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 estimateLocksmith in Sausalito, CA
Rekeying is the service Sausalito homeowners call us for most, and the reason is almost always the same: a house changed hands, a relationship ended, or a set of keys went missing somewhere between the ferry landing and the head of the stairs. The housing here, built on steep lots and floating docks, has its own hardware quirks. Salt air eats exterior locksets faster than anywhere else in Marin, and many homes still carry original mortise locks from the early 1900s that big-box replacement parts don’t fit. We rekey those cylinders, cut new keys, and get your doors working the same day. For an exact quote, call (833) 589-8078.
Why Sausalito Homes Are Different
Nearly every property in 94965 sits on or above the waterfront or a steep slope. That single fact changes how locksmith work gets done here. Exterior deadbolts, gate hardware, and padlocks on garden gates oxidize and seize from wind-driven salt fog at a rate nobody in inland Marin ever sees. We routinely service hardware that’s pitted and stiff within two years of installation, and the fix often starts with penetrating oil and patience before a cylinder ever turns.
The housing stock runs from early-1900s clapboard and shingle cottages stacked on the hillside lanes above Bridgeway to mid-century homes with cantilevered decks and sliding glass entries, plus the floating homes and houseboats on the marinas around Waldo Point. Many of the older homes still use mortise locks, which means rekeying is almost always the smarter move than swapping in a modern bored lockset and mangling a century-old door. And access is a real part of the job: a good number of Sausalito doors are only reachable on foot, up shared stairs or along a gangway, with the van parked below and the tool kit carried to the door.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Main Sausalito Services
Three calls make up most of our work in Sausalito: rekeying locks after a move or turnover, replacing car keys and programming fobs, and showing up fast when someone is locked out. The two specialist pages below cover the car and emergency sides in detail.
Car Key Replacement in Sausalito
Losing a car key on a Sausalito hillside is its own kind of headache: the car is often parked on a steep grade, and the dealership is a bridge crossing away. We cut and program replacement keys, transponder keys, and fobs for most makes without a tow, and we come to you, whether you’re up on a switchback above town or parked near the ferry terminal. Marine air doesn’t do your ignition any favors either; we see key fob failures from moisture more often here than a few miles inland. Full pricing and coverage details are on the Car Key Replacement in Sausalito page.
Emergency Locksmith in Sausalito
Lockouts in Sausalito happen at strange hours, and the geography makes them feel more urgent: a locked door on a floating home is one thing, but a locked door at the top of 80 steps with night coming on is another. We respond to home and car lockouts across 94965 and 94966 without a call-out surcharge added on arrival, and the price you hear on the phone is the price on the invoice. For urgent help, ring us and we’ll head your way. The Emergency Locksmith in Sausalito page explains response and timing.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Rekey Locks in Sausalito
Rekeying in Sausalito means more than changing pins in a cylinder. It means working on early-1900s mortise locks that are no longer manufactured, on deadbolts that have faced salt fog every day since they were installed, and on doors reached only by climbing a set of hillside stairs with a tool bag. The job is the same at its core, the rekey the lock so the old keys stop working, but the hardware and the access here demand a locksmith who has seen it before. If you’ve moved into a houseboat on the docks or a cottage above Bridgeway and you can’t account for every key, rekeying is the fastest way to take back control of who holds a key. That’s the heart of our Rekey Locks work in this city.
Lock Rekey
Signs you need it
You recently bought or rented a Sausalito home and cannot confirm who still has copies of the existing keys.
What it costs in Sausalito
A standard lock rekey in Sausalito runs $20 to $30 per cylinder plus a service call from South San Francisco, with most single-door jobs totaling under $150.
How we do it
We remove the cylinder, swap the pins to a new key pattern, test the new key, and hand you all existing copies of the old key, now useless.
Rekey Door Lock
Signs you need it
A key went missing, a tenant moved out, or a door lock was forced and you want the same hardware working on a fresh key without replacing the whole lockset.
What it costs in Sausalito
Rekeying a door lock runs $20 to $30 per cylinder, plus the trip; heavy salt corrosion on exterior cylinders sometimes adds a cleaning or replacement charge if the cylinder is too far gone to rekey cleanly.
How we do it
We take the cylinder out of the door, reset it to a new key, and if the exterior face is badly pitted from marine air we’ll show you your options before doing anything.
Keyed Alike
Signs you need it
You carry a separate key for every door and gate on your Sausalito property and want one key to work across several locks.
