Same locks, new keys?
If the hardware is fine and you just want the old keys to stop working, a rekey changes the pins inside each cylinder and leaves everything else on the door. See how a move-in rekey works.
Mechanical hardware, planned work
Home Lock Installation and Repair in San Marcos
The practical jobs on a San Marcos house: a deadbolt that grinds, a slider that will not latch, a mailbox key that never came with the keys, a gate lock rusted from the sprinklers. We replace what is worn, repair what is fixable, and tell you which is which before we start.
- Licensed and insured
- Background-checked technicians
- Open 8am–8:30pm, every day
Deadbolts and handlesets
Builder-grade hardware is chosen by the truckload, and it shows after a decade. The thin finish wears through where a thumb lands, the deadbolt develops play, and the strike is held by two short screws that stop in the jamb instead of reaching the stud. Upgrading comes down to three things: a solid deadbolt with a hardened bolt, a handleset that matches it in finish and style, and a strike plate with three-inch screws into the framing.
On most tract homes in Santa Fe Hills, Discovery Hills and Rancho Dorado the existing holes are standard, so a new deadbolt goes on without new drilling. Where a door has no deadbolt at all, common on older Richland ranch homes and on side doors everywhere, we bore for one and reinforce the edge. We carry satin nickel, matte black, oil-rubbed bronze and polished brass on the van. Older doors with a non-standard backset or a hole bored out for a lock that no longer exists get the right plate or adapter, and we say so up front rather than leaving a gap.
Sticking, loose or broken locks
A lock that has to be lifted, wiggled or slammed is usually telling you about the door, not the lock. Frames settle, hinges sag, and a bolt that used to slide into its strike now hits the edge of it. We diagnose before we replace: check the hinge screws, look at the gap around the door, throw the bolt by hand and see where it rubs. Often a longer hinge screw and a re-set strike fix it for far less than new hardware.
When the lock itself is the problem, it is a worn cylinder that no longer reads the key, a broken spring in a lever, or a thumb turn that spins without moving the bolt. Some of those we repair on the spot. The rest get a like-for-like replacement keyed to your existing house key, so you do not end up with a new key for one door.
The 1960s to 1980s homes and condos around Lake San Marcos send us a lot of this work: brass hardware painted over twice, mortise locks on patio doors nobody stocks any more, and cylinders that have simply worn out. We keep parts for the older brands and can usually keep the original look.
Sliding and patio doors
The slider to the backyard is the door most likely to be left unlocked and the one with the flimsiest latch. The hook latch in the handle wears, the keeper on the frame bends, and after a while the door rolls closed but does not actually lock. We replace the latch and handle set, adjust the rollers so the door sits square, and add a secondary lock: a pin through the frame, a bar in the track, or a keyed surface bolt on a door that is rarely opened.
French doors rely on flush bolts in the inactive door that get painted shut or drift out of line, leaving the active door nothing solid to lock into. We re-set the flush bolts, replace a worn multipoint latch, or fit a keyed deadbolt through both doors where the frame allows. On the hillside homes in Discovery Hills and San Elijo Hills where the slider opens onto a view deck and gets used daily, we fit a heavier-duty handle set and a track bar as standard.
HOA cluster mailbox locks
Most master-planned streets in San Marcos have cluster box units at the end of the block instead of a mailbox at each house. Each resident compartment has its own small cam lock, and when a home changes hands the key usually does not come with it. We replace the compartment lock with a new cam lock and two keys: ten minutes at the box, no drilling of the unit, and no need to involve the HOA unless your CC&Rs say the management company handles it. If the compartment is jammed rather than simply locked, we open it first.
What we will not touch: the arrow lock the mail carrier uses to open the whole unit belongs to the United States Postal Service. Only USPS can service or replace it. If that lock is the problem, your local post office is the right call, and we will tell you so on the phone.
Landlords and property managers with several units in Santa Fe Hills or Discovery Hills can book a batch of mailbox locks on one visit and one invoice.
Side gates and garage-entry doors
A keyed gate lock on the side yard takes the worst weather on the property: sprinklers every morning, dust, and full sun. Cheap latches seize within a couple of years. We fit gate locks built for it, in stainless or coated finishes, keyed to the house key so the gardener or pool tech can be given a key that opens the gate and nothing else. The larger lots in Twin Oaks Valley often have a rear gate or a gate to an outbuilding as well, and those get the same treatment.
The door from the garage into the house is the most used door in the house and usually has the least lock on it. Builders often hang a plain knob there on the theory that the garage door is the real barrier. A deadbolt on that door, matched to the house key, is one of the cheapest upgrades on a San Marcos home and takes half an hour.
Go keyless?
A keypad or app deadbolt fits the same bore as a standard one. If the front door is due for a new lock anyway, that is the moment to decide. Smart lock installation is here.
Got a lock that is not doing its job?
Text a photo of the lock and the door edge. We will tell you whether it is a repair or a replacement and hold a time.