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 South Boston
Lock installation and rekey work in South Boston comes with a set of conditions you will not find a mile west in Dorchester or inland toward Roxbury. The salt air off Boston Harbor corrodes exterior cylinders on a three-to-five-year cycle. The housing stock is dominated by triple-deckers built between 1890 and 1930, many now converted to condos. The doors are often original, warped by a century of freeze-thaw cycles. None of this is a problem if you know what you are looking at before you touch the hardware.
That is the difference in a nutshell. Novak Lock & Security dispatches crews who know South Boston’s doors, South Boston’s locks, and South Boston’s condensation patterns well enough to tell you in the first five minutes whether you need a $28 rekey or a $340 mortise retrofit. Call (331) 310-8471 and you will get a written price before anyone gets in a van.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is South Boston’s Preferred Lock Installation & Rekey Company
Since 2002, the rule at Novak Lock & Security has been simple: the price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added at the door. No “we found something else” escalation once the old cylinder is on the table. This rule is Haven Standard Clause 1, and it is the founding discipline behind every Lock Installation & Rekey job we run in South Boston.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. They work to The Haven Standard, the same documentation framework applied across all ten Haven brands. At job completion, you receive a photo record of the work. Not a promise to take photos. Not a “we probably should have.” A documented file showing the lock before, the lock after, and the hardware we installed, left with you on site. For South Boston condo owners closing on a unit and needing proof of rekey for a condo association or insurance binder, this record is the thing you show. It is already done.
We answer the phone with a live person 24 hours a day. When a deadbolt seizes on East Broadway at 9pm in February, you speak to a dispatcher who can quote a firm price and tell you exactly when the technician arrives. No voicemail queue, no automated menu, no callback sometime tomorrow.
Our Lock Installation & Rekey Services in South Boston
Smart Lock Installation
A modern smart lock does not simply drop onto a 1910 triple-decker door. The original door is often 1-3/4 inches thick, occasionally thicker. The bore may be a non-standard size. The strike plate sits slightly out of line because the frame moved in 1935 and never came back. We install Schlage Encode, Yale Assure, and similar smart locks in South Boston every week, and we do it by checking the door geometry before we drill. If the existing mortise setup can stay, we leave it. If the bore needs a custom adapter, we say so in writing. Smart lock installation in South Boston typically runs $180 to $290 including hardware mounting, alignment, and app setup.
Keyless Entry
Keyless entry means a keypad or touchscreen deadbolt that removes the physical key from the equation. For South Boston condo owners who rent on a rotating basis, this is a particular advantage: no keys to copy, no keys to change between tenants, just a code change. We install keyless entry hardware from Schlage, Kwikset, and Yale, and we can rekey or replace the cylinder underneath it if you ever need a mechanical fallback. Expect $160 to $240 for a standard keyless deadbolt installation in South Boston.
Keypad Lock
Keypad locks are the simplest form of keyless entry: a mechanical or electronic keypad that opens a deadbolt. The mechanical version, like the Schlage FE595, never needs batteries. The electronic version adds audit trails, schedules, and remote codes. On a South Boston triple-decker front vestibule, a keypad lock on the common entry makes more sense than most people realize: it eliminates the “who has the front key” problem across three units. Keypad lock installation runs $140 to $220 depending on whether we are retrofitting an existing deadbolt bore or cutting a fresh one.
Biometric Lock
Biometric locks read a fingerprint and open in roughly one second. They are not a gimmick for South Boston homeowners who have contractors, cleaners, or caregivers coming through the same door on different schedules. You grant access by fingerprint, not by handing out copies of a key you then never see again. We install biometric hardware from Yale and eufy, and we are honest about the limitation: the sensor is the wear item, and it fails before the mechanical cylinder does. Budget $220 to $320 for biometric lock installation in South Boston.
Key Duplication
Not every key is a Kwikset KW1. South Boston triple-deckers frequently still carry original Corbin, Russwin, or Sargent cylinders. Some have been retrofitted with Medeco or Mul-T-Lock high-security cylinders, which can only be duplicated by a locksmith who holds the factory authorization to cut that keyway. We hold those authorizations. If we cannot duplicate a key because the keyway is restricted, we tell you, show you the blank, and explain what your options are. Standard key duplication runs $4 to $8 per key. Restricted or high-security duplication runs $15 to $35 per key.
