Home Rekeying
Moving into a new home on Chicago's Northwest Side — whether it's a two-flat off Belmont Avenue, a greystone near the Avondale Blue Line stop, or a vintage courtyard building on Kedzie — is exciting. But the locks on your doors carry a history you can't fully know. Previous owners, tenants, contractors, real estate agents, and neighbors may all hold copies of your key, and until those locks are rekeyed, your household isn't as secure as it should be. Rekeying resets that history entirely, letting you start fresh with a single key that works every exterior door.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week · Licensed, bonded & insured
Avondale Chicago Locksmith is a 24/7 mobile locksmith serving the Chicago area. Our trained, insured technicians come directly to your address — no shop drop-off, no waiting in line. We work on every common residential lock type, from standard door knob locks and deadbolts to heavy-duty mortise locks, and we can key them all to match one master key so you're never fumbling through a ring of duplicates again. Before any work begins, we confirm an exact up-front price so there are no surprises on an already-busy moving day.
What we do
Available 24/7
Day, night, weekends and holidays — a real local locksmith answers and rolls a fully-stocked van.
Fast local response
Based in Chicago, we reach the Chicago area in well under an hour.
Insured & background-checked
Vetted technicians, up-front pricing, and no surprise add-ons when we arrive.
Damage-free entry
We pick and bypass locks the right way, so most lockouts are solved without drilling anything.
Why Home Rekeying After a Move-In Is the Smartest First Step
When you take possession of a property in Chicago, you receive a finite set of keys — but you have no way of knowing how many copies exist in the world. Illinois real estate transactions routinely pass through multiple hands: listing agents, buyer's agents, home inspectors, stagers, previous tenants, and handymen who were let in 'just this once.' Rekeying eliminates every outstanding copy in a single service call. The lock cylinder is disassembled, the internal pins are replaced with a new configuration, and your old keys permanently stop working. The lock hardware itself stays in place, which keeps the job damage-free and cost-efficient.
Rekeying is especially valuable in Avondale and surrounding Chicago neighborhoods like Logan Square, Hermosa, and Irving Park, where older two-flats and three-flats frequently cycle through multiple tenancies. Landlords who convert a unit, homeowners who buy from an estate, and first-time buyers inheriting a decades-old Schlage or Kwikset deadbolt all face the same invisible risk: unknown key holders. One service call from our mobile team closes that vulnerability before you unpack a single box.
Mortise Lock Rekeying and Door Knob Lock Services for Every Door in Your Home
Not every door in a Chicago home uses the same lock format, and that matters when you're planning a rekey. Older Avondale greystones and courtyard buildings commonly feature mortise locks — the large, rectangular cartridge-style locks that sit inside a pocket milled into the door's edge. A mortise lock has a more complex cylinder and internal mechanism than a standard deadbolt, and it requires a technician who understands its specific disassembly process. Our team works with mortise locks regularly; they're a staple of Chicago's pre-war housing stock, and we treat them with the care they deserve rather than forcing a one-size approach. Alongside mortise lock service, we rekey door knob locks, handleset deadbolts, electronic smart locks, and sliding door locks, so every entry point on your property operates on the same key.
When all your exterior locks share one key, everyday life gets simpler: one key for the front door, one for the rear coach house entrance, one for the garden-level unit you're renting out. We can also key specific locks differently — for example, giving a tenant their own key that doesn't open your private interior spaces — if your layout calls for it. Either way, the goal is a coherent, intentional security setup that you control from day one.
What Determines the Cost of Home Rekeying in Chicago — and How We Price Our Work
One of the most common questions we hear is, 'How much does a locksmith cost in Chicago?' or 'How much should a locksmith cost per hour?' The honest answer is that no responsible locksmith quotes a flat rate without knowing the specifics of the job. For a rekeying service, the factors that shape your final quote include: the number of locks being rekeyed, the type of lock on each door (a standard door knob lock involves fewer steps than a mortise lock), the time of day the service is performed, travel distance to your address, and whether any pins, cylinders, or hardware need to be replaced rather than simply reconfigured. Evening, overnight, and holiday calls carry different labor considerations than a standard weekday appointment, which is a normal reflection of 24/7 availability — not a hidden fee.
