Smart locks
House lockouts
Re-keying
Deadbolt upgrades
Schlage
Kwikset
Car keys & fobsNon-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.
Get your free estimateLocksmith in San Marino, CA
Rekeying locks in San Marino usually costs between $110 and $290, depending on whether we’re working on standard deadbolts or vintage mortise locksets common to the city’s 1920s estate homes. Most San Marino jobs involve hardware that’s been on the house for 40, 60, or even 90 years, which changes how we approach the work. If you need a rekey scheduled, call (855) 382-0290 and we’ll walk you through what your specific hardware requires.
Why San Marino Homes Are Different
San Marino is not a typical tract-home city. It’s a small, heavily permitted community of large historic estate homes, most built between the 1920s and 1950s in Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor, and Mediterranean styles. Many of these houses still have their original imported mortise locksets: heavy brass or iron bodies mortised into thick solid-core doors, often paired with wrought-iron gates at the driveway or side yard. When a homeowner here calls about a rekey, we’re usually not pulling a Kwikset cylinder out of a hollow-core door. We’re carefully disassembling a Baldwin or Sargent mortise lock, or working around a custom iron gate latch that was fabricated for the house decades before modern hardware standards existed.
The climate does its own work here too. Hot, dry summers followed by strong Santa Ana winds draw moisture out of solid wood doors and gate frames. By September or October, deadbolts that threw smoothly in April start binding, latches fail to seat, and keys get harder to turn. We see a seasonal wave of adjustment calls in San Marino every fall that most other cities never experience. Add the city’s strict Design Review and historic-preservation rules, and you get a market where exterior hardware often can’t simply be swapped for something new: it has to match the approved period look. That means repair and rekeying beat replacement here more often than almost anywhere else in the San Gabriel Valley.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Main San Marino Services
San Marino homeowners call us most often for two jobs beyond rekeying: car key replacement when a transponder or remote key gives out, and emergency response when a lock or gate fails at the worst possible time.
Car Key Replacement in San Marino
San Marino’s garages and driveways hold a lot of newer vehicles with chipped, push-to-start, or remote keys, and losing one here can quickly become a scheduling problem if you only have one driver’s key left. We cut and program replacement keys on-site, covering the programming side that basic key-cutting shops can’t handle. Working from 91108 and 91118, we come to your vehicle rather than asking you to tow it anywhere. See Car Key Replacement in San Marino for the full breakdown of makes, key types, and what the job costs here.
Emergency Locksmith in San Marino
In San Marino, emergency calls lean different than in denser cities. We get fewer apartment lockouts and more estate-house scenarios: a gate latch that seized, a mortise lock that finally jammed, a side door that deadbolted itself when the wind caught it. These older mechanisms fail slowly, then all at once. We respond with the tools and parts to handle vintage and high-security hardware, not just rip-and-replace cylinders. Details on response, what to do while you wait, and typical emergency pricing are on Emergency Locksmith in San Marino.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Rekey Locks in San Marino
Rekeying is the single most common service we perform in San Marino, and the reason is simple: the city is full of estate homes with original mortise locksets, custom iron gates, and strict exterior-hardware rules that make replacement difficult or unappealing. A rekey changes the internal pinning of the lock so the old key stops working and a new key takes over, without altering the hardware’s visible exterior. That matters here because the visible exterior is often exactly what Design Review cares about. The hot, dry summers and Santa Ana winds also mean San Marino locks need seasonal adjustment more than locks in coastal cities, and we often combine a rekey with a mechanical tune-up while the cylinder is out. For details on the full service, see our Rekey Locks page.
Lock Rekey
Signs you need it
You’ve moved into a new home, had a key go missing, or ended a relationship, and you can’t account for every copy of your current key.
What it costs in San Marino
Expect to pay between $110 and $190 for a standard cylinder rekey on one door, with pricing that climbs for mortise locksets or high-security cylinders.
How we do it
We remove the cylinder from the lock, replace the internal pins to match a new key, and reinstall and test the cylinder so the old key no longer turns.
Rekey Door Lock
Signs you need it
One key currently opens several doors but you want to restrict access to a housekeeper, contractor, gardener, or previous owner’s key.
What it costs in San Marino
Rekeying a single door lock typically runs $110 to $190, with each additional door rekeyed to the same key adding $25 to $45 per lock.
How we do it
We pull each lock’s cylinder, repin it so every door works from one new key, and test the full set to confirm no old key will operate any of them.
Keyed Alike
Signs you need it
You carry multiple keys for different doors on one property and want the convenience of a single key that works every exterior door.
What it costs in San Marino
The first lock runs $110 to $190, and matching additional locks to the same key adds $25 to $45 per lock, making a three-door estate job roughly $160 to $280.
How we do it
We repin each cylinder to the same key pattern, confirm every latch and deadbolt throws cleanly, and hand you copies of the new key with the old ones rendered useless.
