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 Change Door Locks Across Alamo
Changing door locks in Alamo usually means one of two things: swapping out the entire lockset, or replacing just the cylinder so new keys work and old keys don’t. In this town, the job is rarely as simple as unscrewing a Kwikset and dropping in a Schlage. Alamo’s custom estates, many built between the 1960s and 1990s, come with oversized solid-wood or wrought-iron doors and original builder-grade mortise locks that were never standardized for modern hardware footprints. Our technicians know exactly what that means before they pull into your driveway. Need a lock changed today? Call (910) 714-4287 and you’ll get a live person who can schedule a technician for your Alamo property.
Why Dunmore Locksmith Is Alamo’s Preferred Change Door Locks Company
Alamo homeowners call us because we treat lock changes on a Stone Valley Road estate differently than a lock change on a Walnut Creek condo. The doors are heavier. The frames swell. The backset measurements don’t match what the big-box stores sell. Our technicians carry mortise-lock retrofit kits, extended strike plates, and the tools to mortise a door on site when a modern deadbolt won’t seat into an original 1970s bore pattern.
Every technician we send to Alamo works under the Threshold Standard: background-checked, identity-verified, and sent to you by name and photo before the visit. When the tech arrives at your door, they’ll show a photo ID badge before they step inside. If someone shows up who you weren’t told to expect, that visit is covered at no charge. Perry Osgood, who leads our team, set that policy and enforces it on every single job. That’s the kind of accountability Alamo residents expect.
Our phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. No voicemail tree. No chatbot. When you call about a seized deadbolt on a July afternoon, you talk to a human who can dispatch a technician to Alamo right then.
Lock Change in Alamo
A lock change in Alamo replaces the entire visible lockset: knob or lever, deadbolt, strike plate, and sometimes the latch assembly. You’d choose a full lock change when the existing hardware is too worn to rekey, when the finish doesn’t match after a remodel, or when you want a security upgrade like a bump-resistant Schlage B60 deadbolt on a front door that still has a 1980s Kwikset knob. In Alamo, a standard single-door lock change typically runs $120 – $240 for hardware and labor, depending on the grade of the new lockset and whether the old door needs re-mortising.
When rekeying isn’t enough
If the internal pins are worn to the point where the key sticks or the cylinder wobbles, rekeying just puts new pins in a failing mechanism. That’s a lock change. Same deal if the latch spring is gone and the door won’t stay latched. We’ll tell you honestly which situation you have. If a rekey will genuinely do the job, we’ll say so and charge you for a rekey, not a replacement.
Full hardware replacement on original doors
Many Alamo homes still have their original builder-grade locksets from the 1970s and 80s. Those locks almost never accept a modern deadbolt without modifications. The bore spacing is off, the faceplate is a different thickness, and the strike sits too shallow for the new bolt throw. Our techs arrive with mortising jigs and extended strike plates sized for Alamo’s oversized door slabs.
Change Lock Cylinder in Alamo
Changing a lock cylinder in Alamo means replacing only the internal mechanism that accepts the key, leaving the existing knob, lever, and deadbolt housing in place. This is the right call when the hardware is still mechanically sound but you’ve lost key control, a tenant moved out, or a contractor still has a copy of your key. In Alamo, a standard cylinder change typically runs $65 – $150 per cylinder, including the new keyed cylinder and labor to match it to your existing key if you want a single key to operate multiple doors.
Keyed-alike cylinder swaps
If you have a Schlage deadbolt on the front door and a Yale knob on the garage, we can replace both cylinders and key them all alike. That means one key opens everything: front, side, garage, and the pool house door off the lanai. This is a common request on Alamo’s multi-building properties, where coordinating keys across a main house and detached guest quarters matters more than it does on a standard suburban lot.
High-security cylinder upgrades
Some Alamo homeowners upgrade to Medeco or Mul-T-Lock cylinders when they want key control that prevents unauthorized duplication. These cylinders use restricted keyways. You can’t take a Medeco key to the hardware store and have a copy cut. That’s a serious consideration when you’ve had a property manager, contractor, or housekeeper with access to keys.
