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.
Medeco Locksmith in Los Angeles, CA | Dunmore Locksmith
Medeco high-security lock service in Los Angeles typically runs $180 – $420 depending on whether you need rekeying, cylinder replacement, or full deadbolt installation, and most residential calls in the basin or Valley are completed same day. What sets our Medeco work apart in Los Angeles is the volume of rekeys we perform under the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance on 1960s dingbat buildings, where mismatched hardware and strict turnover deadlines demand faster turnaround than dealer channels can provide. We are an independent Medeco service provider, not a factory-authorized dealer, which means we source OEM parts directly and set our own schedule. Call (910) 714-4287 for a written estimate before anyone is dispatched.
Why Los Angeles Residents Choose Us for Medeco Service
Perry Osgood grew up in the Palms neighborhood, a few blocks west of Culver City, watching his uncle re-key apartment buildings along Venice Boulevard. He completed his locksmithing coursework at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College on Washington Boulevard, then spent two-plus decades working locks from Silver Lake to downtown. That background matters when you’re choosing who installs or repairs Medeco hardware, because these locks are only as secure as the technician who services them.
We stock Medeco sales & service parts locally, including OEM pin kits for Biaxial and M3/M4 cylinders, Maxum deadbolt components, and commercial mortise cylinders. Our technicians are background-checked, identity-verified, and sent to you by name and photo before arrival under The Threshold Standard. Every job carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the repair fails, we return at no charge. The price you approve in writing is the price on the invoice. No after-the-fact totals. No call-out surcharge added when we arrive.
A locked door should only stop the wrong person.
Common Medeco Locksmith Problems We Solve in Los Angeles
- Salt-air corrosion seizes deadbolt throws. The marine layer rolling through Venice, Mar Vista, and Pacific Palisades deposits salt on exterior hardware faster than most Angelenos expect. Medeco’s hardened steel deadbolt throws are tough, but without regular lubrication they corrode in place and can snap under torque. We see this every winter on beach-adjacent properties.
- Heat-expanded door frames misalign Maxum bolts. San Fernando Valley summers above 105°F swell wooden jambs in older homes, racking Medeco Maxum deadbolts so they no longer seat cleanly into strikes. It’s not the lock’s fault. We file strikes, add extenders, and realign hardware rather than selling you a lock you don’t need.
- Seismic-racked cylinders bind keys in hillside bungalows. Decades of minor movement in Laurel Canyon, Beachwood Canyon, and Nichols Canyon have torqued door frames just enough that Medeco cylinders sit out of true. Keys bind. Sometimes they break off in the keyway. We carry files and strike-plate extenders on every canyon call because we’ve learned what flat-city locksmiths haven’t.
- Improper key duplication wears sidebar mechanisms. Medeco keys cut on standard blanks at hardware stores grind down the angled biaxial cuts and sidebar interface. The key still turns, barely, until it doesn’t. Then you’re looking at cylinder replacement instead of a $25 rekey. We cut Medeco keys on OEM blanks with proper equipment.
- Mixed-hardware master key systems fail. Landlords in RSO buildings from Koreatown to Van Nuys inherit Medeco cylinders cobbled together with Kwikset and Schlage hardware. Master pins don’t align. Key control collapses. We rebuild or replace with consistent Medeco cores and set up proper master key hierarchies.
Medeco Service in Los Angeles: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
Los Angeles’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance legally obligates landlords to rekey rent-controlled units between every tenancy. With roughly 60% of Angelenos renting and hundreds of thousands of RSO-covered units concentrated in the San Fernando Valley, Mid-Wilshire, and Koreatown corridors, this creates a structurally mandated, recurring commercial rekeying pipeline that simply does not exist at this scale in Long Beach or Anaheim. For Medeco owners, that means two things: first, turnover deadlines are non-negotiable, and dealer-only service channels with their week-long lead times are not an option; second, the dingbat-style buildings that dominate this stock often contain a mismatched archaeology of hardware, Schlage interchangeable cores beside Kwikset knobs beside genuine Medeco cylinders, all needing to function under one master key system. We were called to a 1960s dingbat building in Koreatown where the landlord needed to rekey eight units under the RSO after a turnover cycle, but the existing Medeco Biaxial cylinders had been mixed with old Kwikset knobs. Our tech pulled the worn Medeco cores, rebuilt them with OEM pin kits, and installed new Medeco Maxum deadbolts on each entry door, then set up a master key system so the property manager could access all units while each tenant received a unique key. The job was completed in one day, bringing the building into compliance and eliminating the key-control headaches the landlord had been dealing with for years.
