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 Shrewsbury
Lock installation and rekeying in Shrewsbury typically runs $45-$95 per cylinder for a standard rekey and $180-$420 for a full smart lock install, quoted in writing before we dispatch. If you live in a colonial off Grafton Street, Lake Street, or in one of the Route 9 corridor subdivisions built between 1990 and 2005, there’s a good chance your home still has the original builder-grade hardware, and in some cases the builder’s key. Call (331) 310-8471 and our Lock Installation & Rekey team will give you a firm price on the phone. That price is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added on arrival, no renegotiation at the door.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Shrewsbury’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
We’ve worked on enough Shrewsbury doors to know the stock. The center-entrance colonials built in the 1990s and 2000s off South Street, Prospect Street, and around the Floral Street area share nearly identical prep: standard 2-3/8″ backset, Grade 2 Kwikset or Schlage deadbolts, and the same latch bore dimensions across entire developments. That means we arrive knowing what’s behind the escutcheon before we remove it, and we carry the parts that fit on the truck.
Daniel Novak set the rule that governs every visit: Haven Standard Clause 1, the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. Since 2002, every Novak technician has been background-checked, uniformed, and required to hand the customer a written scope before turning a single screw. When the job is done, you get a documented photo record. Not as an upgrade. As procedure. We are independently owned and operated, and our dispatchers answer the phone live around the clock.
Shrewsbury homeowners call us for two reasons that repeat every week. First, a lock that worked fine in October won’t throw in February because the door frame moved. Second, someone on the street just discovered their key opens a neighbor’s front door. We handle both same day, seven days a week.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in Shrewsbury
Smart Lock Installation
Most Shrewsbury colonials built between 1995 and 2005 have the same 2-3/8″ backset prep, which means a Schlage Encode, a Yale Assure, or a Kwikset Halo can usually be installed without drilling new holes in the door or the frame. We install the lock, pair it with your Wi-Fi or Z-Wave network, set access codes, and walk you through the app before we leave. A full smart lock installation in Shrewsbury runs $180-$420 depending on the lock model and whether we’re replacing a single deadbolt or a handle-plus-deadbolt set. If your existing deadbolt is 25 years old and stiff, we’ll tell you to replace it rather than mount a $250 motor onto a dying cylinder.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry for a Shrewsbury home usually means either a keypad deadbolt or a full keypad handle set. The builders who put up the subdivisions around Lake Quinsigamond and off Route 9 used standard cylindrical prep almost universally, which is good news: keyless entry retrofits on that prep are straightforward. We program multiple user codes, set temporary codes for contractors or dog walkers, and show you how to delete a code in under 30 seconds. A keypad deadbolt installation typically runs $150-$300 in Shrewsbury, including the hardware.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks are the most common upgrade request we get on Shrewsbury’s 1990s-era doors. The reason is simple: the original builder deadbolts are now at the age where the internal pins and springs are corroding, and homeowners would rather replace them with something they don’t need a key for. We install keypad deadbolts that match your existing handle finish and keyway, which matters if you want one key to still open everything. Keypad lock installation in Shrewsbury runs $140-$280 per lock, written before we start.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks, the ones that read a fingerprint, are a growing request in Shrewsbury’s newer subdivisions, especially among homeowners who have bought and sold in the last five years and want to stop tracking keys entirely. A biometric deadbolt install runs $220-$450 depending on model and whether we’re also rekeying the rest of the house to match. One thing we check every time: the door alignment. A biometric lock’s bolt motor is not strong enough to force a misaligned deadbolt into a shifted strike plate, and Shrewsbury winters shift a lot of strike plates.
Key Duplication
Key duplication is straightforward until it isn’t. Standard Schlage and Kwikset keys cut at the hardware store work in most Shrewsbury homes. But if you have a Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, or Baldwin high-security cylinder, the key blank is restricted and can’t be copied at a big-box store. We cut those keys, verify they operate smoothly in your lock, and document the duplication. Standard key duplication in Shrewsbury runs $3-$8 per key for common blanks, $15-$35 for high-security or restricted blanks.
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 Shrewsbury
We are factory-authorized on Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Baldwin, and Schlage hardware, and we stock common cylinders, tailpieces, and latch components in our service vehicles so a rekey on a Grafton Street colonial doesn’t turn into a two-trip job. When a Schlage deadbolt from 1998 is failing, we replace it with a Schlage cylinder that fits the same prep. When a homeowner wants bump-proof or pick-resistant security, we install Medeco or Mul-T-Lock high-security cylinders and explain, in plain terms, what makes them different from a $30 Kwikset. Every brand we install is priced in writing before the work starts.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in Shrewsbury Homes
- Interchangeable builder keys. In the 1990s and 2000s Shrewsbury building boom, developers master-keyed entire subdivisions. Dozens of homes on the same street can share key patterns, and we regularly find that a neighbor’s key opens a front door that was never rekeyed after closing. The fix is a rekey to a unique keyway and a documented key control record.