What Rekey Locks Costs in San Marino
| Item | Typical range in San Marino |
|---|---|
| Rekey first lock (service call included) | $110 – $190 |
| Each additional lock rekeyed to same key | $25 – $45 |
| Full house rekey (3 – 5 locks) | $160 – $335 |
How long does a rekey take in San Marino?
A single standard lock runs about 15 to 30 minutes. Vintage mortise locksets common in San Marino’s 1920s and 1930s homes add time because the cylinders are heavier and often need a mechanical adjustment while we’re inside. A typical three-door estate rekey finishes within an hour and a half.
Will rekeying damage my vintage San Marino hardware?
No. We rebuild the cylinder’s internal pins and leave the exterior face of the lock untouched, which is exactly what the city’s Design Review process needs. If the mortise body itself is worn, we’ll tell you before any work starts. Call (855) 382-0290 to discuss your hardware.
Brands We Service in San Marino
We work across the full tier of hardware found in San Marino homes, from Schlage and Kwikset deadbolts on newer builds to Sargent and Abloy high-security mortise locks on estate properties. We stock common pins, springs, and tailpieces locally, which lets us turn around most standard rekeys on the spot. Visit our brands to see the full list of what we handle.
Pricing for Locksmith in San Marino, CA
| Service | Typical range in San Marino |
|---|---|
| Rekey first lock (service call included) | $110 – $190 |
| Each additional lock rekeyed to same key | $25 – $45 |
| Full house rekey (3 – 5 locks) | $160 – $335 |
| Key duplicate – household keys | $2 – $8 |
| Key duplicate – restricted or high-security | $15 – $60 |
| Deadbolt installed by locksmith | $90 – $200 |
| Deadbolt replacement by locksmith | $75 – $150 |
| Home lockout service | $75 – $200 |
| Office/commercial lockout | $130 – $250 |
| Master key system (small commercial) | $300 – $800 |
| Car key duplication | $65 – $200 |
| Mobile car key replacement | $150 – $650 |
In San Marino, two things push pricing toward the upper end. First, mortise locksets and imported hardware take longer to service than standard cylindrical deadbolts, and that labor shows in the quote. Second, jobs that require matching a period-finish or coordinating with Design Review add scheduling time. Whatever the number, it’s the number we quote on the phone before we dispatch, and it’s the number on the invoice, with no call-out surcharge added on arrival.
Neighborhoods We Serve in San Marino
We work throughout San Marino and the 91108 and 91118 ZIP codes, from the estate streets around Lacy Park to the neighborhoods along Huntington Drive and the areas bordering San Gabriel and East Pasadena. Most of our San Marino calls are concentrated in the older estate districts, where the hardware is older and the gates are iron.
- Lacy Park
- Huntington Drive corridor
- San Marino Avenue north of the library
- Los Robles Avenue estate district
- Stoneman School area
Response times across San Marino are consistent given the city’s small footprint: most rekey calls and emergency jobs in 91108 or 91118 are reached quickly from the surrounding area, with no cross-town detours.
Service Area – Cities Near San Marino
We also serve the surrounding San Gabriel Valley communities, so if you’re in a neighboring city, you’ll find the same hardware-specific approach and up-front pricing. That includes San Gabriel, CA, East San Gabriel, CA, Alhambra, CA, and East Pasadena, CA.
Serving San Marino, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Marino 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 Locksmith in San Marino
We work around them rather than through them. Most rekeys don’t trigger Design Review at all because the hardware’s exterior doesn’t change. When a visible lock or gate latch does need replacement, we advise on period-appropriate hardware options before you file, and we install exactly what gets approved. Call (855) 382-0290 if you’re unsure whether your job needs city sign-off.
San Marino is a compact city, so travel time within 91108 and 91118 is short. Emergency lockout calls get priority dispatch, and rekey appointments are scheduled for a window that works with your day. We’ll give you a straight answer on timing when you call (855) 382-0290, not an optimistic estimate.
Yes, and that’s one of the most common requests we handle here. We’ll rekey each door’s cylinder to match a single new key, including mortise locksets and gate locks, so one key operates the whole property. We’ll also check each lock for seasonal binding while we work. Call (855) 382-0290 for a per-lock price.
If you live in San Marino and need a rekey, a lock adjustment, or emergency help with a vintage lock, call Anaheim Locksmiths at (855) 382-0290. We’ll quote the full price before we send anyone out, and the price we quote is the price on your invoice.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees — talk to a local locksmith pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you — the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What San Marino Customers Say
"Programmed a transponder key for a 2014 model that the dealership wanted an absurd amount for. Same key, fraction of the price, took him twenty minutes in my driveway."
— Shane Ziegler"Commercial job, panic bar and a master key system for a small office. Clean install and clear documentation of which key opens what."
— Andres Garcia"Locked out at eleven at night with a kid asleep in the car. He was there in 25 minutes, had the door open in under two, and did not do the thing where the price goes up once he's standing in front of you."
— Adriana Flores