Smart locks
House lockouts
Re-keying
Deadbolt upgrades
Schlage
Kwikset
Car keys & fobsNon-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.
Get your free estimateMedeco Locksmith in Fairfax, CA | Citadel Locksmith
We provide independent Medeco locksmith service across Fairfax, CA, covering everything from sticky cylinders to full high-security lock changes on the town’s older wood-frame homes. What makes our Medeco work different here is simple: we’re used to retrofitting precision cylinders onto doors that have spent decades swelling and settling in damp redwood air. Call Citadel Locksmith at (833) 589-8078 for a straight answer and a free estimate. Fairfax doors rarely take a new lock without some fuss, and we solved that problem years ago.
We service every Medeco line you’re likely to own: Maxum deadbolts, Biaxial cylinders, M3 systems, and KeyMark. We’re not a Medeco dealer and we are not manufacturer-affiliated, which means we recommend what actually fits your door and your key control needs in Fairfax, not what a distributor wants moved this quarter. As Roland Vásquez puts it, a lock is only as strong as the decision behind it. We help you make that decision with the facts in hand.
Why Fairfax Residents Choose Us for Medeco Service
Most locksmiths in Marin know how to rekey a Kwikset. Far fewer have spent real time inside Medeco’s pin tumbler and rotating sidebar mechanisms, where a wrong move means a seized cylinder and an angry homeowner. We cut our teeth on Medeco sales & service work years ago and we have been refining that craft since. Roland Vásquez, our owner, learned the mechanical fundamentals at City College of San Francisco and spent decades working stubborn locks across the Bay Area, including plenty of Fairfax doors that other techs gave up on.
Fairfax is a specific kind of town. The housing stock runs to early and mid-century bungalows and hillside cabins, most with original wood doors that have seen decades of damp winters. When a Medeco cylinder starts binding on a door like that, the problem is rarely the lock itself. It is the door, the frame, or the moisture that never quite leaves. We diagnose before we disassemble. That saves you money and keeps your high-security hardware intact. We use OEM Medeco parts for cylinders and keys because your key control depends on it. For accessories and trim, we use quality aftermarket parts when they genuinely fit. And we serve the whole Fairfax service area, including 94930 and 94978.
Styles & brands we work with







Common Medeco Locksmith Problems We Solve in Fairfax
- Corrosion and seizing of the rotating sidebar. Fairfax sits in a shaded redwood microclimate west of the Marin Civic Center. Year-round moisture gets into exterior cylinders and the sidebar mechanism, which is precisely machined and unforgiving, begins to bind. We disassemble, clean, and lubricate with dry-film products designed for high-security locks. Forced entry is not an option on a Medeco.
- Cylinder binding from door swelling. The town’s wood doors swell every wet season. A deadbolt that turned fine in September starts sticking by January. We realign the strike plate, shave the door edge where needed, and adjust the cylinder so the lock operates smoothly without compromising the high-security mechanism.
- Key control damage from attempted duplication. Medeco keys are protected by patent and key control. When someone takes a Medeco key to a hardware store and the clerk tries to copy it, the result is usually a bad cut that jams the cylinder on insertion. We cut replacement keys to factory spec and get the cylinder working again without replacing the whole lock.
- Worn hardened steel components. High-traffic entries, like a Fairfax home with roommates or a vacation rental that changes hands monthly, put real wear on Medeco internals. The hardened steel is tough but not eternal. We assess which components are worn and replace only what is necessary, preserving the cylinder body and your existing key control whenever possible.
- Mismatched cylinders from years of rekeys. Fairfax doors often carry hardware installed by a string of owners and renters. You end up with a Medeco deadbolt on one door and a generic knob on another, and the keys do not match. We rekey or match cylinders so one Medeco key works where you need it, without ripping out the good hardware.
Medeco Service in Fairfax: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
Fairfax is not San Rafael. It is a small, historic Marin town where much of the housing is older wood-frame bungalows and cabins tucked into redwood-filled hillsides. That means locksmith work here means retrofitting and re-keying vintage mortise and rim locks on doors that have settled and swollen with damp coastal air, not the cookie-cutter builder-grade deadbolts of places like Ross, where our Medeco service covers different needs. When we put a Medeco Maxum deadbolt on a 1930s bungalow door off Bolinas Road, we are almost always working with a frame that is out of square and a door that has moved a quarter inch since it was hung. A generic install would jam within a season. We adjust the door, align the frame, and set the cylinder so the rotating sidebar engages cleanly every time. The damp air also works on the cylinder itself. Medeco locks are machined to fine tolerances, and fine tolerances do not love constant moisture. We use corrosion-resistant lubricants and recommend periodic service on exterior locks, something Fairfax homeowners rarely think about until the key stops turning. That is the exact scenario we see in the Manor neighborhood and across the hillside streets, where original wood doors meet high-security hardware and need a tech who understands both.
