Most of our West Seattle work starts the same way: someone just bought a house and wants to know who else still has a key. Rekeys, replacements, and keypads on front doors. Licensed, insured, dispatched 24/7.
West Seattle turns over. Houses change hands, people move in, and within the first week or two most of them have the same thought: the previous owner had keys, and so did their neighbor, their contractor, their dog walker, and whoever else picked one up over fifteen years. Rekeying the house is the single cheapest security decision a new homeowner makes, and it is most of what we do on this side of the bridge.
The second question is nearly always the same, and it is a good one: should I put a pushbutton lock on the front door? Usually the answer is yes, with caveats about which ones survive weather on an exposed porch. We install Kwikset and Schlage keypads, and we will tell you honestly when the door you have is the actual problem rather than the lock on it. Typical arrival in West Seattle is about twenty-five minutes.
New-homeowner rekeys lead by a wide margin. The keys that came with the house are an unknown quantity — you were handed three and have no idea how many exist. Rekeying the existing hardware is usually enough, keeps the locks that match your door, and takes a fraction of what replacement costs. Where the hardware is genuinely worn or a deadbolt is missing entirely, we replace it.
Then the keypads. Pushbutton and keypad locks are the most-requested upgrade in West Seattle, mostly so nobody has to hide a spare under a flowerpot for the dog walker, the cleaner, or a kid home before their parents. They work well. What matters is picking one that handles a Pacific Northwest winter on an exposed porch, and mounting it on a door that closes properly, because a keypad on a door that does not latch cleanly will frustrate you daily.
Beyond that it is the usual mix — lockouts at every hour, car keys, and small-business work through the Junction and along California Ave and Delridge. The housing here skews older, and older houses have older strike plates, sagging doors, and deadbolts that were never installed quite square. We fix the cause where we can rather than just hanging new hardware on the symptom.
The call comes a few days after the move. Boxes are still stacked in the hallway. They want the locks dealt with before they think about anything else, and they want to know whether the keypad they saw at the hardware store is worth it.
We rekey the exterior doors so every old key is dead, and usually key everything alike so one key runs the whole house instead of the three-key arrangement most people inherit. If they want the keypad we install it on the front door and show them how to add and remove codes, so a code can be handed out for a week and revoked without changing anything else. Twenty minutes of work that ends a background worry they were carrying without quite naming it.
We cover Alki, Admiral, the Junction and Morgan Junction, Genesee, Gatewood, Fauntleroy, Seaview, Arbor Heights, Roxhill, Delridge, Puget Ridge, and Highland Park.
Typical arrival is about twenty-five minutes. On pricing, most West Seattle lockouts land in the $75 to $150 range and home rekeys $100 to $200 — a whole-house rekey depends on how many exterior doors you have, so tell us the door count when you call and we can be specific. Keypad and smart lock installation we quote once we know the lock and the door.
Rekey, in most cases. Rekeying kills every existing key while keeping the hardware that already fits your door, and it costs a fraction of replacement. We recommend replacing only when the hardware is worn out, damaged, or missing. We can also key everything alike so one key runs the whole house.
Most West Seattle lockouts run $75 to $150 and home rekeys $100 to $200. A whole-house rekey depends on how many exterior doors you have, so tell us the door count when you call and we can be specific. Keypad and smart lock installation is quoted once we know the lock and the door. We confirm the price with you before any work begins.
We install Kwikset and Schlage keypads and both hold up well. The bigger question is your door — an exposed porch needs a lock rated for weather, and a door that does not latch cleanly will make any keypad annoying to live with. We will tell you if the door is the real problem before you spend money on the lock.
About twenty-five minutes to most West Seattle addresses from our Burien shop. We dispatch 24 hours a day, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
For emergencies, call us now. For quotes and scheduling, send a message and we’ll get back to you fast.