San Francisco neighborhood
Big doors, old locks, and the day one of them seizes
The houses north of California Street have doors that weigh more than a refrigerator, and locks that have been turning since before the war. They work beautifully for decades and then, one evening, the key goes in and the cylinder will not move. That is the call we get from Pacific Heights.
When a good lock finally seizes
A high-quality mortise lock from the 1920s is a fine piece of hardware. It is also a hundred years old. Springs tire, pins wear into grooves, and the lubricant inside turned to varnish long ago. The usual failure is a key that goes in and will not turn, or turns and does nothing. We open the door without damage, take the lock apart, and tell you whether it can be serviced or should be replaced with hardware that fits the same door prep.
Many longtime residents use the moment to upgrade: a new deadbolt with a high security cylinder, or a keypad so there is no key to fumble with at the door. We fit it to the existing door so nothing on the facade changes.
Fillmore, the Western Addition, and the car side
South of Pine the buildings change: apartments, Victorians cut into flats, and the Fillmore corridor's shops and restaurants. Lockouts here are the normal city kind, keys on the kitchen table, and we open them the normal way, without damage.
Car keys come up in 94115 more than you might expect. Garage spaces are tight, people drive older cars they love, and the only key wears smooth or goes missing. Replacements get cut and paired at the curb, including for cars where no key is left at all.
What people in 94115 call us for
House and apartment lockout
Front doors with heavy, old locks, opened without damage.
Lock change and rekey
Seized locks serviced or replaced; upgrades to high security cylinders.
Smart locks
Keypad locks fitted to period doors without changing the look.
Car keys and fobs
Replacement car keys built at the curb, chip paired and tested.
How the price works
Older locks here sometimes need servicing rather than replacing. We open the door first, look inside the lock, and give you both options with prices before touching anything.
Free on-site estimate on most jobs, and the final price is said before any work starts. You can still say no.
Questions from Pacific Heights
Can you repair an old lock instead of replacing it?
Will a keypad lock look wrong on a period door?
I'm in a Western Addition apartment, locked out. Same service?
It's an older car and the only key is gone. Can you help?
A lock in Pacific Heights that won't turn?
We open it without damage and tell you what it needs.