We never leave you guessing. Before our technician touches a single lock, we walk you through the quote and confirm the exact price. If anything changes mid-job — say, a cylinder turns out to be damaged and needs replacement — we tell you immediately and get your approval before proceeding. That transparency is especially important during a move-in, when budgets are already stretched. If you've been searching for 'how to find a reputable locksmith in Chicago' or wondering 'where can I find an affordable locksmith in Chicago,' the answer isn't about finding the lowest number — it's about finding a team that explains every line of the bill before the work starts. Call (773) 900-4533 anytime and we'll walk you through what your specific job is likely to involve.
Our Full Residential, Commercial, and Emergency Locksmith Services
Rekeying after a move-in is one of our most requested residential jobs, but our mobile team handles the full spectrum of lock and key needs across Chicago. Below is a representative look at what we offer — all performed by trained, insured technicians who come to you:
1. Residential home rekeying (single-family, two-flat, condo, coach house) | 2. Mortise lock rekeying and repair | 3. Door knob lock rekey and replacement | 4. Deadbolt installation and rekeying | 5. Master key system setup for multi-unit buildings | 6. Smart lock and keypad lock installation | 7. Lock-out assistance — checking for alternate entrances and ownership verification before any intervention | 8. High-security lock upgrades (Schlage B-series, Kwikset SmartKey) | 9. Sliding glass door lock service | 10. Window lock installation | 11. Gate and fence lock rekeying | 12. Mailbox lock replacement | 13. Safe unlocking and combination changes | 14. Commercial locksmith services — office buildings, retail storefronts, restaurants | 15. Commercial mortise lock installation and repair | 16. Panic bar and push-bar hardware installation | 17. Access control system consultation | 18. Tenant turnover rekeying for landlords | 19. Emergency locksmith response — 24/7, including overnight and holidays | 20. Car lockout service (automotive locksmith) | 21. Vehicle key duplication and transponder key programming | 22. Broken key extraction — door and ignition | 23. Ignition cylinder repair and replacement | 24. Garage door lock service | 25. Security consultation and lock-grade recommendations for Chicago properties | 26. Key duplication for all rekeyed locks | 27. Peephole and door viewer installation
Frequently asked questions
How much does a locksmith cost in Chicago for a full home rekey?
There's no single flat rate because the price depends on several job-specific factors: the number of locks being rekeyed, the type of each lock (a mortise lock is more involved than a standard door knob lock), the time of day, travel distance to your location in the Chicago area, and whether any parts need replacement. We confirm an exact up-front price before any work begins — call (773) 900-4533 and we'll walk through your specific situation.
How much should an emergency locksmith cost, and do you charge more at night?
Emergency locksmith pricing reflects the reality of 24/7 availability — after-hours, overnight, and holiday calls do involve different labor considerations than standard daytime appointments. However, every cost factor is disclosed upfront. We never start work without your approval of the quoted price, so 'how much should an emergency locksmith cost' always has a concrete, agreed-upon answer before we begin.
Can you rekey my locks to all work on one key?
Yes — that's one of the most common requests we handle, especially after a move-in. We rekey all your exterior locks so that a single key operates every door. If you have a mix of lock types — a mortise lock on the front door, deadbolts on rear and side doors, a door knob lock on a coach house — we match all of them to one key profile. We can also set up a master key system if you need certain doors to operate independently, such as for a rental unit.
How do I find a reputable locksmith in Chicago?
Look for a team that is insured, arrives in a marked vehicle, carries identification, provides a written or verbal quote before starting, and doesn't pressure you into unnecessary hardware replacements. A reputable locksmith will also verify your right to the property before performing any lock service. Avondale Chicago Locksmith checks all of these boxes — our trained, insured technicians follow a clear verification and pricing process on every call. Reach us anytime at (773) 900-4533.
Do I really need to rekey if I just bought my house?
Yes, in almost every case. Even if the seller hands you every key they have, copies can exist with previous occupants, contractors, or neighbors who were given access over the years. Rekeying takes less than an hour for most homes and permanently deactivates all prior keys without replacing the lock hardware itself — it's a damage-free process that gives you complete control over who can enter your home from day one.
Do you work on mortise locks, and are they harder to rekey?
Mortise locks are very common in Chicago's older housing stock — greystones, courtyard buildings, and vintage two-flats across Avondale and neighboring areas like Logan Square often have them. They require disassembling a more complex cylinder than a standard deadbolt, so the process takes a bit longer, but our technicians are experienced with mortise lock service specifically. It's a routine part of our residential work, not a specialty add-on that requires a separate appointment.
Locked out or need a lock fixed? We are on the way.
We answer 24/7 — talk to a real local locksmith now.
(773) 900-4533