm price, and no technician is permitted to change it on the doorstep. That rule applies to every job in Palo Alto, whether it’s a single deadbolt on a Midtown ranch or a full rekey of a Stanford faculty rental unit with institutional cores. It is not a marketing promise. It is Haven Standard Clause 1, in writing, on every work order.
Palo Alto clients read the fine print before they call. They have seen the bait-and-switch lockout scams and they know how to spot them: a $19 teaser that becomes $390 when the “technician” arrives, a lock drilled that did not need drilling, a cylinder swapped that could have been rekeyed. We do not participate in any of that. The price is the price. The record is the record. Since 2002 we have installed or serviced more than 60,000 locks, keys, and systems, and every one of those jobs started with a number in writing and ended with a documented photo record left with the customer.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and factory-trained. When a Palo Alto homeowner asks whether the deadbolt on their 1908 bungalow can support a Schlage Encode, we can look at the mortise body and the stile thickness and tell them yes or no, not guess. When a Stanford renter asks whether rekeying will knock out the landlord’s master, we know to check the system before touching a pin. That is the difference between a locksmith who works in Palo Alto and a dispatcher who just sells Palo Alto jobs.
Key Takeaways
- Rekey in Palo Alto: $25-$45 per cylinder, quoted in writing before we start
- Smart lock installation: $180-$380 including programming and app walkthrough
- Firm price on the phone, guaranteed in writing, never changed at the door
- Factory-authorized for Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Schlage, Baldwin, and Yale
- Background-checked, uniformed technicians with documented photo records on every job
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Palo Alto
Smart Lock Installation
Palo Alto is ground zero for the smart-home and access-control movement. Our clients here do not ask whether a smart lock is a good idea; they ask whether the Schlage Encode or Yale Assure Lock 2 will integrate cleanly with their existing Apple HomeKit or Google Home setup, and whether the Z-Wave mesh will hold up through a 1930s stucco wall with chicken-wire lathe. We have done this exact job hundreds of times in Palo Alto. We program the lock, pair it to the hub, set up guest codes with schedules, and walk you through the app before we leave. The photo record we leave behind includes screenshots of the app configuration so you have a reference.
On older Palo Alto homes, especially in Professorville and Old Palo Alto, the door matters as much as the lock. A 1908 Craftsman bungalow door is thinner at the stile than anything built today, and the original mortise lock occupies a cutout that does not match a modern cylindrical deadbolt. We can usually adapt without butchering the door or violating the city’s historic design guidelines. We recently rekeyed a 1908 Craftsman bungalow in Professorville, swapping the original mortise lock cylinder for a Schlage Encode smart deadbolt while preserving the historic brass escutcheon. The door’s non-standard keyway required a specialty blank, and we paired the new deadbolt with the owner’s existing Apple HomeKit setup so they could grant temporary codes to their contractor without handing out physical keys.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry in Palo Alto splits into two camps. The first is conventional keypad deadbolts: Schlage BE489, Yale Assure, Kwikset Halo. We install and program these daily. The second is true access-control: proximity fobs, keypad-based entry for ADUs and detached offices, and systems tied to property-management software. Palo Alto has a large stock of ADUs and renovated garages with separate entrances, and many owners want those doors on a code they can revoke rather than a key they have to chase down after a tenant or contractor leaves. We install and rekey both categories, and we report the condition of the existing hardware: if a door was hung out of plane during a past renovation, we say so before we install a motorized lock that will bind against a misaligned strike.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks are the most common request from Palo Alto homeowners renovating 1950s Midtown and South Palo Alto ranch homes. The original builders used hardware from now-discontinued manufacturers, and the doors are often hollow-core or thin-stile, which means a universal keypad deadbolt will not mount correctly without reinforcement. We carry strike plates and jamb reinforcement kits sized for these older doors. On a Midtown ranch retrofit, we usually install the keypad on a reinforced strike and adjust the door so the deadbolt throw is clean. If the frame has shifted from decades of Bay Area settling, we fix the alignment before we mount the lock, because a motorized deadbolt that binds is a deadbolt that fails in 14 months.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks, mostly fingerprint and less often facial recognition, are a niche but growing request in Palo Alto. The people who want them tend to be engineers and product people who have already researched the sensor type and the failure rate of wet-finger reads. We install biometric deadbolts and handles from a short list of manufacturers whose sensors we have tested in the field, and we recommend against models with no mechanical key override. A fingerprint reader that loses power or fails its self-test should not leave you locked out of your own house. Every biometric installation we do includes a fallback mechanical cylinder, rekeyed so the old keys are dead and the new keys are in your hand before we leave.
