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 Larkspur
If you need to change door locks in Larkspur, you’re likely standing in a hallway built before 1920, looking at a mortise lock that predates World War I, and wondering whether any modern locksmith can handle it without destroying the door. We can. A standard lock change or rekey in Larkspur typically runs $95 to $220 per lock depending on whether we’re swapping cylinders, replacing a mortise body, or keying multiple entry points alike. Call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll give you a written price before any work starts, and a technician’s name and photo before they arrive.
We know Larkspur’s housing stock because we work on it constantly: Victorian and Craftsman homes along Magnolia Avenue, mid-century ranches climbing toward Baltimore Canyon, newer builds tucked into the hills off Doherty Drive. Each one has different hardware generations, different frame conditions, and different reasons the locks stop behaving. Our Change Door Locks team carries period-correct mortise parts alongside modern Schlage and Kwikset cylinders, so we’re equipped for the whole spread in one truck.
Why Dunmore Locksmith Is Larkspur’s Preferred Change Door Locks Company
Dunmore Locksmith has served Marin County as part of the Threshold Group family of independent locksmith businesses since 2007. When a Larkspur homeowner calls about changing door locks, they aren’t just hiring a technician. They’re deciding who gets to stand at their front door holding the hardware that keeps their family behind it. Perry Osgood, who leads our work across the Bay Area, built our process around that exact moment: the technician you’re told to expect is the technician who shows up, photo ID badge out, uniform clean, name and photo sent to your phone before they ring the bell.
That’s The Threshold Standard. Every technician is background-checked and identity-verified. If the person at your door isn’t the person we told you to expect, that visit is covered at no charge. For older homeowners in the flats west of Magnolia Avenue, for parents home alone with small kids near Piper Park, for anyone who has ever hesitated before turning a deadbolt for a stranger: this is the part that matters most. Dunmore comes from old words for a stronghold, a fort built to keep what’s inside safe. That’s the posture we take on every job in Larkspur.
Door Lock Installation in Larkspur
Door Lock Installation in Larkspur usually means one of two scenarios: a new homeowner taking possession and wanting the prior keys rendered useless, or a homeowner whose existing hardware has degraded past the point of reliable repair. In Larkspur’s Victorians and Craftsmans, the job often involves preserving a century-old mortise lock while replacing the cylinder and rekeying to a fresh set of keys. In the mid-century ranches along the hills, it’s more likely a straightforward deadbolt and handle set swap. A single door lock installation in Larkspur typically runs $110 to $230, with mortise work on the higher end because of the specialized parts and hand-fitting involved.
Mortise Lock Restoration and Modern Cylinder Fitment
Most big-box hardware store locks won’t fit a pre-1920s door without routing out enough original wood to compromise the stile. We don’t do that. When a Larkspur homeowner has an original rim or mortise lock, we rebuild the body, replace the cylinder with a modern bump-resistant Schlage unit, and rekey it so those old skeleton keys become souvenirs. The door keeps its history and the lock actually turns.
Fresh-Home Security Resets
If you just closed on a house off Madrone Avenue or near the Corte Madera border, the smartest first-day move is a full lock rekey or replacement. You can’t know how many copies of the previous key are floating around. We reset every exterior lock, key them alike, and hand you one ring of keys that opens everything, including the side gate and detached garage if you have them.
Patio Door Lock Change in Larkspur
Patio Door Lock Change in Larkspur gets complicated because the homes here weren’t built with sliding-glass-door security in mind. Older Victorians often have a converted porch or a single-pane wood-framed door with hardware from the ’70s or ’80s, while the hillside ranches have aluminum sliders with latch mechanisms that corrode in the coastal fog. Swapping a patio door lock in Larkspur usually runs $85 to $190 depending on the door type and whether we’re replacing the handle, the latch, or the whole locking bar assembly.
Sliding Glass Door Locks and Secondary Bolts
Older sliders have a spring-loaded latch that a determined push can pop loose with a flathead screwdriver. We replace weak latches and add secondary bolt locks where the track allows, without drilling into the glass or warping the frame. On homes facing the fog line up toward Baltimore Canyon, we install corrosion-resistant components and seal them properly so January doesn’t make the lock seize.
French Doors and Paired Door Hardware
French doors demand alignment. If the active leaf and passive leaf are even a quarter-inch out, the lock throws poorly and the strike wears out fast. Larkspur’s wet-season frame swelling makes this worse. We set strike plates, adjust hinges, and install flush bolts on the passive leaf so both doors stay closed for something stronger than habit.
