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 Florence-Graham
Changing door locks in Florence-Graham usually costs between $95 and $240 per lock, depending on whether we rekey the existing hardware or install a new deadbolt and knob set. Most jobs on the 1920s-to-1950s bungalows and duplexes here take under an hour once we’re at the door. If you’ve lost keys, had a tenant move out, or just bought a place off Compton Avenue or Hooper Avenue, call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll have a named, photo-verified technician headed your way.
We work constantly in Florence-Graham, and the older housing stock here shapes almost every call we take. These small stucco bungalows and courtyard apartments weren’t built for modern key control. Original mortise locks, mismatched knob sets, and shared gates between units create problems that a locksmith from across town often misdiagnoses over the phone. That’s why we stock mortise conversion parts on our trucks and why our crews know the difference between a frame that’s swollen from a Santa Ana wind event and a lock that’s genuinely failed.
Why Dunmore Locksmith Is Florence-Graham’s Preferred Change Door Locks Company
Dunmore comes from old words for a great fort, a stronghold built to keep what’s inside safe. That’s the standard we hold for lock work across Florence-Graham. We’re part of the Threshold Group, a network of independent local locksmith businesses that has served customers since 2007 under one premise: you should know exactly who is coming to your door before you open it. Every technician we send into Florence-Graham is background-checked, identity-verified, uniformed, and photo-badged. Before the visit, you get the technician’s name and photo sent to your phone. When the doorbell rings, the person standing there is the same person you were told to expect. If anyone else shows up, that visit is on us, no charge.
We answer our own phones at (910) 714-4287 with a live person, 24 hours a day. No answering service, no chatbot. When a landlord calls us about a vacated duplex unit off Firestone Boulevard, they talk to someone who understands why rekeying the front door but ignoring the shared laundry room key is a mistake. Florence-Graham property owners keep calling us back because we write the price down before any work begins, and the number on the invoice matches the number we quoted on the phone. That’s not a sales pitch. It’s how every job here works.
Door Lock Installation in Florence-Graham
Door Lock Installation in Florence-Graham means removing old, worn, or non-functional hardware and mounting a new lock that meets the security needs of the building. In this area’s pre-1960 housing stock, that almost never means a simple swap. The original door prep on a 1930s bungalow was cut for a mortise lock body, not a modern cylindrical deadbolt. If a previous owner or a budget landlord screwed in a Kwikset knob set without fixing the backset or strike plate, the new cylinder won’t seat correctly and the lock will bind or fail. We handle the full conversion, including the mortise pocket, strike alignment, and fresh hardware rated for daily rental turnover.
A standard door lock installation for a Florence-Graham front door runs between $150 and $280, depending on whether we’re converting from an old mortise body, upgrading to a bump-resistant ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt, or adding hardware to a rear kitchen door that never had a deadbolt at all. We give that price in writing before any work starts.
Security upgrades on original doors
We install Schlage and Medeco hardware on most Florence-Graham homes because these brands hold up to the dry, dusty conditions here and the constant tenant turnover. A Schlage deadbolt is a direct replacement on most pre-drilled doors, but when we’re working with an original Corbin or Russwin mortise body, we use a conversion kit to mount a modern deadbolt without replacing the whole door.
Patio Door Lock Change in Florence-Graham
Patio Door Lock Change in Florence-Graham typically means securing the rear sliding glass or French doors that open onto a courtyard, carport, or shared walkway. Many of the duplexes and courtyard apartment buildings in this community have older aluminum slider tracks with original flush-mount locks that have been pried or simply worn out. Landlords often discover during a tenant turnover that the patio lock hasn’t actually latched in months. We replace sliding door locks, add secondary pin locks, and when the track itself is warped from years of sun and shifting stucco walls, we realign it so the new lock engages the way it should.
Expect a patio door lock change in Florence-Graham to cost between $110 and $195 for most single-slider applications. French doors with a mortise edge lock run higher, usually $190 to $260, because they require more precise fitting. We stock Kwikset and Schlage slider locks and can usually complete the job same-day, including the call to your Florence-Graham street off Central Avenue.
Sliding door and courtyard security
Shared courtyard gates and laundry-room doors get overlooked constantly. When we finish a patio lock, we check the other doors on the property that use the same key, because in these older buildings they’re often all keyed differently by accident. We’ll key them alike if that’s what you need, and we’ll do it in the same visit.
Trusted Brands We Service in Florence-Graham
We’re factory-authorized to install and service Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco hardware, plus commercial lines including Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, Baldwin, Yale, and Sargent. That matters in Florence-Graham because the old mortise locks we pull out are often branded Corbin or Russwin, and rebuilding them properly means having the right conversion kits and rebuild parts on hand. We keep common Schlage and Kwikset cylinders, deadbolts, and strike plates stocked on our service vehicles, so when a landlord on Hooper Avenue needs three doors done before a new tenant moves in, we don’t disappear for a parts run. We arrive with what the job needs.
