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 Richardson
Lock installation and rekey work in Richardson typically runs $30-$55 per cylinder for a standard Kwikset or Schlage rekey and $75-$180 for new deadbolt installation, quoted in writing before anyone touches your door. We answer calls from Richardson homeowners and property managers around the clock, and our technicians know the housing stock here: 1960s ranch homes in Canyon Creek with non-standard backsets, UTD student rentals off Campbell Road that churn through tenants every August, and Telecom Corridor offices that need electronic access control rather than a simple key. Call (331) 310-8471 and you’ll get a live person and a firm price before dispatch.
Richardson is a market unlike any of its neighbors. The same truck that carries high-security Medeco mortise cylinders for a corporate campus off US-75 also needs bulk Kwikset pin kits for the apartments near campus and the 1970s neighborhoods around Yale Park. We carry both because the city demands both. This page tells you what that means for your locks, your doors, and your bill.
Key Takeaways
- Rekeying a standard cylinder in Richardson runs $30-$55; deadbolt installs run $75-$180 depending on hardware grade and door prep.
- Many 1960s Richardson ranch homes have 2-3/8″ backsets that require a crossbore adapter for modern Grade 1 deadbolts.
- Seasonal clay expansion under Richardson foundations shifts door frames in spring and summer, causing binding deadbolts that feel like lock failure.
- One visit can cover your house, detached workshop, and gate lock and have them all working on the same key. We plan for that on acreage properties.
- Every price is quoted on the phone, in writing, and that is the price on the invoice. Haven Standard Clause 1.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Richardson’s Proven Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Novak Lock & Security has worked Richardson since Dan Novak founded the company in 2002. Homeowners in Richardson keep calling because of one structural rule: the dispatcher quotes a firm price on the phone, and the technician is contractually prohibited from changing it at the door. That is Haven Standard Clause 1, and it has applied to every job across this city since day one. No competitor bait-and-switch. No “small print” add-on when the van pulls into your driveway off Belt Line Road.
Richardson jobs are different from the rest of the metroplex. A cul-de-sac near Breckinridge Park, a 1970s ranch near Arapaho Road, a corporate office above Central Expressway: these are different doors, different hardware, different expectations. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and every visit ends with a documented photo record handed to you on the spot. You see what was done, which cylinder was replaced, and what the old hardware looked like before you sign off. That is procedure, not marketing.
When you call (331) 310-8471, a person answers. Not a queue, not a callback list. Day or night, including the 2 a.m. lockout on a July night when the AC is off and the deadbolt has heat-swollen itself shut against the strike plate. We have seen that exact call from Richardson homeowners more times than we can count.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Richardson
Our Lock Installation & Rekey work in Richardson covers the full range from a simple cylinder swap to commercial electronic access hardware. Here is how the four services Richardson calls for most play out on the ground.
Smart Lock Installation
Smart locks go on Richardson doors every day, but the job is about the door as much as the lock. A Yale Assure or Schlage Encode needs a deadbolt that throws clean and a strike plate that has not been racked out of alignment by Blackland Prairie clay. We check the existing prep, bore, and frame alignment before we mount the lock. A smart lock installed on a binding door will eat batteries and fail at the worst time. On west-facing doors in Richardson neighborhoods like Reservation or Canyon Creek, summer afternoon heat radiates off the door surface. We use lithium batteries rated past 120°F rather than standard alkaline for those installs, because we have seen alkaline swell and leak in a single Texas summer.
Keyless Entry
Landlords near UT Dallas and property managers along Campbell Road ask for keyless entry systems on a weekly basis. Tenant turnover is high, and reissuing physical keys is slow and insecure. We install keypad deadbolts and lever locks that allow the owner to delete and issue codes between tenants without a service call for each turnover. That cut the per-turnover lock cost for more than a few rental owners we serve in Richardson. The hardware we spec for rental units needs to survive repeated use, so we recommend commercial-grade keypad deadbolts rather than entry-level residential models when a unit will see multiple lease cycles a year.
