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 San Francisco
Lock installation and rekeying in San Francisco typically runs $35-$95 per cylinder for a rekey, $95-$220 for a standard deadbolt install, and $220-$450 for a smart lock with hardware, always quoted in writing before we dispatch. We work the western fog belt, the Mission’s pre-1979 flats, and every Victorian row house in between. If you’re locked out or need a new deadbolt today, call (331) 310-8471 and a live person answers. Our techs know the city’s mortise locks, the Rent Ordinance’s rekey rules, and what the salt air near Ocean Beach does to a cylinder by year five.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is San Francisco’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Since 2002, Novak Lock & Security has handled more than 60,000 locks, keys, and systems across the Bay Area, every one with a written price before we started and a documented photo record when we left. Daniel Novak set the rule that still governs every San Francisco job: Haven Standard Clause 1, the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. No tech can change it at the door. That single rule matters more in San Francisco than almost anywhere, because the city’s rent-controlled housing stock means tenants call us for a lock they don’t own, landlords call us for a unit we can’t legally touch without notice, and everyone wants the scope in writing before a cylinder turns.
Our San Francisco customers see the same thing on every visit: a background-checked, uniformed technician who names the parts, states the condition of the existing hardware, and leaves a photo record of the work. The 365-Day Done Right Promise backs all of it. If the install isn’t done right, we make it right. We don’t ask you to trust that. We document it.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in San Francisco
Our Lock Installation & Rekey work covers the full spectrum, from hand-cut keys for a 1902 Edwardian on McAllister to a networked lock on a new condo in Mission Bay. Four services dominate San Francisco calls.
Smart Lock Installation
Smart lock installs in San Francisco usually run $220-$450 including hardware, and the real variable is the door, not the brand. A 1915 Victorian in Noe Valley with a narrow mortise pocket often needs a retrofit plate before a smart deadbolt will sit flush. We stock the plates and we tell you the total before the drill comes out.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry makes a lot of sense in a city where roommates, cleaners, dog walkers, and Airbnb turnover mean keys multiply. We install standalone keypad deadbolts and full app-controlled systems. For multi-unit buildings on the west side, we recommend hardware with marine-grade cylinder parts. The fog near the Outer Sunset is harder on exposed electronics than most homeowners expect.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks in San Francisco typically run $150-$325 installed. The pricing depends on whether you want a simple Schlage keypad deadbolt or a high-security Mul-T-Lock version. One note from years of installs here: entry vestibules in converted Victorians often have doors too thin for a standard keypad’s tailpiece. We check that before ordering anything.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks, fingerprint or otherwise, run $280-$500 installed in San Francisco. We install them, but we also tell you the truth about what the marine layer does to sensors on a fog-facing entry in the Inner Richmond. If your door gets direct moisture, we may recommend a keypad or a hybrid model instead. We’d rather install the right lock once than replace the wrong one under warranty.
We also handle electronic lock installs and key duplication for San Francisco residents. Key duplication runs $5-$25 per key depending on the blank, and we cut restricted keys only with the owner’s authorization on file.
What happens when you call
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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 San Francisco
We’re factory-authorized on Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Baldwin, and Schlage, and we stock cylinders and tailpieces for those brands in our service vans so a San Francisco rekey doesn’t wait on a parts order from Hayward. That matters when a landlord on Clement Street needs a tenant’s lock rekeyed before a new lease starts on the first. We also work on Yale hardware, common in older San Francisco stock. If the brand on your door isn’t one we authorized, we’ll still give you an honest read on whether it’s worth saving.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
- Seized cylinders in the fog belt. The Outer Sunset, Inner Richmond, and Parkside get sustained coastal humidity and salt air that corrodes deadbolt internals and strike plates years faster than inland neighborhoods. A routine rekey on Balboa Street often becomes a cylinder extraction and pin replacement.
- Rent Ordinance complication. In most pre-1979 units, the tenant can’t legally authorize work on a building’s street entry, and the landlord can’t rekey a tenant’s unit without notice. We scope the job correctly before anyone touches a lock, because a botched rekey here has legal consequences, not just mechanical ones.
