Before & After Gallery - Novak Lock & Security Long Beach

Locksmith Before & After in Long Beach, CA

We’ve opened 60,000+ locks, keys, and systems across Long Beach since 2002. Most of that work leaves no trace, but some jobs tell a clear story. The photos below show real hardware we encountered, what we replaced or rebuilt, and how the finished job looked when we documented it. Every image comes with a written scope, a firm price quoted in writing before we started, and Haven Standard Clause 1: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice.

Call (424) 340-6795

Recent Transformations

Commercial Exit Device Replacement, Downtown Long Beach Office Building

The property manager on Ocean Boulevard called at 6:47 a.m. The exit device on the ground-floor tenant suite had been “fixed” three times in eight months by another vendor. We found a Von Duprin 99 series with a stripped dogging mechanism, a bent rail from forced entry attempts, and a field modification that voided the fire rating. We quoted $1,840-$2,200 in writing for a new Grade-1 device with electric latch retraction, installed to NFPA 80 and California fire code. The photo record shows the old hardware on the floor, the new device mounted with proper fasteners into the steel frame, and the wiring tested for integration with the building’s access control system. Haven Standard Clause 4: documented photo record on every visit.

Residential Rekey After Move-In, Belmont Shore

New owners on Granada Avenue had five doors, three different keyways, and no idea how many copies of the old keys existed. We found a Kwikset SmartKey cylinder on the side door that had been reset incorrectly and could be opened with any key from the same series. We quoted $45-$65 per cylinder to rekey everything to a single key, with new pin stacks and a written key control record. The photo record shows the old pinning on the workbench, the new key operating every cylinder smoothly, and the signed key register. Total was $260, quoted in writing before we started. Daniel Novak has seen SmartKey cylinders fail from improper reset more times than he can count, usually on a Sunday evening.

High-Security Cylinder Upgrade, Bixby Knolls

The homeowner on Atlantic Avenue had been burglarized twice in fourteen months. Both times, entry was through the front door with no sign of forced entry. We found a standard Schlage deadbolt with fresh pick marks around the keyway and a strike plate held by 3/4-inch screws into door casing, not framing. We quoted $380-$520 for a Medeco M3 high-security cylinder (locks that cannot be picked or bumped by standard tools) with a restricted keyway and UL 437 drill resistance, plus a reinforced strike with 3-inch screws into the king stud. The photo record shows the old cylinder’s pick marks under magnification, the new Medeco installed with proper backset, and the strike plate fastened into framing. Key control card issued; no duplicates possible without the card and our authorization.

Access Control Retrofit, Long Beach Industrial Park

The operations manager on Anaheim Street had a shared keypad code that 23 former employees still knew, and no way to know who entered when. We found four standalone electronic locks from different manufacturers, none networked, with factory default programming codes still active. We quoted $4,200-$5,800 for a hardwired access control system with HID Prox card readers, time-zone restrictions, and event logging to a local server. The photo record shows the old keypads removed with wiring exposed, the new readers mounted at proper ADA height, the control panel labeled and powered with battery backup, and the software interface showing the first programmed time zone. Written scope included 90-day operator training and the 365-Day Done Right Promise.

Emergency Lockout, Alamitos Beach Apartment

The call came at 11:03 p.m. from Ocean Boulevard. Tenant had broken their key in a deadlocked Schlage deadbolt and the remaining fragment was flush with the cylinder face. We quoted $120-$180 over the phone for extraction, cylinder inspection, and rekey if the wafers were damaged. We arrived in 22 minutes, extracted the fragment with a broken key extractor without drilling, found the cylinder had been forced previously with visible tool marks on the plug face, and rekeyed to new bitting. The photo record shows the extracted fragment on the key ring for the tenant to see, the cylinder plug under light showing the old damage, and the new key operating smoothly. Price on the phone: $145. Price on the invoice: $145. Haven Standard Clause 1.

Master Key System, Long Beach Fourplex, Rose Park

The owner on Orizaba Avenue had bought a fourplex and inherited eight locks with four different keys, no documentation, and a missing key for Unit B. We found a mix of Kwikset and Defiant cylinders, two with visible evidence of unauthorized duplication, and one that had been re-pinned so poorly the key worked in two units. We quoted $320-$440 for a 4-level master key system: one great grand master for the owner, sub-masters for maintenance staff, and individual change keys for each unit. The photo record shows the old cylinders disassembled with mixed pinning, the new master key chart with bitting list, and each key tested in its designated locks. Written key control log provided; duplicates require the log and our authorization. This is the kind of job where Daniel Novak will mention he once found a four-unit building where every cylinder had been keyed alike by the previous owner’s “handyman” - then he’ll show you the photo.

Want Results Like These?

Every job above started with a phone call to (424) 340-6795 and ended with a documented photo record, a written scope, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. We’re independently owned and operated in Long Beach, background-checked and uniformed, and we answer live 24/7. Call (424) 340-6795 for a written quote before any work starts. Haven Standard Clause 1: the price on the phone is the price on the invoice.

Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Long Beach since 2002.