Keypad Lock
A keypad lock on a Richardson home is a trade-off between convenience and the fact that this climate stresses electronics. We install the keypad as a secondary entry on a side or garage door more often than the front, because many homeowners want a fallback mechanical deadbolt on the primary door. That is also what we install on detached workshops and gates on acreage-style properties along the eastern edge of Richardson and up toward Renner Road. The owner gets code access to the workshop without walking back to the house for a key. And we can key a mechanical override cylinder to match the house key, which avoids the two-key problem.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks are less common in residential Richardson but they show up in Telecom Corridor offices and in a few estate properties. Fingerprint and keypad systems from brands like Sargent work well indoors, but they struggle on a metal gate next to a service drive that bakes all afternoon. Dust from construction and pollen season also coats sensors faster here than people expect, so we tell commercial clients to plan for monthly sensor cleaning or use a combined keypad-and-card reader instead. For residential biometric interest, we usually walk the homeowner through a keypad or smart deadbolt rather than a fingerprint reader on a front door that will see rain and sun. The hardware has to live in Richardson, not in a showroom.
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 Richardson
We install and service hardware from the brands Richardson homeowners actually put on their doors: Schlage and Kwikset throughout the residential market, Baldwin on higher-end homes, and Mul-T-Lock and Medeco for commercial and high-security applications where the building requires pick-resistant and bump-resistant cylinders. Sargent hardware appears regularly in commercial door hardware on Telecom Corridor properties. We keep a deep stock of cores, tailpieces, and strike plates for these brands, which means a rekey on a Mul-T-Lock cylinder in Richardson does not wait on a parts order from Dallas. Daniel Novak insists on that. A short parts bench is how you end up telling a customer their lock is fixed next week.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Richardson Homes
- Deadbolt binding after spring rain. Blackland Prairie clay swells from March through May, and the whole slab under a 1960s ranch heaves up on the perimeter while the interior settles. The result is a door frame out of square by a sixteenth of an inch or more, which is more than enough to stop a deadbolt from throwing. The fix is usually re-shimming the hinge or grinding the strike plate, not replacing the lock.
- The 2-3/8″ backset on original ranch doors. A homeowner in Canyon Creek buys a Schlage B60 at a box store, takes it home, and the bolt will not line up. The original door prep was drilled to 2-3/8″ and modern deadbolts assume 2-3/4″. We carry crossbore adapters as standard on every Richardson truck and rebore the door on the spot if needed.
- Heat-swollen strike plates and bolt housings. When July brings consecutive 100°F days, the metal plate on the jamb expands just enough to tighten against a deadbolt that already had marginal alignment. The homeowner is certain the new cylinder is defective. We measure the gap, file the plate or reset it, and show the customer the before-and-after with a gauge. Documented, as always.
- Acreage properties where one lock was left off the last rekey. The house, the detached workshop, and the gate at the bottom of the service drive all need the same key. If the previous tech only did the house, the owner now carries two or three keys and has no idea which one works where. We key everything alike in one trip and give the owner a written keying schedule showing which cylinder got which code.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Richardson, TX
Standard cylinder rekey in Richardson runs $30-$55 per cylinder. That includes the labor, new pins, and a new set of keys. New deadbolt installation runs $75-$180 depending on hardware grade and whether the existing prep needs to be re-bored. Keypad deadbolt installation runs $180-$320 including hardware. Key duplication in Richardson is $5-$15 per key for standard residential blanks, and high-security restricted keys from Mul-T-Lock or Medeco run higher because the blanks are controlled and the duplication must be authorized by the registered owner.
