How Much Does a Locksmith Cost in Florida? A St. Augustine Price Guide

In most cases, yes. A trained locksmith can install a deadbolt on wood, fiberglass, and many steel doors by boring the appropriate holes and fitting the hardware correctly. The main variables are door thickness, whether the door frame and strike plate need reinforcement, and the specific lock you choose. If you're upgrading from a door knob lock only to a full deadbolt setup, or replacing a mortise lock with a cylindrical deadbolt (or vice versa), the job requires a bit more prep work — but it's all standard work for an experienced technician. We carry common Schlage and Kwikset hardware on the van, or we can work with lock hardware you supply.

A mortise lock works by housing the full locking mechanism — latch bolt, deadbolt, and cylinder — inside a single metal case that's routed into a pocket (mortise) cut into the door's edge. When you turn the key, it rotates a cam inside the case that simultaneously controls both the latch and the deadbolt, which is why these locks feel exceptionally solid. Rekeying a mortise lock requires removing the cylinder from the case, disassembling it, and replacing the internal pin stacks to match a new key cut. It's more involved than rekeying a standard knob lock, but it's a routine service for a skilled locksmith — and far more cost-effective than replacing the entire mortise lock body if the hardware is otherwise in good condition.

A rim lock is a surface-mounted lock that attaches to the face of a door rather than being mortised into the edge like a mortise lock or bored through the door like a cylindrical lock. What a rim lock does is provide a locking point using a nightlatch or deadlock mechanism driven by a key on the outside and a thumb-turn or knob on the inside — you'll see them on older doors and some storm doors. How a rim lock works: turning the key retracts or extends a bolt that engages a keep (strike) screwed to the door frame. Because the lock body is fully exposed on the door's interior surface, installation is simpler than a mortise lock, but the security level is generally lower. If you have a rim lock that's worn, seized, or no longer aligns with its keep, a locksmith can service or replace it quickly.

Rekeying is one of the smartest things a new homeowner can do, and it's simpler than most people expect. A technician removes each lock cylinder (deadbolts, knob locks, or mortise lock cylinders), disassembles them, and replaces the internal driver pins so that the previous key cuts no longer work. The locks themselves stay in place — only the key that opens them changes. You end up with fresh keys that fit every lock, and no one who had a previous key can use it. Pricing depends on the number of locks, the lock types involved (a mortise lock cylinder takes a bit more time than a standard deadbolt), and whether you want all locks keyed alike (one key opens every door) or keyed differently. We carry common pin kits for Schlage, Kwikset, and several commercial lock brands on the van and can typically rekey an entire home in one visit.