- Corroded builder-grade deadbolts. The Kwikset and Schlage Grade 2 locks installed on 1990s colonials are now 20-30 years old. Internal springs fatigue, pins corrode, and the key gets hard to turn, especially after a rekey exposes worn internals. Replace or upgrade when the cylinder binds.
- Freeze-thaw frame flex. Central Massachusetts winters swing hard. The double-door colonial assemblies common in Shrewsbury’s subdivisions flex enough that deadbolt throws drift out of alignment with the strike plate. A smart lock installed in August can fail to throw in January. We realign or replace strike plates, and we check this before installing any motorized lock.
- Non-standard prep on older homes. Around the historic town center and the Lake Quinsigamond shoreline, mid-century ranches and capes sometimes carry old mortise hardware or non-standard backset. Those locks require more labor, sometimes a mortise-to-cylindrical conversion. We quote that labor flat before arriving, not hourly with a running meter.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in Shrewsbury, MA
Here are the numbers we actually quote in Shrewsbury. A standard rekey runs $45-$95 per cylinder, which includes new keys, pins, springs, and labor. If a builder’s master-keyed lock is still on the door, we rekey it off the master system, usually at the same per-cylinder rate. New deadbolt installation runs $120-$250 per lock including hardware on standard prep. Smart lock installation runs $180-$420 depending on the lock and network setup. Keypad locks run $140-$280. Biometric locks run $220-$450. High-security Medeco or Mul-T-Lock cylinders run $85-$160 per cylinder on top of installation labor. The price we quote on the phone is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge. No bait pricing. Call (331) 310-8471 and get a firm number before we dispatch anyone.
We Also Serve Cities Near Shrewsbury
Novak Lock & Security serves the full Shrewsbury area along with Worcester, Marlborough, Framingham, and Leominster. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from the brand’s Boston office, and crews are staged locally so response times to Shrewsbury are measured in minutes, not hours. Same firm pricing, same written scope, same 365-Day Done Right Promise, wherever you are in the region.
Serving Shrewsbury, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Shrewsbury 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 Shrewsbury
A rekey is all you need, as long as the lock hardware itself is still functioning. A rekey changes the internal pins so the old builder’s key no longer works, and we issue new keys at about $45-$95 per cylinder in Shrewsbury. If the deadbolt is also stiff or corroding after two decades, we may recommend replacing it during the same visit. We’ll tell you if replacement is necessary before we touch it. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll walk through what’s on your door.
Because the door frame moves. Shrewsbury’s colonial door assemblies, many of them with twin doors and wide transoms, are large enough that freeze-thaw cycles flex the frame and shift the strike plate out of alignment with the deadbolt. A stiff throw in January is usually the bolt grinding against the edge of the strike plate. We realign the plate, sometimes deepen the strike pocket, and the stiffness goes away. If the cylinder itself is stiff, that’s internal corrosion and usually means replacement.
Usually, yes. Shrewsbury’s 1990s and 2000s subdivision homes were built to a standard cylindrical prep, almost always a 2-3/8″ backset with a standard latch bore. That matches the footprint of most current smart deadbolts from Schlage, Yale, and Kwikset. We confirm the prep dimensions before ordering or installing anything, and we will tell you on the phone if your particular door needs any modification. The price you’re quoted includes whatever labor the install actually takes.
We rekey the lock off the builder’s master key system. That means changing the internal pins so neither the builder’s master key nor any neighbor with a builder key can open your door. In Shrewsbury, this is one of the most common calls we get, and it’s the exact scenario we saw on a street off Grafton Street where five neighboring homes discovered their keys were interchangeable 25 years after closing. A rekey runs $45-$95 per cylinder. We document the new key control in writing. Call (331) 310-8471 to schedule.
If the key turns hard in the cylinder itself, replace the lock. A rekey only changes the pins; it does not fix worn springs or corroded internals, and putting new pins into a 25-year-old Kwikset often makes the stiffness worse. A new deadbolt on standard Shrewsbury prep runs $120-$250 installed. We’ll show you the condition of the old cylinder when we remove it, and we’ll only recommend replacement when the hardware actually warrants it.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Shrewsbury since 2002.