Quoted on the phone before we drive. Open 8am–8:30pm, every day. You get a real arrival estimate from where the van actually is, not a number pulled from an ad.
Five things, in this order, every time. No surprises at the door.
Street address or cross street, the complex and unit if you rent near Cal State San Marcos, or the suite number in the business park.
The range for your kind of door and the service call fee, before the van moves. Same number on the invoice.
We tell you where the van is right now and give you a window. If traffic on the 78 changes it, you get a text.
Non-destructive first: picks or a bypass tool on nearly every residential lock in town. Drilling is the last option and we say so before we start.
Photo ID plus something that ties you to the property. Then the door opens and you are back inside.
Before we open a door we need to know you belong behind it. That means a photo ID with the address on it, or the ID plus something that ties you to the property: a lease, a utility bill on your phone, a mortgage statement, a text from the landlord.
Renters near Cal State San Marcos: if your ID still shows your parents' address, the lease on your phone or a quick OK from the property manager is enough. Roommate lockouts are the most common call we get from the University District. Businesses: an owner or manager with ID, or written authorization from the owner for an employee opening up early in San Marcos Business Park.
Most residential locks in San Marcos are builder-grade Kwikset or Schlage knobs and deadbolts, and most open with picks or a bypass tool in a few minutes without a mark on them. Apartment doors with a lever and a deadbolt are the same story.
Drilling is a last resort: a high-security cylinder, a lock that has already been damaged, or a deadbolt thrown with a broken key inside. When it comes to that, we say so first, and we replace the cylinder on the spot so you are not left with a hole in the door. The van carries replacement cylinders in the common finishes.
Garage-door-closed lockouts in Santa Fe Hills and Rancho Dorado are their own pattern: the remote is in the car, the car is in the garage, and the front door is locked. We usually open the front door, and we tell you what we are doing before we do it.
A keypad deadbolt with a dead battery is a lockout too, and one we see more of every year on newer doors in San Elijo Hills. Most models take a 9-volt jump on the contacts under the keypad or open with the backup key. We carry both. If the lock is the problem rather than the battery, smart lock repair is what comes next.
If the keys are lost rather than left inside, getting in is half the job. A key ring with your address on it, a bag taken from a car, a key that went missing with a previous tenant: in those cases we rekey the doors after we open them, usually on the same visit, so the missing key stops working.
Car lockouts, lost car keys and fob programming have their own page, with what we need from you and what it runs. Locked out of your car instead? Start here.
A house or apartment lockout in San Marcos runs $85–$150 for non-destructive entry, trip included, any time we are open. A business lockout runs $110–$200. A high-security or smart deadbolt, or a lock that has to be drilled and replaced, runs higher and we tell you on the phone first. The full table is on our pricing page, and the phone quote is the invoice number.
Yes. We look at a photo ID and something that connects you to the address: the ID itself, or a lease, utility bill or mortgage statement on your phone. Renters can have the landlord or property manager confirm by phone or email. We keep no copies; the invoice just notes that it was checked.
Yes, any time we are open, 8am to 8:30pm every day, for an owner or manager with ID and authorization. An employee opening up for an early shift needs a text or email from the owner naming them. If a missing key is the reason, we can rekey the door on the same visit.
Almost never. The builder-grade knobs, levers and deadbolts on most San Marcos homes open with picks or a bypass tool and show no mark afterward. Drilling only happens on a high-security cylinder, a broken lock, or a deadbolt jammed by a snapped key, and we replace the cylinder on the same visit.
It depends on where the van is when you call, which is why we give you a real estimate on the phone instead of a promise on a web page. San Marcos is compact and most of it is a short drive outside of rush hour on SR-78. We tell you the window and text if it changes.
Call and we will quote it, tell you where the van is, and get moving. Text a photo of the door if it is easier.