Deadbolts, Smart Locks, and New Hardware Installed
The right lock, the long screws, the reinforced strike. The parts that stop a kick, not just the shiny one.
Rekey or replace?
If the lock works and you just want the old keys dead, you want a rekey, which keeps the hardware and changes the pins. It is the right answer for most move-ins and it is a fraction of the labor. Your locks may only need a rekey.
Replace when the lock is worn, sticking, corroded, damaged, mismatched across the house, or simply weak: a builder-grade knob lock with no deadbolt is not a lock on a front door. Replace when you want a smart lock, a keypad, or a higher security grade. This page is about that second list.
Deadbolts and strike plates
What stops a kick-in is not the deadbolt. It is the strike plate, the screws, and the door frame behind it. A standard strike is held by two three-quarter-inch screws into a half inch of jamb, and one boot splits it. A heavy-gauge strike with four three-inch screws into the stud is what holds.
So on every deadbolt we install, the strike gets long screws into framing, and we offer a reinforced strike or a wrap-around plate where the jamb is already cracked. The Fire Mountain ranch homes from the fifties and sixties are the ones we see most: original hardware, a strike that has been painted twelve times, and a jamb with a previous split filled with putty. Fixed in an hour.
We stock Grade 2 and Grade 1 residential deadbolts, single and double cylinder, in the finishes that hold up here. Keyed-alike to your existing keys where possible so you do not add a key to the ring.
Smart locks
We install the major brands: keypad deadbolts, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth models, retrofit units that keep your outside cylinder and replace only the inside thumbturn, and full replacements with a keypad outside. Before you buy, check three things, or send us the model and we will check:
- Door fit. Backset, bore size, door thickness, and whether the door has a separate deadbolt and knob. Most tract-home doors are standard; older cottages and custom doors are not.
- Wi-Fi vs. Bluetooth. Bluetooth works from the driveway and sips battery. Wi-Fi lets you unlock from Phoenix and connects to booking platforms, and needs a battery change every few months. Some models add a bridge to get both.
- Backup. A keyed cylinder or external battery contacts, so a dead battery is a nuisance and not a lockout.
We install, pair to your phone, set up the first codes, and make sure the door latches without lifting on the handle, because a smart lock cannot throw a bolt into a misaligned strike. Hosts should read the keyless setup for vacation rentals first; the workflow matters more than the brand.
Sliders, side gates, and garages
Sliding glass doors to a patio are the easiest way into most Oceanside homes and the last door people secure. We install keyed slider locks, loop locks, and security bars, and we adjust the rollers so the factory latch actually engages. Side gates get keyed gate locks or heavy hasps with weather-rated padlocks. The door from the garage into the house gets a real deadbolt, since the garage door itself is the weak point.
Out in Morro Hills, the same job looks different: ranch gates on long driveways, outbuildings, pump houses. We do keyed gate boxes, heavy padlocks keyed to the house, and weatherproof hardware that survives a season of dust and irrigation. More on Morro Hills.
In Ocean Hills, residents ask for lever handles that arthritic hands can work and keypad locks that do not need a key found in a purse. We install both; check with the HOA's architectural rules before changing the look of an exterior door, since finishes and styles are often specified.
After a break-in
The police report is filed, the door is hanging on one hinge, and you want it secure by tonight. Board-up carpentry is not our trade, but lock and strike repair is, and we prioritize it. We replace the deadbolt and strike, reinforce or rebuild the strike side of the jamb with a wrap-around plate, re-hang a hinge that pulled its screws, and rekey the remaining locks so any key taken in the burglary stops working. Same day where the schedule allows. If you cannot get in at all, start with the lockout page and we sort the repair on the same trip.
Shops and offices
For the small storefronts along Coast Highway and Mission Avenue and the offices around the Civic Center, we handle the basics: commercial-grade deadbolts and lever sets on aluminum storefront doors, door closers that stop slamming or stop failing to latch, panic-bar hardware where the occupancy calls for it, and rekeys when an employee leaves. Large access-control systems are not what we do, and we will say so and point you to who does.
Labor and hardware
Labor is priced per lock, with the hardware separate so you can bring your own or pick from the van. A new bore in a door that never had a deadbolt is an added line, listed on the pricing page along with everything else.