You just closed on a Lakewood house. The boxes are stacked, the keys are in your hand, and it feels secure. It is not, not yet. Closing handed you the deed, not control of every key cut over the home’s life. Here is the first thing to do before you unpack.
The honest answer is, you do not know, and that is the whole problem. Over the years a Lakewood home passes keys to the prior owners, their adult kids, a house cleaner, a dog walker, a contractor who never gave one back, a neighbor watching the place during trips. Closing transfers the title. It does not collect a single one of those copies.
This matters more on Lakewood’s housing in particular. Much of the city is mid-century single-family stock near Eiber and Morse Park that has changed hands several times across decades. Each turnover added another batch of keys to the wild. Rekeying on day one is not paranoia. It is the one action that makes every uncounted copy stop working, and it is exactly the kind of planned rekey and lock change work we do most.
For nearly every new Lakewood homeowner, rekeying wins. A rekey re-pins the existing cylinder to a brand-new key code, so the old keys die and you keep the hardware you already own. Replacing every lock costs more, takes longer, and throws away deadbolts that are perfectly good. We replace a lock only when it is worn, damaged, or you want a security step up, not as a default upsell.
A full home rekey of four to six cylinders in Lakewood usually runs $150 to $300, against a higher bill for new hardware on every door. Our rekey cost guide breaks the math down further. The exception worth weighing: if the existing deadbolts are light and never reinforced, bundling an upgrade into the same visit can be smarter than rekeying hardware you will want to swap anyway.
| Option | Usual cost | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|
| Full home rekey (4-6 cylinders) | $150 to $300 | Locks are sound; you just need new keys. |
| Rekey per cylinder | $20 to $40 plus service call | Only a door or two needs it. |
| Deadbolt replacement | $100 to $250 installed | Existing hardware is worn or builder-grade. |
Usually, yes, and it is the part new owners appreciate most. If your front, back, garage entry, and side doors use a compatible keyway, we rekey them all to a single key during one visit. One key for the whole house instead of the jangling ring the prior owner handed you. Most single-family Lakewood homes work this way without any fuss.
When a door carries an oddball cylinder that will not match, we tell you the options before pinning anything. Some owners want a separate key for a garage workshop or a basement entry anyway, and we can set that up too. The point is you decide the key plan with the real picture in front of you, not after the fact.
A standard four-to-six-cylinder rekey usually wraps in under an hour at your door. We pull each cylinder, re-pin it to a fresh code on site, and cut your new keys right there. No lock leaves the property, and nothing ships to a shop, so you are secured the same visit. That is the whole appeal of mobile rekey work for a brand-new homeowner.
Lakewood’s older ranch and split-level hardware near Eiber and Morse Park sometimes needs a quick cleanup before it re-pins smoothly, and we handle that on the spot. If you are weighing whether to add a deadbolt or strike-plate upgrade while we are there, our deadbolt upgrade guide covers what holds up, and a smart lock comparison helps if you are thinking keyless.
You have no idea who holds a copy of the old keys: the prior owners, their kids, a cleaner, a contractor, a neighbor watching the place. Closing transfers the deed, not the keys. A rekey makes every existing copy useless on day one, which matters most on Lakewood’s older mid-century stock that has changed hands several times.
Rekeying is usually faster and cheaper than replacing every lock. A full home rekey of four to six cylinders in Lakewood usually runs $150 to $300, while new hardware on every door costs more and is rarely necessary. We replace a lock only when it is worn out, damaged, or you want a security upgrade, not by default.
Usually, yes, as long as the locks share a compatible keyway, which most do on a single home. We rekey the front, back, garage entry, and any side doors so one key opens everything. If a door uses an oddball cylinder, we tell you the options before we start rather than surprising you on the invoice.
A standard four-to-six-cylinder home rekey usually wraps in under an hour on site. We pin each cylinder to a fresh key code at your door, no locks leave the property, and you walk away with working keys the same visit. Older Eiber and Morse Park hardware sometimes needs a little cleanup first, which we handle on the spot.
It is the right moment to ask. If the existing deadbolts are light builder-grade or the previous owner never reinforced the strike plate, bundling an upgrade into the rekey visit saves a second trip. We will tell you honestly whether your current hardware is worth keeping or worth swapping while we are already there.
We rekey every exterior lock to one fresh key at your door, usually in under an hour, and quote the figure before we start. Insured, local, and honest about whether to rekey or replace.
Last updated: May 28, 2026.