- Century-old mortise pockets. Victorian and Edwardian front doors were cut for mortise lock bodies, not modern ANSI deadbolts. Homeowners buy a smart lock online, install it themselves or try to, and learn the prep is wrong. We retrofit or rekey the original hardware, preserving doors that would otherwise get butchered.
- Multi-tenant at lockout. A resident in a shared Mission or Bernal Heights building gets locked out, but the street door belongs to the freeholder. We can often open the unit door without touching the building entry, which keeps the job legal and the door undamaged.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in San Francisco, CA
Here are the ranges we quote in San Francisco, and they’re the same numbers on the phone and the invoice. A rekey runs $35-$95 per cylinder. A standard deadbolt install runs $95-$220. A smart or keypad lock runs $150-$450 depending on hardware. Key duplication runs $5-$25 per key. High-security cylinders from Medeco or Mul-T-Lock run $120-$260 per cylinder installed. We write the exact number before dispatch, no call-out surcharge on arrival. If you have a competitor’s written estimate, we’ll review it free. That’s our Free Second Opinion policy.
For a firm quote on the phone before anyone is dispatched, call (331) 310-8471. The estimate is free and the price holds.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
Our Bay Area service runs from San Francisco south to Daly City and South San Francisco, and across the Bay to Alameda and Berkeley. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our San Francisco Bay Area office, so a crew isn’t driving in from Sacramento. If you’re in one of those cities and need a rekey tomorrow, the same written-price rule applies.
Serving San Francisco, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Francisco 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 San Francisco
Yes, in nearly every pre-1979 unit covered by the Rent Ordinance, you need landlord consent to rekey a unit door, because the landlord owns the lock and the unit. We will not rekey a tenant’s door without written authorization from the owner or property manager. Many tenants work out a shared arrangement where the landlord pays for the rekey and the tenant gets keys cut from the new cylinder. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll explain the exact documentation we need before dispatch.
Yes, and this is one of the most common jobs we do in San Francisco. A 1920s Edwardian front door on Clement Street has a mortise lock body set into the stile, and the original cylinder can usually be pulled and rekeyed without touching the door’s structure. We rekeyed one for a landlord whose tenant left without returning a key. Our tech pulled the worn pin and tumbler cylinder, rekeyed it to a new Schlage keyway, cut four restricted keys, and adjusted the strike so the deadbolt threw clean. The door was never drilled. For a quote on your mortise lock, call (331) 310-8471.
You’re dealing with coastal humidity and salt-laden air that corrodes the internal pins and springs in your deadbolt cylinder. We see seized or pitted cylinders regularly in the Outer Sunset, Inner Richmond, and Parkside, and the fix is a cylinder extraction, internal cleaning or replacement, and in severe cases a marine-grade cylinder install. It’s not a lubrication issue you can spray away. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact diagnosis and price.
Usually yes, but you need to be the owner or have written authorization. Different brands can often be rekeyed to a single keyway, especially if we’re moving Schlage and Kwikset cylinders to a common Schlage keyway, but some old mortise locks or high-security restricted systems won’t allow a shared key without replacing hardware. We’ll need to see the doors or get the lock types from you on the phone. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written scope and flat per-lock price.
We avoid drilling whenever possible, especially on pre-1979 multi-unit building doors that the landlord owns and that would be expensive or impossible to replace like-for-like. We carry lock bypass tools and can often open a standard pin and tumbler cylinder without damaging the door. If drilling is the only option, we drill the cylinder, not the door, and replace the cylinder on the spot. You’ll get the cost on the phone before we arrive. Call (331) 310-8471.
For lock installation, rekeying, key duplication, or a second opinion on any written estimate in San Francisco, call Novak Lock & Security at (331) 310-8471. A live person answers, the price is written before we dispatch, and the tech who arrives carries the same number on the invoice.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving San Francisco since 2002.