Most San Diego homes have two garage doors that need a key: the door from the garage into the house and the exterior side door to the yard. We rekey both to your front door key, add a deadbolt where there is only a knob, and fit a keypad lock for kids and dog walkers. Usually done in the same visit as the rest of the house.
What you get
- Garage-to-house door and side door rekeyed to your front door key
- Deadbolt added to a side door that only has a knob
- Keypad or smart lock on the door kids and dog walkers use
- Opener keypad and remote reset covered as part of a move-in
- Per-cylinder pricing in the same visit as the rest of the house
The two garage doors people mean
When someone calls about a garage door lock they usually mean one of two doors, and sometimes both.
The garage-to-house door. The door from the garage into the kitchen, laundry room or hallway. In an attached-garage home this is the door the family actually uses, and it is often the only thing between the street and the house once the big door is up.
The garage side door. The exterior man door from the garage to the side yard or driveway, usually a plain knob on a steel or hollow-core door, often behind a gate.
Both take standard residential locks and both rekey in about ten minutes each. The lock on the roll-up garage door itself is a third thing, covered further down.
The most forgotten door in a rekey
On a move-in rekey people list the front door and the back slider and stop. The garage-to-house door gets missed because it feels like an interior door. It is not. Anyone with the opener code, a remote left in a sold car, or a lifted garage door has reached it, and it is usually a builder knob with no deadbolt, left unlocked because the family walks through it ten times a day.
It is also the door building codes treat as the fire separation between the garage and the living space: a solid or fire-rated door, and in California generally a self-closing, self-latching device. We keep any hardware we add within what a labeled door allows and leave the closer working; if a change would not fit the label we tell you first. Check current code for your city. General information, not a code sign-off.
Need a garage door rekeyed today?
Call or text with your address and door count. You get a firm price before we roll.
One key: the garage doors keyed alike with the front door
The fix for a door you walk through ten times a day is to make it effortless to lock. Step one is putting it on the same key as the front door, so the key on your ring opens it and nobody hunts for the odd one.
If the garage knob and the front deadbolt share a keyway, all Kwikset KW1 or all Schlage SC1, we pin them alike on the spot. If the garage door has a random brand from a previous owner, we swap that cylinder or that one lock to match the house. Kwikset SmartKey locks on a garage door reset to the house key in a couple of minutes. The whole approach is on our keyed alike page.
Step two, for the garage-to-house door specifically, is a lock that latches locked every time the door swings shut, so locked is the default and nobody has to remember.
Adding a deadbolt to the garage side door
The exterior side door is the easiest way into most garages, and a knob alone holds it shut, not locked against a shoulder. We bore a new deadbolt hole with a jig above the knob, cut the strike, and fit a Grade 1 or Grade 2 single-cylinder deadbolt keyed to the house. The strike plate gets 3-inch screws into the framing, the same as a front door.
Side doors take more weather than the front door because there is no porch roof over them, so pick a finish that holds up outside. And if the door itself is a hollow-core interior door that someone hung there years ago, we say so: a deadbolt on a door you can punch through is not much of a deadbolt. Lock replacement covers the door and hardware choices.
Keypad and smart locks on garage doors
The garage side door is the natural place for a keypad. Kids get home from school with a code instead of a key, the dog walker gets a code you can change, and nobody props the door because it locks itself. A keypad deadbolt with no app is usually enough here: it programs at the lock, runs a long time on batteries and keeps a key override on the house key.
On the garage-to-house door, a keypad lever or deadbolt with auto-lock makes the fire-door habit automatic: it closes, it latches, it locks. If you want to see who came in and when, or open it from your phone for a delivery, a connected smart lock does that. We compare the two on our keypad locks page, and the smart lock hub covers connected models.
The garage door itself: T-handles, opener keypads and remotes
Two more things on the big door get lumped in with lock questions.
T-handle locks. Manual roll-up and tilt-up garage doors often have a keyed T-handle in the middle of the door that turns a bar into slots on the track. It is a small cylinder on its own key, and it can be replaced or, on some, rekeyed. Tell us what is on the door and we bring the right part; some are proprietary and come from the door company instead.