Key Duplication
Key duplication in Palo Alto is not a kiosk job. Professorville bungalows and Old Palo Alto homes frequently have original mortise cylinders with non-standard keyways that Home Depot does not stock. Stanford University housing uses large-format interchangeable-core (LFIC) keys that are stamped “Do Not Duplicate” and are controlled by the facilities office, not by the tenant. We cut standard keys on demand, but we also maintain a stock of restricted and patent-protected blanks for Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy, so a client who moved into a home with a high-security system installed by the previous owner can get additional keys without re-keying the entire property. We verify ownership or authorization before cutting any restricted key, and we document the duplication in the photo record.
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 Palo Alto
We are factory-authorized for Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Schlage, Baldwin, and Yale, and we service Abloy and Assa systems as well. Palo Alto homes run the full span: entry-grade Kwikset on rental units, Schlage and Baldwin on single-family homes, Medeco and Mul-T-Lock on properties where the previous owner took security seriously. We stock the pins, springs, and tailpieces for all of them on the van, so a rekey in Palo Alto does not require a second appointment. When we do need a patent-protected blank or a factory keyway, our San Francisco Bay Area office coordinates the order with the manufacturer and we return within days, not weeks. If your lock brand is not on this list, call us; if we do not service it, we will tell you who does, and we will not charge you for the answer.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Palo Alto Homes
- Salt-air corrosion on Baylands-adjacent homes. Palo Alto sits on the southern edge of the Bay, and east-side homes near the Baylands get enough salt-laden marine air inland that exterior deadbolts and tailpieces corrode and seize faster than owners expect. A standard homeowner-grade Kwikset installed on an east-facing door can bind within 18 months. We recommend corrosion-resistant Grade 1 hardware for these exposures, and we say so before quoting the cheaper option.
- Smart lock failures on century-old doors. Professorville and Old Palo Alto homes predate standard door dimensions. The original mortise lock cutouts and thin stiles do not fit a modern cylindrical smart deadbolt without modification, and a handyman install that forces the fit will cause the latch to misalign and the motor to grind. We adapt the mortise, reinforce the stile when needed, and preserve the historic escutcheon under city design guidelines.
- Broken Stanford master-key systems. Stanford faculty rentals and university-managed housing run on large-format interchangeable-core (LFIC) master-key systems. A locksmith who rekeys one of these doors without checking the system can pin out the landlord’s master key and trigger an institutional facilities call. We know the Stanford core types and the approval chain, and we confirm the system before touching a pin.
- Discontinued hardware on Midtown ranches. The 1950s and 1960s builders who put up Midtown and South Palo Alto used door hardware from manufacturers that no longer exist. When a homeowner wants a keypad or smart lock retrofit, the existing bore and backset frequently do not match the new lock, and the strike plate is often loose in a frame that has shifted. We carry retrofits for these exact conditions, and we document the original hardware before we touch it.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Palo Alto, CA
Here are the numbers for Palo Alto, in writing, so you can budget before you call.
- Standard rekey, residential cylinder: $25-$45 per cylinder. Includes new keys and pinning to a new keyway.
- High-security rekey (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy): $45-$90 per cylinder, depending on the system and key control level.
- Smart lock installation: $180-$380, including programming, app setup, and the photo record. Hardware cost is separate and quoted at the same time.
- Keypad lock installation: $160-$320, plus hardware. Includes strike reinforcement on older doors where needed.
- Biometric lock installation: $220-$420, including fallback cylinder rekey.
