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 Fairfax
A lock change in Fairfax typically runs $95 to $220 for a standard cylinder swap, and the job is usually done in one visit. We’ve worked on enough Fairfax doors to know that what starts as a simple swap often involves a 1940s mortise that doesn’t want to seat a modern cylinder. Our crews know the difference between a job that takes twenty minutes and one that needs the door plane set back and the strike reset. Call (910) 714-4287 and you’ll get a real person who can tell you honestly what you’re dealing with.
Why Dunmore Locksmith Is Fairfax’s Preferred Change Door Locks Company
Fairfax has a specific kind of housing stock. Craftsman bungalows, 1920s and 1930s cottages, hillside lots with detached gates and garden sheds, a lot of original redwood and fir doors that have weathered eighty years of valley rain. Repairing locks here means understanding not just cylinders and pins but also wood movement, strikeplate geometry, and obsolete mortise formats. Our reputation in Fairfax is built on the jobs other companies turn down because they involve planing a swollen door edge or reworking a 60-year-old mortise rather than just slapping in a Kwikset and calling it done.
Every Fairfax customer gets the same commitment: a named technician with a photo and badge at the door, a written price before any tool comes out, and a 365-day guarantee on the work. The price on your invoice is the price we quoted before anyone was dispatched. No arrival surcharge. No surprise total. We answer the phone around the clock, so if a lock fails at 2 a.m. on a rainy January night, you’re talking to a human, not a voicemail.
Change Lock Cylinder in Fairfax
A Change Lock Cylinder job in Fairfax means replacing just the internal cylinder, not the whole lock assembly. For most of the original Schlage and Kwikset hardware on Fairfax’s older homes, a new cylinder drops in cleanly, the old keys stop working, and the exterior trim stays exactly as it was. This matters on a 1940s bungalow where the visible hardware is part of the original door’s character.
When the cylinder alone is enough
If the lock body is sound, the bolt throws true, and the existing trim is original, a cylinder swap is almost always the right call. It is also the least destructive option, which matters when we are working around vintage doors and original millwork. A standard cylinder replacement in Fairfax runs $95 to $185, rekeying an existing cylinder $60 to $120.
When the cylinder is not the problem
If the door slab has swollen and the deadbolt binds mid-throw, a new cylinder will not fix anything. We see this often enough after the winter rains, particularly on Bolinas Road and the streets running off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard where the original fir doors have decades of moisture exposure. In those cases we solve the door first and the lock second.
Door Lock Installation in Fairfax
Door Lock Installation in Fairfax usually means either fitting a new deadbolt and knob set on a modern door, or retrofitting a modern ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt onto a vintage door that was never designed for one. On newer homes near Cascade Canyon, installation tends to be straightforward. On pre-WWII Craftsman bungalows near downtown Fairfax, it is often a carpentry job as much as a locksmith job.
Retrofitting a modern deadbolt on an old door
Many Fairfax homeowners want the security of a modern Schlage or Medeco Biax deadbolt on a door that still has its original mortise lockset. Our installers bore the new deadbolt body cleanly, preserve the original mortise as a secondary function where possible, and make sure the upgraded lock seats without splitting the stile. A retrofit like this typically runs $180 to $340.
Straight replacement on a modern door
On Fairfax homes built after 1980, a full lock replacement is usually a simple matter of pulling the old hardware and installing the new. We stock parts for Kwikset, Schlage, and Yale, and can often complete a standard replacement same day. Expect $130 to $260 for a quality deadbolt and lever or knob set, installed.
Trusted Brands We Service in Fairfax
We are factory-authorized to service Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, and Yale hardware, and we work with Fairfax homeowners to match the new lock to the existing architecture. When a customer needs to keep their original 1940s mortise escutcheon working, we rekey or replace the internal cylinder rather than forcing a modern mismatch. We carry common Schlage and Kwikset cylinders and parts in our vans, so a standard Change Door Locks job on a Fairfax home rarely requires a parts run back to the shop.