Trusted Brands We Service in Larkspur
We’re factory-authorized to install and service Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, Abloy, Mul-T-Lock, Baldwin, Yale, and Sargent hardware. For most Larkspur homes, Schlage deadbolts and Kwikset smart-key cylinders cover the bulk of what we install. Victorian owners frequently choose Medeco or Abloy high-security cylinders when they want to keep the original brass faceplate but upgrade the internals. Because we stock common cylinders, mortise bodies, and strike plates for Larkspur’s typical hardware generations, most lock changes happen in one visit without a parts run back to the shop.
Common Change Door Locks Problems We See in Larkspur Homes
- Original mortise locks with corroded cylinders. Decades of coastal fog off the Larkspur marsh cause interior corrosion that standard lubricant won’t fix. We replace the cylinder and often the tailpiece, then rekey so the old skeleton key becomes wall art.
- Wet-season door frame swelling. Marin’s rainy months make old-growth redwood door frames expand. Deadbolts that threw fine in September start binding by December. We realign strikes and adjust the mortise pocket rather than force the bolt through misaligned wood.
- Misaligned multi-point locks on hillside homes. Settling on the sloped lots near Baltimore Canyon shifts door frames out of true over decades. A multi-point lock with three sealing bolts won’t engage cleanly. We reset the gearbox and faceplates to match the settled frame.
- Mismatched key sets across house, workshop, and gate. Rural and acreage properties often accumulated three or four different key rings over the years. We key everything alike in one visit, so one key opens the front door, the detached garage, the workshop, and the gate at the drive.
Pricing for Change Door Locks in Larkspur, CA
A single door lock change in Larkspur runs $95 to $230. Rekeying an existing lock, which keeps your current hardware but changes the internal pins so old keys no longer work, runs $35 to $75 per cylinder. Patio door lock changes land between $85 and $190. Keying multiple entry points alike, which most Larkspur acreage owners need, runs between $180 and $420 for a full house-plus-outbuildings reset. The written quote you get on the phone is the price on the invoice. No dispatch fees added when the technician arrives. Call (910) 714-4287 for a free estimate specific to your doors and hardware.
We Also Serve Cities Near Larkspur
If you’re outside Larkspur proper but still within range, our Larkspur team regularly handles lock changes in Kentfield, Corte Madera, San Rafael, and Mill Valley. The housing stock shifts, but The Threshold Standard doesn’t: same written pricing, same technician photo before arrival, same 365-day guarantee on every job.
Serving Larkspur, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Larkspur 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 Larkspur
Yes. We carry period-correct mortise cylinders, strike plates, and tailpieces, so the lock gets upgraded internally while the original brass faceplate and door remain untouched. We won’t route out a larger hole. Call (910) 714-4287 and describe the lock you have; we’ll tell you over the phone what we can do and what it will cost.
Yes. We carry enough cylinders on every Larkspur call to key the house, outbuildings, and gates alike in a single trip. Tell us on the phone how many entry points you have and we’ll price the whole key-alike project before we dispatch, so the invoice matches the quote.
In Larkspur, the most common cause is wet-season frame swelling throwing the strike plate out of alignment, especially in pre-1925 homes. The lock is fine; the door and jamb shifted. We realign the strike and adjust the mortise pocket rather than replacing a good deadbolt unnecessarily. Call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll tell you if it’s an alignment fix or a cylinder issue.
Yes. Rekeying runs $35 to $75 per cylinder versus $95 to $230 for a full lock change. If your hardware is in decent shape and you just need old keys out of circulation, rekeying is the cheaper move. We’ll recommend replacement only when the cylinder is corroded or the mechanism is failing. Get an exact quote at (910) 714-4287.
In most Larkspur homes, yes. We use pick and bypass tools on standard cylinders, including older mortise and rim locks. Drilling is a last resort for damaged or frozen hardware. We’ll tell you over the phone whether your lock is likely a no-drill open. Call (910) 714-4287 and we’ll dispatch a tech with the right tools for your door type.
We got a call from a homeowner on Magnolia Avenue whose 1900s Victorian still had the original mortise lock on the front door. The deadbolt wouldn’t throw because wet-season swelling had thrown the strike plate out of alignment, and the key cylinder was corroded from years of coastal fog. We replaced the old mortise cylinder with a bump-resistant Schlage unit, realigned the strike, and rekeyed the whole set so her old skeleton keys stopped working. She also had a detached workshop out back, so we keyed it alike to the front door on the same visit – one trip, one key set.
Call Dunmore Locksmith for Change Door Locks in Larkspur
If you’re ready to change your locks, rekey the whole property, or just want a straight answer about the mortise lock you’ve been living with for twenty years, call (910) 714-4287. A live person answers. You’ll get a written quote before anyone is dispatched, the technician’s name and photo before they arrive, and a 365-day Done Right Promise on every job: if it isn’t right, we return at no charge and make it right. That’s how we work in Larkspur.
Written by Perry Osgood, Owner at Dunmore Locksmith, serving Larkspur and the wider Bay Area as part of the Threshold Group family since 2007.