Home Rekeying Service
Moving into a new home in Broadmoor — whether on Junipero Serra Boulevard, a quiet side street off Marchbank Drive, or anywhere else in this close-knit community — comes with a lot of firsts. One that should never be skipped is rekeying every exterior lock before you settle in. You have no way of knowing how many copies of the old keys are floating around: former owners, previous tenants, contractors, neighbors, or real-estate agents may all have had access. A professional rekeying service resets that history completely, making every old key instantly useless while giving you a fresh, unified set that works every door.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week · Licensed, bonded & insured
A1 Daly City Locksmiths operates as a fully mobile, 24/7 team based right here to serve Broadmoor and the surrounding areas. Our trained, insured technicians drive to your address — fully equipped — so there is no towing, no dropping off hardware, and no waiting for a shop appointment. Whether your home has standard door knob locks, heavy-duty mortise locks, deadbolts, or a mix of all three, we assess exactly what you have, explain what the work involves, and confirm a firm up-front price before a single cylinder is touched.
What we do
Available 24/7
Day, night, weekends and holidays — a real local locksmith answers and rolls a fully-stocked van.
Fast local response
Based in Broadmoor, we reach the Broadmoor area in well under an hour.
Insured & background-checked
Vetted technicians, up-front pricing, and no surprise add-ons when we arrive.
Damage-free entry
We pick and bypass locks the right way, so most lockouts are solved without drilling anything.
More about our work
Everything you need to know about how we help — at a glance.
Why Rekeying After a Move Is a Non-Negotiable Safety Step
A lock that looks secure on the outside can still be compromised if someone else holds a working key. Rekeying changes the internal pin configuration of the lock cylinder so that only the new key operates it — the lock hardware itself stays in place. This is especially practical in Broadmoor, where many homes were built in the mid-twentieth century and have exchanged hands multiple times. Cumulative key copies from decade after decade of ownership are a very real vulnerability. Rekeying is not a repair; it is a deliberate security reset, and it is the single most effective thing a new homeowner or renter can do before the first night in a new place.
There is also the matter of convenience. Many homes arrive with a different key for the front door, the back door, the garage entry, and any side gates — a keyring that turns into a puzzle every time you come home. Our rekeying service can re-pin every cylinder so that one new key operates all of them. That means less hardware to manage and less chance of confusion in a rush or an emergency. We handle everything from straightforward door knob locks to complex mortise lock assemblies that are common in older Broadmoor properties, ensuring that nothing is overlooked.
Our Home Rekeying Service: What We Cover and How It Works
When our mobile unit arrives at your Broadmoor address, the technician begins with a full walk-around to catalog every keyed entry point — front door, rear door, side entries, deadbolts, interior keyed locks, and any mortise lock units embedded in the door face. Mortise locks are a particularly important focus: their cartridge-style cylinder requires a different rekeying procedure than a standard pin-tumbler deadbolt, and a technician without hands-on experience with them can cause damage to the cartridge housing. Our team works with these assemblies routinely, removing the cylinder cleanly, re-pinning it to the new key code, and re-seating it without marking the door or the lock face.
Once we have a clear picture of every lock type in your home, we provide you with an exact quote that factors in the number and type of cylinders, the specific hardware on your doors — whether Schlage, Kwikset, or another manufacturer — and any parts needed, such as replacement pins or a new cylinder if an existing one is too worn to rekey safely. There are no surprise charges added after the fact. After your approval, the work is done on-site, usually in a single visit, and you walk away with a tested new key for every door. If you have questions mid-job, our technician explains every step in plain language — no technical jargon unless you want it.
Mortise Locks, Door Knob Locks, and Every Hardware Type in Between
Broadmoor homes span several architectural eras, which means the locks we encounter vary widely. A craftsman-era front door might feature a classic mortise lock — a large rectangular body set into a pocket in the door edge — paired with a separate keyed deadbolt above it. A 1970s addition might have a door knob lock with an integrated latch and a push-button privacy function on the inside. Newer units or recently renovated doors may have high-security cylinders with restricted keyways. We carry rekeying kits for all of these, including the specialty pinning kits that mortise lock cartridges require, so we never have to turn a job away because of hardware complexity.
We also handle situations where a lock is beyond rekeying — cylinders that are corroded, cracked, or worn to the point where reliable re-pinning is no longer possible. In those cases, we recommend and install a suitable replacement that matches your existing hardware profile and door preparation, keeping the look of your home consistent. If you are uncertain whether your locks are worth rekeying or should be replaced outright, that assessment is part of what we do on arrival, and we give you an honest answer rather than defaulting to the more expensive option.
