Locked Out of the House? We'll Get You Back In

How we get you in without damage

Picking and bypass come first, every time. Most residential knobs and deadbolts in Santee open with a pick or a bypass tool in a few minutes, and afterward the lock works exactly as it did. Drilling is a last resort for a lock that has failed internally or a high-security cylinder that will not pick, and we only drill with your OK, after telling you what the replacement will run. Nobody should have to buy a new deadbolt because a locksmith was in a hurry.

Proof of residence, and why we ask

Before we open the door we ask for a photo ID showing the address. If your ID is inside with the keys, that is common, and we simply verify once the door is open and before we leave: a piece of mail, a lease, a utility bill, or your name on the registration in the driveway. For a rental, a text from the property manager works. We ask because the alternative is a locksmith who will open any door for anyone, and you do not want that person to know where you live.

Garage, side gate and slider lockouts

The classic Santee lockout is not the front door. It is the door from the garage into the house on a 1970s or '80s tract home in Carlton Hills, Summercrest or off Prospect Ave: you walk out to the trash cans, the door swings shut behind you, and the deadbolt someone added in 1994 is locked. We open garage-to-house doors the same way we open a front door, and while we are there we can adjust the closer so it stops happening.

• Side gates with a padlock or a keyed gate latch. We pick or open these so nobody has to go over the fence.
• Sliding glass doors with a foot bolt or a bar in the track. We open the front or garage door instead of forcing the slider, which is how sliders get bent.
• Garage doors when the opener is dead and the release cord is inside. The emergency release is reachable with the right tool, without cutting anything.

Condos and apartments

For a condo or apartment near Town Center, along Mission Gorge Rd or in one of the newer townhome communities off Riverwalk Dr, check whether your property manager has an after-hours line first; some complexes prefer to send their own staff and will not charge you. If the office is closed or they tell you to call a locksmith, we open the unit door and verify the lease. We do not open a unit for someone who is not on it, and we do not touch building master systems.

Mobile-home and manufactured-home communities are a little different: the door hardware is often a proprietary style that a standard tool does not fit. Mention it on the phone so we bring the right set.

Keys lost or stolen?

If you are locked out because the keys are gone, not just inside, getting in is only half the job. Whoever has those keys has your address if they came with a wallet or a bag. Once you are inside we can put every exterior door on a new key in the same visit, so the lost set is just a ring of metal. Rekeying is planned here. If you would rather not carry a key at all, a keypad deadbolt ends the lockout problem for good. Locked out of the car instead of the house? That page is here.

House lockouts from $110 in Santee, quoted before we drive. See starting prices

We only publish reviews from real Santee and Lakeside customers, signed with a first name and a neighborhood. This section fills in as the jobs do. Until then, ask us for a reference and we will put you in touch with a recent customer.