Non-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Locksmith Before & After in New York, NY
We’ve been opening, fixing, and replacing locks across New York since 2002. These jobs show what we find when we arrive and what we leave behind. Every photo here is part of the documented record we give the customer, same as you’ll get on your job. No stock images, no staging, just the actual work.
Recent Transformations
Commercial: Failed Mortise Lock on Midtown Office Corridor Door
The building engineer called us at 6:47 a.m. The mortise lockset on the 14th-floor corridor door had failed overnight, meaning tenants couldn’t access the east stairwell. The existing lock was a 25-year-old Yale with a cracked case and a dead latch that no longer retracted. We removed the failed hardware, measured the mortise pocket against ANSI standards, and installed a Grade 1 heavy-duty replacement with a through-bolted escutcheon. The door now latches clean, the keyway is aligned properly, and the building has a written record of the serial number and pinning chart. Price quoted on the phone: $340-$420 depending on cylinder type. Final invoice matched the quote, Haven Standard Clause 1.
Residential: Kwikset SmartKey Failure in Upper West Side Pre-War
The tenant had rekeyed their Kwikset SmartKey deadbolt themselves, and the sidebar jammed. Key wouldn’t turn, key wouldn’t withdraw. We see this regularly in pre-war buildings where the original door prep isn’t quite standard and the SmartKey mechanism gets torqued. We drilled the retaining pin, extracted the cylinder without damaging the door, and installed a Schlage B60N Grade 1 deadbolt with a standard pin-tumbler cylinder - no SmartKey, no plastic internals. The door is 1-3/4″ solid core with a 2-1/8″ bore, so fit was straightforward. Written price before dispatch: $180-$240. Photo record shows the extracted cylinder with the jammed sidebar visible.
Access Control: Magnetic Lock with No Hold Open on SoHo Retail Space
The SoHo boutique had a 600-lb magnetic lock installed by a general contractor, but no hold-open button and no exit sensor. Fire code in New York requires free egress; the setup they had meant customers had to ask staff to buzz them out. We found the mag lock wired directly to a plug-in transformer with no relay logic. We installed a proper 12/24V DC power supply with battery backup, added a request-to-exit sensor with a 30-second timer, and mounted a hold-open push button at 42″ per ADA. The wiring is in EMT, not flex, because that’s what the inspector looks for. Scope and price were written and signed before we touched the first wire: $1,800-$2,400 depending on conduit run length. Final was $2,100.
Emergency: Broken Key Extracted from Baldwin Entry Set in Brooklyn Heights Brownstone
Homeowner snapped their key in the Baldwin thumb-turn deadbolt at 11 p.m. in January. The key was brass, the lock was a 1980s Baldwin with a bitting that had worn sharp over decades. We extracted the broken segment with a spiral extractor and a dental pick, then inspected the plug. The cam was binding because the door had settled - common in brownstones with limestone stoops that shift. We shimmed the strike, lubricated the plug with Houdini Lock Lube, and cut two new keys by code rather than tracing the worn original. The call came in at 10:52 p.m., we were on site by 11:34 p.m. Price quoted on the phone: $150-$220 for emergency extraction plus key cutting. No surcharge added for the hour.
Lock Rekey: Full Property Rekey After Management Change in Astoria Six-Family
New management company took over an Astoria six-family and had no idea how many keys were in circulation. Previous owner had given out copies to contractors, relatives, a dog walker from 2019. We rekeyed six Schlage F51 entry locks, two common-area deadbolts, and the basement utility door to a single master key system with one master and six change keys. Each cylinder got new bottom pins, top pins, and springs. We pinned to a random master key code, not a progression, so no mathematical relationship exists between the master and the change keys. The superintendent gets the master, each tenant gets one key that opens only their apartment. Written scope listed every lock by location and function. Price: $45-$65 per cylinder, 11 cylinders total, $595 final. Master key chart and pinning record left with the property manager.
High-Security: Medeco Maxum Installation for Financial District Condo
The owner wanted pick resistance and key control after a neighbor’s unit was accessed with a bumped lock. We inspected the existing door: 1-3/4″ solid core, 2-1/8″ bore, 1″ edge bore, so a standard replacement. We installed a Medeco Maxum 11*603 with a 1-1/8″ throw bolt, hardened steel collar, and a restricted keyway registered to the owner. The Medeco cylinder uses angled cuts and sidebar pins - locks that cannot be picked or bumped by standard tools. Keys are cut only by authorized dealers with signature verification; we issued two, registered the key code, and provided the owner with a key control card. Installation and cylinder: $380-$480. Photo record shows the door edge with the 1″ face bore properly countersunk for the bolt housing.
Want Results Like These?
Every job here follows the same process you’ll get: a live person answers your call, we name a written price before anyone is dispatched, and the technician who arrives is background-checked, uniformed, and working to The Haven Standard. The price on the phone is the price on the invoice - Haven Standard Clause 1, in force since 2002. Call (551) 214-0800 and we’ll tell you what your job costs, no deposit, no bait-and-switch, no surprises when we show up.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security New York, serving New York since 2002.