24/7 Emergency Locksmith Response and Ongoing Lock Services for Broadmoor Homeowners
Security needs rarely arrive on schedule. A rekeying project can start as a routine move-in task and become urgent when you realize you have already lost track of a key, or when a lease ends under difficult circumstances. As a 24/7 emergency locksmith team, we are available any hour of any day — including weekends and holidays — to respond to Broadmoor addresses. There is no premium tier of service for nights or weekends; the same trained, insured technicians and the same quality of work are dispatched regardless of when you call. Reach us at (650) 977-2027 any time you need us.
Beyond rekeying, our mobile unit is equipped for a wide range of residential lock work: lockout assistance when you are unable to enter your own home, installation of new deadbolts or smart-lock hardware, repair of damaged lock mechanisms, and high-security upgrades for doors that face higher-traffic areas. We also serve local businesses throughout the area — our commercial locksmith capabilities include master key systems, mortise lock installation on commercial-grade doors, access control hardware, and panic hardware servicing. Whether the need is residential or commercial, the approach is the same: arrive promptly, assess accurately, quote honestly, and work cleanly.
A Full List of Lock and Key Services We Provide
Our mobile team handles: rekeying of standard pin-tumbler deadbolts, rekeying of mortise lock cylinders, rekeying of door knob locks, rekeying of lever-handle locks, rekeying of padlocks and cam locks, master key system design and implementation, high-security cylinder installation (restricted keyway systems), smart lock installation and programming, deadbolt installation on new or existing doors, mortise lock body replacement and installation, door knob lock replacement, lock repair for damaged or malfunctioning mechanisms, lock lubrication and preventive maintenance, lockout service for homes (ownership-verified), lockout service for businesses, key duplication for standard and specialty keyways, key extraction for broken keys in cylinders, commercial mortise lock installation for office and retail doors, panic bar and exit device installation, access control keypad and card-reader installation, garage entry door lock installation and rekeying, window lock installation, sliding door lock and bar installation, mailbox and storage lock rekeying or replacement, lock-grade assessment and security consultation for new homeowners. Each of these is performed on-site, at your location, by a qualified technician — no drop-off required.
Frequently asked questions
How is rekeying different from changing the locks entirely?
Rekeying changes the internal pin configuration inside the existing lock cylinder so that a new key operates it and all old keys no longer work. The lock hardware — the body, the knob or lever, the strike plate — stays exactly as it is. Replacing the locks means removing that hardware entirely and installing new units. For most move-in situations, rekeying achieves the same security result at less disruption, because the existing hardware is still in good working condition. If a cylinder is badly worn or damaged, we will tell you that honestly and recommend replacement only when it is actually necessary.
Can you rekey a mortise lock, or does that type need to be replaced?
Yes, mortise locks can absolutely be rekeyed, and our technicians work with them regularly. A mortise lock has a removable cylinder cartridge inside the large body that sits within the door edge. We extract that cartridge, re-pin it to match your new key, and re-seat it. The procedure is more involved than rekeying a standard deadbolt because of the cartridge design and the precision required to avoid damaging the housing, but it is well within our routine work. If a mortise lock cartridge is too worn for reliable rekeying, we source a matching replacement cylinder so the lock body itself does not need to come out.
What determines the final price of a rekeying job?
Several factors shape the quote we give you before any work begins: the number of lock cylinders being rekeyed, the type of hardware involved (a standard door knob lock differs from a multi-component mortise lock in terms of time and parts), whether any cylinders need to be replaced rather than rekeyed, the time of day the call comes in, and travel distance to your Broadmoor address. We assess all of these on arrival and give you a specific, confirmed price before we start. That number does not change once we have agreed on it, regardless of how the job unfolds.
Do I need to be present for the rekeying service, and how do you verify I own or rent the property?
Yes, we ask that an adult who is authorized to access the property be present throughout the job. Before any rekeying begins, our technician will ask for identification and proof of your right to the property — a lease agreement, a closing document, a utility bill in your name, or a similar document. This is a standard and non-negotiable step that protects homeowners and renters alike. If you are a landlord arranging rekeying between tenants, we ask for documentation confirming your ownership of the property.
How long does it take to rekey all the locks in a typical Broadmoor home?
For a single-family home with three to six keyed entry points — a common count for homes in Broadmoor — the job typically takes between 45 minutes and two hours, depending on the mix of lock types. Homes with mortise locks on multiple doors, or with high-security cylinders that require specialty pins, take longer than homes with all-standard deadbolts. We factor anticipated time into our quote, and we do not rush the work. Every cylinder is tested with the new key before we consider it complete.
Can you come out at night or on a weekend if I just moved in and need the locks rekeyed immediately?
Absolutely. We operate as a 24/7 emergency locksmith service, which means we are available every hour of every day — including evenings, overnight, weekends, and holidays. Moving timelines often do not align with business hours, and security should not wait. Call us at (650) 977-2027 any time and we will dispatch a trained, insured technician to your Broadmoor address. Time of day is one of the factors reflected in your up-front quote, and we will always confirm the price with you before the technician begins work.