Layered on top, Los Angeles has issued more ADU permits than any other California city. Lockset installation on converted garages and backyard units is a fast-growing residential revenue stream unique to this market, and landlords upgrading these units to Medeco high-security hardware need technicians who understand both the product and the city’s inspection timelines.
Medeco Models & Products We Service in Los Angeles
We work on the full Medeco residential and commercial line: Maxum deadbolts in single and double-cylinder configurations; Biaxial cylinders with their patented angled pin and sidebar design; M3 and M4 keyway systems with interactive element technology; and commercial mortise cylinders for heavy-duty applications. Our Los Angeles service area warehouse stocks OEM Medeco pins, springs, sidebar components, and replacement cylinders to avoid the delays that come with special-ordering through dealer channels.
We use OEM parts exclusively because aftermarket substitutes compromise the sidebar and key-control integrity that makes Medeco worth owning. When a cylinder is worn beyond safe tolerances we recommend replacement, but we will rebuild a repairable lock with genuine components to extend its service life. That stance costs us some markup opportunities. We’re fine with that.
Medeco Service Pricing in Los Angeles
Medeco rekeying in Los Angeles typically runs $180 – $260 per cylinder, including new keys cut on OEM blanks. Full Medeco Maxum deadbolt installation with cylinder and hardware ranges from $320 – $420 depending on door prep requirements. Master key system setup for multi-unit buildings starts around $280 for the first cylinder and scales with complexity. Commercial mortise cylinder service runs $220 – $340.
What drives cost: cylinder condition, whether we can rebuild or must replace, door-frame alignment issues common in hillside neighborhoods, and master key hierarchy complexity. Every estimate is free. The full price is quoted on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and it is the exact price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge. No teaser rates that balloon on arrival. Call (910) 714-4287 for your written estimate.
Serving Los Angeles, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Angeles 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 – Medeco Locksmith in Los Angeles
Yes. We rekey Medeco Biaxial, M3, and M4 cylinders by replacing the internal pin stacks and sidebar components with OEM parts, which invalidates old keys without touching the lock body. For RSO compliance, we provide a rekeying certificate documenting the date and cylinder serial numbers. Call (910) 714-4287 for an exact quote – estimates are free.
Yes. The issue is almost always heat-expanded door frames in San Fernando Valley homes, not the Medeco mechanism itself. We realign strikes, add extenders, and adjust bolt throw rather than replacing a perfectly good lock, so Door Lock Repair - Los Angeles is often the right call. Same-day service is usually available in the Valley during peak summer months. Call (910) 714-4287 – we’ll give you the full price before dispatching.
Yes. We’ve installed Medeco Maxum deadbolts and rekeyed cylinders on dozens of ADU garage conversions and backyard units across Los Angeles, from Eagle Rock to West Adams. We coordinate with your contractor’s inspection schedule and provide the hardware documentation most city inspectors expect to see. Call (910) 714-4287 to schedule a site visit – estimates are free.
Salt air corrodes exterior deadbolt throws and cylinder housings roughly twice as fast in Venice, Mar Vista, and Pacific Palisades as it does in drier inland neighborhoods like Pasadena or the eastern Valley. Medeco’s hardened steel resists better than standard hardware, but without annual lubrication and occasional strike-plate maintenance, the bolt can seize or snap. Inland Medeco locks typically need service every 5 – 7 years; coastal installations benefit from inspection every 2 – 3 years.
Yes. We design and implement Medeco master key systems for buildings from four units to forty, using genuine Medeco cylinders with factory master pinning. Each tenant gets a key that opens only their unit; the property manager carries a master that opens all. We document the key hierarchy and provide control sheets for your records. Call (910) 714-4287 for a scope review and flat per-lock pricing.
Service Areas Near Los Angeles
We provide Medeco service throughout the Los Angeles basin and beyond. For dedicated coverage in Southern California, see our Medeco service in San Diego. In the Bay Area, we offer Medeco service in San Jose. We also serve San Francisco, Fresno, and Sacramento markets through the Threshold Group network.
Book Your Medeco Service in Los Angeles Today
Call (910) 714-4287 now. A live person answers 24 hours a day, every day of the year. We’ll send you your technician’s name and photo before they arrive, quote your full price in writing before any work starts, and back every repair with our 365-Day Done Right Promise. Same-day Medeco service is available across most of Los Angeles.
Written by Perry Osgood, Owner at Dunmore Locksmith, serving Los Angeles since 2007.