Medeco Models & Products We Service in Fairfax
We work on the full Medeco line that Fairfax homeowners and businesses actually use. The Medeco Maxum deadbolt is the most common high-security residential lock we service in town, and it is a genuinely strong piece of hardware when the door it sits in is properly aligned. Medeco Biaxial cylinders are the classic workhorse, still found on older commercial storefronts downtown and on homes that were upgraded in the 1980s and 1990s. Medeco M3 and KeyMark systems show up most often on rental properties and small businesses where key control matters and unauthorized duplication is a real concern. We stock common OEM cylinders, pins, and key blanks for these lines locally, which means faster turnaround for Fairfax customers than waiting on a distributor. When a critical component is worn, we use OEM Medeco parts. Accessories and trim get quality aftermarket parts when it makes sense for the job.
Medeco Service Pricing in Fairfax
Medeco service in Fairfax runs in line with high-security locksmith work elsewhere in Marin, but the older doors here push labor time up on some jobs. A standard Medeco cylinder service or rekey usually lands in the $125 to $225 range. Replacing a Medeco Maxum deadbolt, with the cylinder, hardware, and labor for a Fairfax door that needs alignment work, typically runs $280 to $450. A full Medeco lock change on a door that has swelled and requires edge planing or strike plate adjustment adds $60 to $120 in labor. We quote the full price on the phone before we dispatch, and we do not tack on a call-out surcharge when we arrive. The estimate is free and it includes a straight assessment of whether your cylinder needs service or replacement. Call (833) 589-8078 and we will give you a real number, not a teaser rate.
Serving Fairfax, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fairfax area and know this community well, and we also provide Medeco service in Sleepy Hollow nearby. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs – Medeco Locksmith in Fairfax
Yes, and we do it routinely. The damp redwood air in Fairfax accelerates corrosion inside Medeco cylinders, especially the rotating sidebar. We disassemble, clean, and lubricate with dry-film products, and we recommend a seasonal check on exterior locks. Call (833) 589-8078 to schedule a service visit.
We do. We design and install Medeco master key systems for Fairfax rental properties, small offices, and multi-unit buildings. Medeco’s key control makes master keying on this platform particularly secure, and we handle the cylinder pinning in-house. Call (833) 589-8078 for a consultation on your building’s layout.
We respond to Medeco lockouts across Fairfax and the surrounding area, including 94930 and 94978. High-security locks demand careful entry, not a drill-and-replace reflex. We attempt non-destructive entry first and only drill when a cylinder is truly beyond saving. If you are locked out now, call (833) 589-8078 and we will talk through the fastest safe option.
Yes, with proper installation. A Medeco deadbolt’s strength depends on the door and frame around it. In older Fairfax bungalows with original wood doors, we align the frame, adjust the door, and set the cylinder so the high-security mechanism works without binding. The lock is only as good as the door it is mounted on. Call (833) 589-8078 and we will assess your specific door.
Stop forcing it. A sticking Medeco key in Fairfax usually means corrosion from the damp air or a worn key that is chewing up the cylinder pins. Forcing it will only snap the key or damage the sidebar. Call (833) 589-8078 and we will either cut a fresh key or service the cylinder, whichever the lock actually needs.
Service Areas Near Fairfax
We serve Fairfax and the surrounding communities, including San Anselmo, Woodacre, and Lagunitas. For neighbors south or east of the hill, our Medeco service in San Lorenzo and Medeco service in Ashland pages cover those areas in detail. Call (833) 589-8078 to confirm service in your exact location.
Book Your Medeco Service in Fairfax Today
If your Medeco lock is acting up in Fairfax, do not wait for the key to stop turning entirely. We offer same-day service in most cases across the 94930 and 94978 ZIP codes. Call Citadel Locksmith at (833) 589-8078 and get a free estimate from a Medeco specialist, not a generalist.
Written by Roland Vásquez, Owner at Citadel Locksmith, serving Fairfax and Marin County.