Common Change Door Locks Problems We See in Florence-Graham Homes
- Budget knob sets installed over original mortise lock bodies. A landlord swaps in a cheap knob for a quick rekey, but the backset and strike plate don’t match the old mortise pocket. The lock binds, the keys stick, and the whole thing fails again in months. We correct the prep and set the hardware to match the door, not fight it.
- Santa Ana wind swell on pre-1960 door frames. The dry air and 30-to-50-mph gusts dry out the stucco and wooden frames around Florence-Graham, and the door edge shifts just enough to bind the bolt. A locksmith who forces it leaves you with a lock that fails again in a week. We shim and align the strike plate so the bolt throws cleanly even when the frame moves.
- Absentee landlords with scattered units and lost key records. A property owner runs a duplex on Compton Avenue and a courtyard building near Graham Avenue, and no one has tracked which keys still exist. The front door gets rekeyed, but old tenant keys still open the shared gate, the workshop, and the laundry room. We audit every lock on the property and rekey the whole system in one visit.
- Old Corbin and Russwin mortise bodies that shops won’t touch. Many locksmiths in LA County won’t carry mortise conversion parts, so they quote you a whole new door. We rebuild the body, convert it to accept a modern cylinder, and save you the cost of replacing a solid 1930s door that’s better built than anything you’d buy now.
Pricing for Change Door Locks in Florence-Graham, CA
Here’s what we charge for common jobs in Florence-Graham. Rekeying a standard knob or deadbolt cylinder runs $95 to $160 per lock, which is usually the fastest option when you need old keys to stop working. A full door lock installation on a front door, including hardware and conversion work on an older mortise pocket, runs $150 to $280. Patio slider lock changes run $110 to $195, and French door mortise lock work runs $190 to $260. Deadbolt upgrades without a full replacement run $85 to $145 per door. Multiple locks on one property get a better per-lock rate because we’re already there. We give you the exact price in writing over the phone before a technician is dispatched, and that same number is on the invoice. There’s no additional fee added when the tech arrives. Need an exact quote? Call (910) 714-4287 and a live person will price your job right then.
We Also Serve Cities Near Florence-Graham
Dunmore Locksmith handles Change Door Locks calls throughout Los Angeles County, including the unincorporated Florence-Graham area and the incorporated cities around it. If your property sits just outside Florence-Graham, we regularly serve customers in Florence-Graham and nearby Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. Same phone, same written-price promise: (910) 714-4287.
Serving Florence-Graham, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Florence-Graham 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 Florence-Graham
No, you almost never have to replace the door. We rebuild the old mortise body using a conversion kit that lets a modern, bump-resistant cylinder mount into the original pocket, then install a fresh deadbolt above it for added security. The finished door is stronger than it was originally, and you keep the solid old-growth lumber that’s worth more than any replacement. Call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll tell you over the phone what your specific lock needs.
Yes, and in Florence-Graham we do this constantly, because shared outbuildings and gates are standard on the older duplex and courtyard properties here. We rekey every lock on the property, key them all alike if you want a single key system, and hand you a written key schedule showing exactly how many keys exist and who holds them. One visit, one written price, no partial work. Call (910) 714-4287 to schedule.
Almost always both. The Santa Ana winds dry out the wooden frames on older Florence-Graham bungalows, and the door edge shifts just enough that the deadbolt no longer aligns with the strike plate. A locksmith who forces the bolt or files the plate wider is masking the problem. We shim and realign the strike, adjust the hinges if needed, and service the lock body itself so it throws and retracts cleanly. If the same lock binds again inside a year, the 365-Day Done Right Promise covers a return visit at no charge.
Yes, in most cases. We install keypad deadbolts and smart locks on older doors by converting the existing prep to accept a modern cylindrical deadbolt, then mounting the keypad assembly over it. The original door stays in place. We’ll recommend hardware that holds up to the dry climate and daily rental use, and we’ll set up the keypad, codes, and app access before we leave. Call (910) 714-4287 for a written quote before we order anything.
You can drill it, but on a 1930s mortise lock in Florence-Graham, you’ll likely damage the door, ruin the pocket, and end up paying for a new door slab plus a locksmith anyway. Non-destructive entry and proper mortise rebuilding cost less and keep your door intact. We get into worn antique locks without destroying them, every week, on these exact buildings. Call (910) 714-4287 before you pick up the drill.
Written by Perry Osgood, Owner at Dunmore Locksmith, serving Florence-Graham and surrounding Los Angeles County communities since 2007.