Trusted Brands We Service in Alamo
We install and service Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, and Medeco hardware, and we stock common cylinder formats and strike plates for these brands on our service vehicles. If you’ve already bought a Schlage Encode smart lock for your front door and realized it won’t drop into your original mortise-lock bore, we can tell you whether modification is feasible or whether you need a different hardware path. We don’t upsell you into a brand you don’t need. We’ll tell you what works on an Alamo door, because an Alamo door is not a standard door.
Common Change Door Locks Problems We See in Alamo Homes
- July deadbolt seizure. The San Ramon Valley hits 100°F+ in summer, and the oversized solid-wood door frame swells enough to push the door slab into the strike. The deadbolt throws short and won’t fully seat. A rekey won’t fix this; the strike or hinge side needs adjustment before hardware replacement even makes sense.
- January latch misalignment. The valley’s dry winter shrinks those same frames, pulling the latch keeper out of alignment. The door free-latches or won’t latch at all, and homeowners assume the lock is worn out. Usually the frame moved, not the lock.
- Smart lock “drop-in” failures. A modern smart deadbolt is ordered online, then it won’t fit the original 1970s – 80s mortise-lock bore. The backset, bore spacing, and faceplate don’t match. The door needs re-mortising, or the hardware goes back in the box.
- Multi-building key chaos. Alamo’s custom estates often have a main house, guest quarters, pool house, and a detached garage or barn. Rekeying just the front door leaves three other buildings on different keys. We see this constantly, and the fix is a coordinated rekey or cylinder change across every door on the property.
Pricing for Change Door Locks in Alamo, CA
In Alamo, a standard cylinder change on a Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt typically runs $65 – $150 per cylinder. A full lock change on a single entry door, including new hardware and labor, runs $120 – $240. If your door needs re-mortising for a modern deadbolt, that adds $45 – $90 per door for the mortising work. High-security cylinders like Medeco or Mul-T-Lock run $150 – $300 per cylinder, installed. Before we dispatch anyone to your Alamo property, you’ll get a written price on the phone. That price is the price on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added when the tech arrives. No “it was worse than we thought” upcharge after the door is apart. Call (910) 714-4287 for an exact quote; estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Alamo
Our technicians cover Alamo and the surrounding East Bay communities, including Change Door Locks in Alamo plus Walnut Creek, Moraga, Lafayette, and Danville. If you’re just outside town on a Danville border road or over the hill toward Lafayette, call us. Scheduling is coordinated through our San Francisco Bay Area office, and crews serve Alamo locally. Our Change Door Locks team handles these jobs daily.
Serving Alamo, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Alamo 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 Change Door Locks in Alamo
You can usually rekey it. As long as the mortise lock body is mechanically sound, we can rekey the existing pin-and-tumbler cylinder for immediate key control. Replacement only becomes necessary when the internal springs or latch assembly are worn out, or when you want smart-lock functionality that the original mortise format won’t support. Call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll tell you over the phone which situation you’re in.
Your door frame swells in the San Ramon Valley’s 100°F+ summer heat, pushing the door slab into the strike plate and preventing the deadbolt from fully seating. This is the single most common reason Alamo homeowners think their lock is broken in midsummer. The fix is strike plate adjustment or hinge-side work, not a new deadbolt. We can do that adjustment same day.
Sometimes, but not always. The original bore spacing, backset, and faceplate on 1960s – 90s Alamo entry doors rarely match modern smart-lock footprints. In some cases we can re-mortise the door to make it work. In others, especially with wrought-iron slabs, you’re better off with a high-security mechanical cylinder and a separate smart doorbell or access system. We’ll inspect the door and give you a straight answer before you spend money on hardware.
Yes. Most multi-building Alamo properties can be keyed alike, meaning one key operates every door across the main house, guest quarters, pool house, and garage. This usually involves changing multiple cylinders and repinning them to a single keyway. We do this kind of whole-property coordination regularly on Alamo estates, including properties with keypad or intercom-controlled driveway gates on private easements. Call (910) 714-4287 for a written quote.
If the lockset is otherwise working, you can usually just replace the cylinder with a bump-resistant one. A high-security cylinder from Medeco or Mul-T-Lock costs less than a full lockset replacement and gives you key control plus bump resistance. If the housing itself is loose or the latch is worn, a full lock change makes more sense. Either way, the price goes in writing before any work starts.
Written by Perry Osgood, owner at Dunmore Locksmith, serving Alamo and the surrounding East Bay communities.