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 South Boston
We carry and service a broad range of hardware in South Boston: entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage, high-security Medeco and Mul-T-Lock cylinders, Yale smart locks, and Baldwin for owners who want a deadbolt that actually looks like it belongs on a century-old oak door. We stock stainless and marine-grade cylinders for harbor-adjacent doors on East Broadway and the streets toward Fort Point, because a standard brass cylinder there will seize in three to five years and a stainless one will not. If you bring us a competitor’s written estimate, we will review it at no charge. That is a standing offer, not a seasonal promotion.
Common Lock Installation & Rekey Problems We See in South Boston Homes
- Salt-air seized deadbolt cylinders. Exterior locks within a few blocks of Boston Harbor oxidize until the key will not turn. We see this most often on East Broadway and the side streets toward Fort Point. The fix is usually a stainless cylinder swap, not a whole new lock.
- Original mortise locks with slipped spindles. The spindle wears down until the key turns but the latch does not retract. This is common on 1890-1930 triple-deckers. The lock can often be rekeyed and the spindle replaced without cutting the door.
- Warped original doors that misalign the strike plate. Freeze-thaw cycles move the door frame a few millimeters every winter. Eventually the deadbolt will not throw. The fix is realigning or custom-fitting the strike, not replacing the deadbolt.
- Mixed cylinders across a three-unit condo conversion. A single South Boston triple-decker often has three different keyways across five doors: front vestibule, rear common entry, and three unit doors. The fix is a master-key plan or a single-key rekey, and it is all done in one visit.
Pricing for Lock Installation & Rekey in South Boston, MA
We Also Serve Cities Near South Boston
Novak Lock & Security serves South Boston and the wider metro from the Boston office. If your job is in Boston proper, Worcester, Springfield, or Lowell, we can schedule the same written-price service. The phone number is the same: (331) 310-8471. The rule is the same: written price before work, photo record after.
Serving South Boston, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the South Boston 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 South Boston
You can often rekey an original mortise lock without replacing the brass body. The cylinder comes out, the pins change, and the old key stops working. If the spindle is worn to the point where the latch will not retract, we replace the spindle or retrofit the mortise body in place, which costs less than a full lock replacement and preserves the original door. We will tell you which is which before any work begins. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote.
Salt air from Boston Harbor oxidizes the brass cylinder until the internal pins bind and the key will not turn. This happens faster on East Broadway and the side streets toward Fort Point than anywhere else in the city because the prevailing wind carries salt spray directly onto the door hardware. We stock stainless and marine-grade cylinders specifically for this. A stainless cylinder swap typically restores the lock without replacing the entire deadbolt. Call (331) 310-8471 and we will quote the swap before we dispatch.
Most of the time, yes. The original mortise body stays in the door. We install the smart lock’s deadbolt or latch mechanism in the existing bore, align the strike plate to account for the warp, and calibrate the motor so it never fights the frame. On a badly warped door we may need to custom-shim the strike or rebate the frame slightly, and we will tell you that before we touch the door. Smart lock installation in South Boston runs $180 to $290. Call (331) 310-8471 for a written quote.
Rekeying changes the pin configuration inside the existing cylinder so the old key no longer turns it. The cylinder body, the lock housing, and the keyway stay the same. You get new keys, old keys stop working, and the door hardware is untouched. Replacing the cylinder means a new cylinder body, which is necessary when the old one is corroded, cracked, or the keyway is worn beyond service. A rekey runs $28 to $45 per cylinder in South Boston. A new cylinder runs $40 to $80 depending on the grade. Call (331) 310-8471 and we will tell you which one your lock needs.
Yes. That is a standard job for us. We rekey each unit door and both common entries, and if you want, we set up a master-key system so one key opens the common vestibule and each unit key only opens that unit. A full three-unit triple-decker rekey runs $180 to $320 depending on the number of cylinders and whether you want a master-key setup. The whole job is typically done in two to three hours in one visit. Call (331) 310-8471 for a firm written price.
Contact Novak Lock & Security for lock installation and rekey in South Boston. Call (331) 310-8471. You will speak to a live person, get a written price on the phone, and that price is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge, no surprise escalation, no exceptions. If it is not done right, we make it right under the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving South Boston since 2002.