- Key duplication, standard: $3-$8 per key. Restricted or patented keys: $15-$40 per key, with authorization verified.
The total price is set before dispatch. A technician arrives, confirms the scope, does the work, and the final invoice matches the quote. No travel surcharge added at the door, no “emergency after-hours” multiplier that was not disclosed on the phone. We also offer a free second opinion: bring us a competitor’s written estimate for any lock work in Palo Alto, and we will review it at no charge, without pressure to switch.
Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote. A live person answers, and the number they give you is the number you pay. Free estimates.
We Also Serve Cities Near Palo Alto
Our crews serve Palo Alto locally, plus the surrounding Peninsula communities, including Menlo Park, Los Altos, Redwood City, and Mountain View. If you are a few minutes outside Lock Installation & Rekey in Palo Alto city limits, the same pricing rule applies and the same technician will show up with the same written quote in hand. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from the San Francisco Bay Area office, and the van that arrives is a Novak van, not a subcontracted number.
Serving Palo Alto, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto
Usually yes, but it requires coordination with the Stanford facilities office. Stanford housing runs on large-format interchangeable-core (LFIC) master-key systems, and rekeying a unit without confirming the system can pin out the landlord’s master and trigger a facilities call. We know the Stanford core types and the approval chain. We confirm the system, get the right authorization, and rekey the unit without breaking the master. Call (331) 310-8471 and tell us it is a Stanford rental, and we will walk you through the exact process and what the facilities office needs from you.
Yes, with the right adaptation. Professorville doors have original mortise lock bodies with non-standard keyways and thin stiles, so a modern cylindrical smart deadbolt will not drop into the existing bore. We replace the mortise cylinder with a compatible smart-lock cylinder, reinforce the stile when needed, and preserve the historic escutcheon under Palo Alto’s design guidelines. We recently did this exact job on a 1908 Craftsman bungalow in Professorville: original mortise swapped for a Schlage Encode, paired with the owner’s Apple HomeKit, and temporary codes set up for their contractor. We can show you the photo record from that job. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written quote.
Because mild air on the Peninsula is still marine air. Palo Alto’s spot on the southern edge of the Bay pulls enough salt-laden air inland that east-side homes near the Baylands see exterior deadbolts and tailpieces corrode and seize much faster than the climate would suggest. A standard residential deadbolt on an east-facing door can bind within 18 months. The fix is corrosion-resistant Grade 1 hardware, which we stock and install. If your deadbolt is already seizing, do not force it with the key; call us and we will rekey or replace it without snapping the key off in the cylinder.
Yes. We are factory-authorized for both Medeco and Mul-T-Lock, and we stock the restricted and patented blanks that hardware-store kiosks do not carry. We verify ownership or authorization before cutting any restricted key, and we document the duplication in the photo record. If the key card or authorization was lost with the previous owner, we will tell you exactly what the manufacturer requires to reissue blanks in your name, and we will not cut a key without that documentation. Call (331) 310-8471 with the key you have and we will tell you what it is and what a duplicate costs.
Not usually, but you may need the existing frame reinforced. Midtown ranch doors from the 1950s and 1960s are frequently hollow-core or thin-stile, and the original strike plates are often loose in frames that have shifted from decades of Bay Area settling. A keypad deadbolt mounted onto an unreinforced frame will bind and eventually burn out the motor. We install a reinforced strike plate, adjust the door and frame alignment, and then mount the keypad. The frame itself rarely needs replacement. We have done this retrofit across Midtown and South Palo Alto. Call (331) 310-8471 and we will quote the reinforcement and installation in writing before anyone is dispatched.
Contact Novak Lock & Security in Palo Alto
If you need a rekey, a smart lock installed, or keys duplicated for a system someone else installed, call (331) 310-8471. You will get a live person, a firm price in writing, and a background-checked technician with a documented photo record when the job is done. No bait pricing, no doorstep surprises, no work without a written number first. Daniel Novak built the company on that rule in 2002, and it has not changed once.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, providing lock installation and rekey services in Palo Alto, CA under The Haven Standard since 2002.