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 Commercial Locksmith Across Daly City
Commercial locksmith work in Daly City rarely happens at a convenient hour. A tenant locks themselves out on Junipero Serra at 11pm. A Westlake storefront owner finds a seized deadbolt on a fog-soaked Monday morning. A property manager near Serramonte needs four units rekeyed before new tenants arrive Friday. Our Commercial Locksmith team handles all of it, usually within 45 minutes of your call to (910) 714-4287.
We know Daly City’s buildings because we work in them every week, from the Doelger-era tract homes in Westlake to the mixed-use buildings along Mission Street. The price is written down before we dispatch anyone. If the repair fails, the 365-Day Done Right Promise means we return at no charge. That’s the whole arrangement, stated plainly.
Why Dunmore Locksmith Is Daly City’s Preferred Commercial Locksmith Company
Daly City’s commercial properties are different from San Francisco’s. The housing is denser, the doors are older, and the fog is relentless. A locksmith who does not know Westlake’s garage-to-interior door prep problem or the way the marine layer eats exterior cylinders will waste your time and your tenant’s patience. We do not.
Since 2007, Dunmore Locksmith has operated under the Threshold Group umbrella, serving Daly City commercial clients with background-checked, photo-badged technicians sent to you by name and photo before the visit. You will know exactly who is coming to the property before they turn the handle. That’s the Threshold Standard, and it matters on a multi-tenant site where you’re giving someone access to building-wide keys.
Our Daly City customers keep coming back for one reason: we show up on time with the right parts, we write the price down before touching a screw, and if the work doesn’t hold, we return free for a full year. Property managers on Gellert Boulevard and business owners near Top of the Hill tell us the same thing: they’d rather pay a fair price once than gamble on a cheap fix that fails in the fog.
Master Key System in Daly City
A Master Key System in Daly City gives a building owner one key that opens every door, while each tenant’s key opens only their own unit. For a multi-tenant building near Westlake or Serramonte, this is not a convenience feature. It is basic key control. Without it, every copied key becomes a building-wide liability.
Installing a master key system on a typical Daly City commercial property costs $350 – $850 depending on the number of cylinders and whether the existing hardware can be re-pinned or needs replacement. We quote the exact figure in writing before any work starts, and that is the price on the invoice.
Key Control for Multi-Tenant Buildings
When a tenant moves out of a unit on a master key system, rekeying that one cylinder takes about 20 minutes and typically runs $35 – $65 per lock. The master key itself does not change, so the owner’s access is untouched while the departing tenant’s key stops working. That’s the point of doing it properly the first time.
We also stamp our commercial keys with “Do Not Duplicate” and issue restricted keyways through brands like Medeco and Abloy. A copied key on a standard Kwikset cylinder reopens every unit it was ever cut for. A restricted key cannot be copied at a hardware store counter, period.
What the Install Actually Involves
We survey the building first: every cylinder gets mapped, every door gets measured, and we note which hardware is original Doelger-era prep versus newer Schlage or Baldwin installs. You get a written scope and a flat per-lock price before we touch anything. On older Daly City buildings, the survey also catches problems like worn pin stacks from salt-air corrosion before they become lockouts.
Mortise Lock Replacement in Daly City
Mortise Lock Replacement in Daly City comes up most often in the older commercial storefronts along Mission Street and the apartment buildings built before the 1960s. A mortise lock sits inside a rectangular pocket cut into the door edge, which is why it is so much stronger than a bored cylindrical lock. It is also why replacing one is a bigger job than swapping a knob.
Replacing a commercial mortise lock on a Daly City building typically runs $220 – $480 for the lock body, plus $85 – $140 in labor if the existing mortise pocket needs modification to accept the new case. We carry Schlage and Baldwin mortise bodies stocked for common Daly City door sizes, so most replacements are done in a single visit.
When to Replace Versus Rekey
Rekeying a mortise lock costs $35 – $65 per cylinder and only changes the internal pins so old keys stop working. It does nothing for a worn latch, a sagging deadbolt, or a corroded case. After 60-plus years in Daly City’s salt fog, many original mortise bodies on Doelger-era buildings are simply done. If the internals are corroded through, replacement is cheaper in the long run than repeated service calls.
Working With Original Door Preps
Older Daly City mortise pockets were often cut by hand and are not perfectly square to modern templates. Our techs do not force a new case into an old pocket. We measure the existing bore, confirm the faceplate dimensions, and modify the pocket cleanly when the replacement body requires it. The finish work matches the original brass or stainless faceplate so the door looks like it was never touched.
Trusted Brands We Service in Daly City
We are factory-authorized to install and service Schlage, Medeco, and Abloy hardware, which covers most of what is on Daly City commercial doors. Medeco and Abloy are the restricted-key workhorses for multi-tenant buildings where key control is non-negotiable. Schlage covers the commercial grade mortise and cylindrical locksets on storefronts and mixed-use properties. We stock common cylinders, pin kits, and latch parts for these brands locally, which means a same-day rekey on a Schlage storefront lock in Daly City does not require waiting on a distributor.