What it costs in Sausalito
Keyed alike costs $20 to $30 per cylinder to rekey each lock to one shared key, not per key; most multi-door Sausalito homes come in well under $200.
How we do it
We rekey each cylinder in place to a single key pattern, then test the one key through every lock before we leave.
What Rekey Locks Costs in Sausalito
| Item | Typical range in Sausalito |
|---|---|
| Rekey per cylinder (lock rekey, rekey door lock, keyed alike) | $20 – $30 |
| Service call from South San Francisco | $45 – $75 |
| Full home rekey, 4 – 6 cylinders including trip | $125 – $225 |
Does rekeying work on the old mortise locks in Sausalito’s older homes?
Yes. Mortise locks from the early 1900s can be rekeyed by a locksmith who carries the right pins and is comfortable with the lock body style. We do it regularly in the hillside cottages above Bridgeway.
How long does a rekey take in Sausalito?
Most single-door rekeys take 20 to 40 minutes once we’re at the door. Homes with several locks, or hardware caked in salt corrosion, take longer, and we’ll tell you the full price before starting.
Brands We Service in Sausalito
We work with the brands serious about security, and we carry parts for Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco cylinders, plus the pick-resistant high-security lines like Abloy. Because we stock those parts on the van, most rekeys and cylinder swaps happen in one trip, even on the hillside and dock properties where running back to a shop is not practical. See the full list on our brands page.
Pricing for Locksmith in Sausalito, CA
| Service | Typical range in Sausalito |
|---|---|
| Rekey per cylinder | $20 – $30 |
| Rekey service call | $45 – $75 |
| Full home rekey, 4 – 6 cylinders | $125 – $225 |
| Lock change / deadbolt installation | $90 – $160 per lock |
| Car key replacement, basic | $120 – $250 |
| Car key replacement, transponder or fob | $150 – $350 |
| Car key programming | $50 – $100 |
| Emergency lockout, home | $75 – $150 |
| Emergency lockout, car | $65 – $120 |
| Rekey per cylinder, high-security (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock) | $30 – $50 |
Two things push Sausalito job prices up faster than they do inland: salt-corroded hardware that needs cleaning or replacement before a cylinder can be rekeyed, and the foot access on hillside lanes and houseboat docks that adds time to a job. Whatever the number, you’ll hear the full quote on the phone before anyone drives out, and that quote is the price on the invoice, no call-out surcharge added on arrival. Call (833) 589-8078 for a firm number.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Sausalito
We cover all of 94965 and 94966, from the waterfront rows to the top of the hills. The walk-up properties, the floating homes, and the steep driveways all get the same service; the only difference is how we get the kit to your door.
- Bridgeway and downtown
- Waldo Point and the houseboat docks
- Hillside lanes above Bridgeway
- Marina rows and floating homes
- The slopes above Sausalito toward the headlands
Most Sausalito jobs are reached within a short drive from South San Francisco, and the quote you get on the phone already accounts for the walk from the nearest parking to your door.
Service Area – Cities Near Sausalito
Citadel Locksmith works across southern Marin and the adjacent communities. If you’re across the line in Marin City, CA, over on the water in Belvedere, CA, up the peninsula in Tiburon, CA, or in the hills toward Tamalpais Valley, CA, call us for the same flat-rate, quoted-in-advance service.
Serving Sausalito, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Sausalito area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Locksmith in Sausalito
Most Sausalito addresses are within a short drive of South San Francisco, so a lockout response is typically same-day, often within the hour. Walk-up doors on hillside lanes add a few minutes, which we account for when you call and we give you a firm arrival window.
Some floating home docks around Waldo Point have rules about hardware appearance, but they rarely restrict what lock or deadbolt you use. When we install or rekey on a houseboat berth, we can tell you what hardware stays within the norm for the docks.
Yes. The price we give you on the phone is the full price, including the trip, and it is what appears on your invoice. There is no call-out surcharge added when the locksmith arrives, so call (833) 589-8078 for an exact quote before you book.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees — talk to a local locksmith pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you — the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What Sausalito Customers Say
"Rekeyed every lock in the house the day after we closed. Six doors, all matched to one key, done in about ninety minutes."
— Beatriz Martinez"Commercial job, panic bar and a master key system for a small office. Clean install and clear documentation of which key opens what."
— Holly Ackerman"Does good work. Card payment was a bit of a production, so have another option handy."
— Norma Herrera