Opener keypads and remotes. The wireless keypad on the door frame and the remotes in the cars are not locks, but they are keys. After buying a home, clear the opener memory, re-pair your own remotes and set a new keypad code. The steps are on the opener unit. It is on our new home rekey checklist along with the doors, and the rekey after buying a home guide walks through the whole day.
Which door, what to do
What each garage door usually needs.
| Door | Typical starting point | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Garage-to-house door | Builder knob, no deadbolt, often unlocked | Rekey to the house key, self-latching lock or keypad |
| Garage side door | Knob only, weathered | Rekey or add a deadbolt; keypad if kids use it |
| Roll-up door T-handle | Separate small key | Replace or rekey the T-handle cylinder |
| Opener keypad and remotes | Previous owner's codes | Clear the memory, re-pair remotes, new code |
| Door to a garage ADU or workshop | Its own key | Key alike with the house, or a separate tenant key |
This is the standard layout across the tract-home neighborhoods of Mira Mesa, Clairemont, Santee and Rancho Penasquitos: attached two-car garage, kitchen door off the garage, side door to the yard. New builds have the same two doors on builder keys; see rekey new construction. As part of a whole-house rekey, each garage door is a per-cylinder add-on.
Garage Entry Door Locks: common questions
Should I rekey the door from the garage into the house?
Yes, every time you rekey the rest of the house. Anyone with an old opener remote or the keypad code can lift the garage door and walk to that door, and it is usually a builder knob left unlocked. We rekey it to the front door key in about ten minutes and, if you want, replace the knob with a lock that latches locked every time it closes.
Can the garage door lock use the same key as my front door?
Usually. If the garage lock is on the same keyway as the front door, Kwikset with Kwikset or Schlage with Schlage, we pin it to the house key. If it is a different brand we swap the cylinder or the lock so it matches. The T-handle on a roll-up garage door is a separate small cylinder and stays on its own key.
Can you add a deadbolt to my garage side door?
Yes. We bore a new deadbolt hole with a jig, cut the strike into the jamb, and install a single-cylinder deadbolt keyed to the house, with 3-inch strike screws into the framing. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes on a wood or steel door. If the door is a hollow interior door we will tell you it should be replaced first.
What lock should go on the door from the garage to the house?
A lock that locks itself. The best answers are a keypad deadbolt or lever with auto-lock, or a keyed entry lever that latches locked when the door swings shut, keyed to your house key. Keep the door self-closing, because codes treat it as the fire separation between the garage and the living space. Check current code for anything beyond swapping the lock.
Do you fix the lock on the garage door itself?
The keyed T-handle on manual roll-up and tilt-up doors, yes: we replace the cylinder or handle, and some can be rekeyed. Openers, springs, tracks and door panels are garage door company work, not locksmith work. If the T-handle is a proprietary part for that door brand we point you to the right source rather than force a fit.
How do I reset the garage door opener keypad after buying a house?
Clear the opener memory with the learn or program button on the motor unit, which drops every remote and keypad the previous owner paired, then re-pair your own remotes and set a new keypad code. The steps are printed on the unit or in its manual. Do it the same day the doors are rekeyed; it is on our new home rekey checklist.
More answers on the FAQ page. Not sure what your door has? Send us a photo and we will tell you.
Where we do this
We do this everywhere in San Diego County, same day in most cases. Some of the places we cover:
- Santee
- Lemon Grove
- Spring Valley
- Lakeside
- Rancho San Diego
- Alpine
- Ramona
- Jamul
- Julian & the Backcountry
- Poway
- Point Loma
- University City
- Carmel Valley
- Mira Mesa
- Scripps Ranch
- Rancho Peñasquitos
- Rancho Bernardo
- Carmel Mountain Ranch
- Black Mountain Ranch & Del Sur
- Torrey Highlands & Pacific Highlands Ranch
- All service areas
Related guides
- Should You Rekey After Buying a Home in San Diego? – Yes, rekey on move-in day. Which doors to rekey, what to do about the garage, gates and mailbox, HOA and ADU quirks, and a San Diego move-in checklist.
- Do You Need to Rekey a New Construction Home? – Yes, in most cases. Who held keys during the build, why construction keying is not a rekey, and what to check at the closing walkthrough in San Diego.
Ready to get it done today?
Call or text for a straight answer and an upfront price. Mon–Fri 7am–8pm · Sat–Sun 8am–6pm.