Common Change Door Locks Problems We See in Fairfax Homes
- Winter deadbolt binding on original Craftsman doors. Fairfax’s inland valley position traps marine moisture and records 40+ inches of rain in a typical year, and after the first heavy storms the original redwood and fir door slabs swell enough to trap a deadbolt mid-throw. This is a door, not a lock, problem.
- Seized cylinders on hillside gates. Locks on gates and detached structures on Fairfax’s hillside lots corrode fast in the persistent winter damp. We regularly find seized cylinders on locks less than five years old, a failure mode driven by the town’s microclimate, not the lock’s product quality.
- Obsolete mortise and early pin-tumbler cylinders. Many Fairfax homes still carry original 1940s to 1960s mortise hardware for which replacement pins no longer match. Rekeying these cylinders without full familiarity with antique mechanisms is how a homeowner ends up with keys that still work, even though they were promised otherwise.
- Modern locks forced into warped pre-WWII frames. A new deadbolt will not seat in a door frame that has shifted over decades, and forcing it splits the stile. The fix is planing the slab and resetting the strikeplate geometry, which is work most locksmiths will not touch.
Pricing for Change Door Locks in Fairfax, CA
Here are honest Fairfax market ranges. A simple cylinder change runs $95 to $185. Rekeying the existing cylinder runs $60 to $120. A full knob or lever lock replacement on a modern door runs $130 to $260. Retrofitting a modern high-security deadbolt like a Medeco onto an older Fairfax door runs $180 to $340. If the door itself needs planing, strikeplate realignment, or jamb repair, that adds $70 to $150 depending on what is involved. We quote the full price before we schedule anything, and the quote is the price. No call-out surcharge added on arrival. Call (910) 714-4287 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Fairfax
Our crews run calls to San Anselmo, Kentfield, San Rafael, and Larkspur. If you live in a neighboring town and need help with a Change Door Locks job, call us and ask for the same written quote and named technician you would get in Fairfax. Our scheduling is coordinated from the San Francisco Bay Area office, and the same 365-day guarantee covers every call.
Serving Fairfax, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fairfax 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 Fairfax
In most cases, yes. The original mortise cylinder can be rekeyed or replaced while keeping the original escutcheon and trim intact. We rekey or swap the internal cylinder only, which preserves the period hardware and keeps the wall of a 1940s Fairfax door from looking like a Home Depot aisle. The cost runs $60 to $120 for a rekey, $95 to $185 for a replacement mortise cylinder. Call (910) 714-4287 and tell us what your door looks like before anyone comes out.
Because your original redwood or fir door slab swells in Fairfax’s winter damp. The valley records 40+ inches of rain in many years, and after the first heavy storms the slab expands enough that the deadbolt no longer aligns with the strikeplate. The fix is planing the door edge and resetting the strike, not replacing the lock. We do this work in Fairfax from November through March every year.
Yes. The newer door preparation happens cleanly with the right boring jig, the original mortise hardware is preserved, and the modern deadbolt seats correctly once the slab edge and strike are reset. We install Schlage and Medeco Grade 1 deadbolts on original Fairfax doors regularly, and the work is covered by the 365-day Done Right Promise. Expect $180 to $340 including the hardware.
Not necessarily. Fairfax’s sheltered valley air stays damp through most of the winter, and exterior locks on hillside lots corrode from the inside out, even with a quality Kwikset or Schlage cylinder. We see seized cylinders on locks that are only a few years old. Replacing a seized exterior cylinder runs $95 to $185, and we will tell you what caused the failure so you aren’t paying for the same job next winter. Call (910) 714-4287 for a straight answer.
Usually not. We use non-destructive entry methods first, including picks, bump-resistant bypass tools, and shims, and we reserve drilling for cases where the cylinder has corroded beyond saving or the original mortise is seized. If we do have to drill, we replace the cylinder same visit, so you are not paying for a lock you cannot use. Emergency lockout response to Fairfax is available day or night at (910) 714-4287.
Written by Perry Osgood, Owner at Dunmore Locksmith, serving Fairfax and the San Francisco Bay Area.