If your Richardson home has a 1960s door with the original 2-3/8″ backset and you want a Grade 1 deadbolt, the re-bore adds $60-$90 to the install price. We tell you this on the phone before dispatch. The price is written, and it is the price on the invoice. Call (331) 310-8471 and you will know what you are paying before the tech turns onto your street.
| Service | Richardson Price Range |
|---|---|
| Standard rekey (per cylinder) | $30-$55 |
| Deadbolt installation | $75-$180 |
| Re-bore for 2-3/4″ backset | $60-$90 |
| Keypad deadbolt installation | $180-$320 |
| Key duplication (standard residential) | $5-$15 per key |
We Also Serve Cities Near Richardson
While this page covers Lock Installation & Rekey in Richardson specifically, our technicians also run calls in nearby Plano, Garland, Carrollton, and Allen. If you are on the western edge of Richardson near the Dallas border or north toward Renner Road, we are likely already familiar with your subdivision. Same firm prices, same same-day response, same documented photo record.
Serving Richardson, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Richardson 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 Richardson
Yes. One visit can rekey or install every lock on the property, and we plan for it. The owner on an acreage property east of Richardson typically needs the front and back doors of the main house, the side door on the detached workshop, and a padlock or deadbolt on the gate at the head of the service drive all working from one key. We count the cylinders before dispatch, carry a bulk pin kit and the right key blanks, and key everything alike in one trip so you are not paying for a second call because the workshop did not get rekeyed. Call (331) 310-8471 and tell the dispatcher what is on the property; the price will be quoted for the full list before we send a truck.
It is the clay under the slab. Canyon Creek houses from the 1960s and 1970s sit on Blackland Prairie expansive clay. When spring rains in Richardson soak the ground around the perimeter of the slab, the edges heave slightly upward while the center of the house stays put. That racks the door frame and the deadbolt bolt can no longer line up with the strike plate. The cylinder is usually fine. We re-shim the hinges or adjust the strike plate rather than replace the lock, then we document the adjustment in the photo record. If it recurs, there are deeper frame fixes, but most Canyon Creek deadbolt binding we see is alignment, not hardware.
Usually yes, with a crossbore adapter. The original prep on many 1960s Richardson ranch doors is a 2-3/8″ backset, while modern Grade 1 deadbolts are built for 2-3/4″. The adapter slides into the existing hole and shifts the bolt the extra 3/8″. If the existing bore is too small or damaged, we re-bore the door to 2-3/4″ on site. We pulled up to a 1960s ranch in Canyon Creek where the owner had bought a Schlage B60 deadbolt to replace a worn original, only to find the original prep was still a 2-3/8″ backset. Our tech reached for a crossbore adapter, re-bored the door to 2-3/4″, and installed the deadbolt in one visit, then rekeyed the back door and the detached workshop to the same key so the owner would not have to wait for a second trip.
Call us on Monday through Friday between leases and we will handle the rekey same day or next morning. The fastest route is a standard cylinder rekey, which takes under an hour on a two-lock unit and runs $30-$55 per cylinder. For properties where tenants turn over every August and January, we recommend a keypad deadbolt with programmable codes. The owner deletes the old code and issues a new one from the keypad or an app, without a service call for each turnover. Landlords along Campbell Road and Waterview Parkway use this setup to cut their per-lease lock cost. Call (331) 310-8471 and tell us the unit count and lock type; we will quote the whole building before dispatch.
Yes, in three ways. The door surface can exceed 130°F in direct afternoon sun, which stresses adhesives and paint but not the lock itself. The bigger issue is battery chemistry: standard alkaline batteries swell and leak above 120°F, so we install lithium cells in any smart lock on a west-facing Richardson door. The third issue is frame alignment: a door already tight from clay movement will be tighter in July heat, so we check the deadbolt throw and strike plate clearance before mounting the smart lock. A smart lock installed on a binding door burns through batteries and eventually fails the motor. We install it so it operates cleanly, and we test it in full sun before we leave.
Ready to get your Richardson locks installed or rekeyed? Call (331) 310-8471. The dispatcher quotes the full price on the phone, in writing, before anyone is dispatched. That is the price on the invoice, and it has been that way since 2002.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Richardson since 2002.
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