Common Commercial Locksmith Problems We See in Daly City Homes
- Seized exterior cylinders from salt fog. Daly City’s marine layer deposits salt on lock hardware nearly every morning. That salt works into the pin stacks and springs inside the cylinder until the key will not turn. We see this most often on west-facing doors on the uphill side of Westlake and along Skyline Boulevard.
- Thin garage-to-interior doors with shallow preps. Doelger-era passage doors between the garage and living space were built thinner than modern slabs. A stock deadbolt with a 2-3/8″ backset often will not seat, and the fix requires cutting a 2-3/4″ backset or adjusting the bore on site. We carry both sizes on every Daly City truck.
- Multi-tenant rekeys with zero key control. When a building gets rekeyed unit by unit with no master system, every tenant key is a potential skeleton key. We map the whole building, issue a written key schedule, and stamp keys so the owner knows exactly who has what.
- Corroded pins making non-destructive entry impossible. A lock with salt-corroded pins may not respond to picking even by an experienced tech. On Daly City commercial doors, we prefer non-destructive entry methods, but a heavily corroded cylinder sometimes requires drilling and immediate cylinder replacement. We always tell you before we drill.
Pricing for Commercial Locksmith in Daly City, CA
Here are the honest ranges for common commercial jobs in Daly City right now:
- Commercial lockout (non-destructive entry): $95 – $160
- Rekey a standard commercial knob or deadbolt: $35 – $65 per lock
- Master key system survey and setup: $350 – $850
- Mortise lock replacement (body and labor): $305 – $620
- Panic bar installation: $280 – $520 per door
- High-security cylinder upgrade (Medeco or Abloy): $120 – $220 per cylinder
What changes the final number: how many cylinders we are working on, whether the door requires prep modification, and the brand of hardware you choose. The quote we give you on the phone is the full price. There is no call-out surcharge added when the tech arrives, and no after-the-fact total that balloons past what you approved. Call (910) 714-4287 and we will price your job exactly.
We Also Serve Cities Near Daly City
Our Commercial Locksmith in Daly City crews also cover Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, and Pacifica. If your building sits right on the line between Daly City and one of these neighboring cities, call us and we will confirm coverage and response time for your exact address.
Serving Daly City, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Daly City 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 About Commercial Locksmith in Daly City
Yes, in most cases we can. The original builder-grade cylinders on Doelger-era homes are typically Kwikset or early Schlage, and both accept standard rekey pins. We open the cylinder, replace the pin stack, and cut new keys for $35 – $65 per lock. If the cylinder itself is corroded from Daly City’s marine layer, rekeying would only give you a working lock for a few months before the pins seize again. In that case, we recommend replacing the cylinder and we will tell you why before doing the work. Call (910) 714-4287 and we will assess your specific doors over the phone or on site.
Daly City sits under one of the most persistent marine layers in California, which means your exterior locks are exposed to salt-laden fog most mornings of the year. That salt works into the cylinder, corroding the small springs and brass pins until the key will not turn. San Francisco neighborhoods on the east side of the hills get far less fog exposure, so their locks corrode much slower. The fix for a Daly City deadbolt that keeps seizing is usually a cylinder replacement with corrosion-resistant internal components, not another spray of graphite. Call (910) 714-4287 for an exact quote on your door.
Yes, and it is a regular job for us. The Doelger-era garage-to-interior passage doors in Westlake were built on thinner slabs with shallower preps, so a standard 2-3/8″ backset deadbolt often will not seat correctly. We carry 2-3/4″ backset kits and the tooling to modify the existing bore on site, then install a deadbolt that actually fits the door instead of forcing a stock part into a prep that was never made for it. This typically adds $40 – $75 to the install for the modification work. Call (910) 714-4287 and we will tell you exactly what your door needs.
A master key system gives each tenant a key that opens only their unit, while the owner or manager’s master key opens every unit. It works by adding extra layers of pins inside each cylinder, so the tenant key and the master key each align a different shear line. For Daly City multi-tenant buildings, we survey every lock, design the key hierarchy in writing, and install the system for $350 – $850 depending on cylinder count. After the install, you get a written key schedule showing exactly which keys open which doors. Call (910) 714-4287 to schedule a site survey.
Rekey it if the lock works smoothly and you only need to change who has access. Replace it if the latch is worn, the deadbolt sags, the case is rusted from Daly City’s salt air, or the mortise body is original to a 60-year-old Doelger-era door. Rekeying a mortise lock runs $35 – $65 per cylinder. Replacing the mortise body runs $305 – $620 with labor, depending on whether the pocket needs modification. We will tell you which one is actually worth your money before any work begins. Call (910) 714-4287 for an honest assessment of your specific lock.
We know Daly City’s buildings, its fog, and its doors. We know that a stock kit or a drill-first approach fails more often than it succeeds here. When you call Dunmore Locksmith at (910) 714-4287, you get a written price before we dispatch, a named technician with a photo before they arrive, and a full year to find out if the repair holds. That is the offer, and it applies to every commercial job we do in Daly City.
Written by Perry Osgood, Owner at Dunmore Locksmith, serving Daly City commercial clients since 2007.