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.
Locksmith Before & After in Los Angeles, CA
We’ve been opening, fixing, and replacing locks across Los Angeles since 2002. These are the jobs that stick with us - the ones where a customer handed us a real problem and we handed back documented proof of the fix. No stock photos, no staging. Just the work, the hardware, and the photo record we leave behind.
Recent Transformations
Commercial Master Rekey - Downtown Los Angeles High-Rise
The property manager at a 42-unit commercial building on Figueroa had inherited four different key systems from previous tenants. Keys didn’t match suites, subcontractors carried copies nobody could account for, and the front desk drawer held 23 unmarked blanks. We stripped every cylinder - Schlage, Yale, and two off-brand imports - and keyed them to a single master system with six change keys. Haven Standard Clause 4: every cylinder photographed before removal, every pinning chart delivered in writing, every key stamped and cross-referenced. The photo record went to the building owner and the property manager both. Total cylinders rekeyed: 47. Price quoted on the phone: $1,840. Price on the invoice: $1,840.
High-Security Cylinder Upgrade - Hancock Park Residential
The homeowner on Rossmore had already replaced the door once after a drill attack. The replacement lock was another big-box deadbolt, and the keyway showed fresh scratch marks from a bump-key attempt. We installed a Mul-T-Lock Interactive+ cylinder - that’s a high-security lock with a pin-in-pin design that standard picks and bump keys won’t open - paired with a reinforced strike box and 3-inch screws into the framing. The key blanks are restricted; only we can cut duplicates, and only with the owner’s signed authorization on file. Written price before we started: $680 for the cylinder, labor, and hardware. Photo record includes the old lock’s drill damage, the new cylinder’s serial number, and the strike reinforcement. This is the fourth bump-key attempt we’ve seen in Hancock Park this spring.
Access Control Retrofit - Arts District Creative Campus
A 16-tenant creative building on Traction had keypad locks on every suite, but the previous property manager had handed out the same four codes for three years. No way to know who entered when, no way to revoke access without changing codes for everyone. We pulled the standalone units and installed a networked access control system with HID Prox readers at four perimeter points and two interior suite dividers. Each tenant gets a unique fob, programmed in our van before we leave. The property manager pulls entry logs from a browser. Written scope included: six readers, one controller, cloud licensing for 24 months, and training for the on-site coordinator. Flat price: $4,200 installed. Haven Standard Clause 1 applied - the dispatcher quoted it, the technician confirmed it on arrival, and the invoice matched to the dollar.
Emergency Lockout - Mid-Wilshire Apartment, 2 AM
The call came in at 2:17 AM from a tenant on Cochran whose roommate had left for a flight with the only key. Deadbolt was thrown, standard Schlage B60N. We picked it clean in under four minutes - no drill, no damage, no new hardware needed. But we still photographed the lock face, the bolt condition, and the strike alignment before we left. The tenant got the photo record by text before the technician walked to the van. Price quoted on the phone: $145 for after-hours non-destructive entry. Price on the invoice: $145. Calls are answered by a live person at this hour, not a callback queue. That’s been the rule since 2002.
Safe Crack & Combination Recovery - Silver Lake Residential
The owner on Hyperion had the safe for twelve years, never changed the factory combination, and lost the paperwork. The override key snapped off in the lock when they tried it. We manipulated the combination through contact points - no drill, no hole, no damage to the safe body. Took 47 minutes. New combination set to the owner’s choice, new override key cut from the key code, and both recorded in writing with the serial number noted. Photo record shows the safe pre-opening, the recovered interior, and the new key alongside the broken one. Price: $320, quoted before we dispatched. This is the kind of job where a cheap quote over the phone usually turns into a drilled safe and a replacement bill. We don’t work that way.
Full Lockset Replacement - Koreatown Fourplex
The landlord on Irolo bought the fourplex in 2023 and found every unit still running original Weiser knob locks from the building’s construction. No deadbolts, keyways so worn that copies worked in multiple units, and one knob that turned without a key at all. We replaced eight entry doors with Schlage B660P deadbolts and ND80PD passage levers - that’s Grade 1 commercial hardware on a residential job because the traffic justifies it. All four units keyed alike to the owner’s master, with individual change keys for tenants. Written bitting chart delivered, photo record shows every old lock’s serial number and every new lock’s installation. Total: $1,960. The old Weiser knobs went into a box with the owner’s name on it - some landlords want them for hardware matching on interior doors. We document what we remove, not just what we install.
Want Results Like These?
Every job starts with a written price before we turn a screw or pick a cylinder. No call-out surcharge, no technician markup at the door, no surprise. Call (213) 632-4875 and a live person will answer - 24 hours a day, every day. We’ll quote your specific job, dispatch a background-checked uniformed technician, and leave you with a photo record and a 365-Day Done Right Promise. Haven Standard Clause 1: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. It has been since 2002.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles since 2002.