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 estimateFast, Reliable Emergency Locksmith Across Burien
An emergency lockout in Burien usually means one of two things: you’re standing outside a 1950s bungalow off Ambaum with the door locked and dinner on the counter, or you’re in the parking lot of a low-rise apartment building on 1st Ave S with a key that just snapped in the cylinder. Either way, you need a locksmith who knows Burien’s housing stock and can get you in without wrecking the door. That’s what we do. Lodestar Locksmith serves the entire 98062 ZIP code, and our Emergency Locksmith team is built around the idea that when you call, someone competent shows up. Call (855) 382-0943 and you’ll get a straight answer on arrival time and price before we dispatch anyone.
Why Lodestar Locksmith Is Burien’s Preferred Emergency Locksmith Company
Burien is a small city with a big footprint of older housing. Most of what we do here isn’t new-construction work; it’s the grind of 70-year-old doors, rental turnover along the Ambaum corridor, and weather-worn hardware that finally gives out on a wet November night. We know the difference between a 1950s mortise lock body that can be rekeyed and one that’s past saving. We know which apartment buildings near downtown Burien use restricted keyways and which ones still run on tired builder-grade Kwikset. That local knowledge changes how we approach every job.
Norm Eckley, who leads our team, has trained us to approach Burien’s older hardware with the patience it demands. A newer locksmith might drill a sticky mortise lock and leave the tenant with a door that no longer closes. We’d rather do non-destructive entry and repair the cylinder, because in a rental, the freeholder owns that door and the tenant can’t afford a dispute. Our customers in Burien keep calling us for the same reason: we fix the lock, not just the lockout. If you’re locked out in Burien, call (855) 382-0943.
Styles & brands we work with







Our Emergency Locksmith Services in Burien
24/7 Emergency Lockout
Locked out in the middle of the night off 152nd St or near Seahurst Park? We’ll walk you through the basics over the phone first: is the deadbolt actually thrown, is there another entry, is the key still in the lock on the inside? That phone triage saves you money if the fix is simpler than it feels at 2 a.m. When it isn’t, we come out. Our service area covers all of Burien, from the Three Tree Point hillside down to the Boulevard Park edge. A typical residential lockout in Burien runs $95 – $150 during regular hours and $140 – $220 for late-night response, depending on the lock type and whether it’s a knob, deadbolt, or original mortise body.

Broken Key Extraction
We see more broken keys in Burien than in most surrounding cities, and there’s a reason. The older Kwikset and Weiser cylinders in 1940s – 60s rentals have often been rekeyed so many times that the pin stacks are worn and the key channels are sloppy. When a key snaps off inside, the last thing you want is someone forcing the plug and pushing the broken piece deeper. We extract with non-destructive tools, then rekey or replace the cylinder as needed. Typical broken key extraction in Burien lands between $85 and $140 when it’s done on its own. If it’s part of a lockout, we bundle it.

Safe Opening
A surprising number of Burien homes still have small floor safes or wall safes tucked into closets of mid-century houses, plus the occasional commercial safe in a 1st Ave S office or Ambaum storefront. Safe opening is careful work: we identify the safe class, determine whether it’s a key, dial, or electronic lock, and open it with the least invasive method available. In many cases that means manipulation or lock-out bypass, not drilling. Residential safe opening in Burien typically runs $160 – $280 depending on the safe’s age and mechanism. Commercial work is quoted on site, and the quote is the price.

Eviction Lock Change
Property managers along the Ambaum corridor and in the low-rise apartment stock north of downtown run on Burien’s rental-inspection calendar, not Seattle’s. That means turn-over rekeys and eviction lock changes cluster in bursts, and they need to be done same-day when a unit flips. We handle eviction lock changes with the formality they deserve: written confirmation of ownership or management authority, a site walk, and a flat per-lock price before we start. For a standard deadbolt, eviction lock changes in Burien run $65 – $110 per lock. For original mortise bodies, rekeying is usually the smarter move, and we’ll tell you so.

What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Burien
We work across eight recognized lock brands, and that matters more in Burien than in a city with newer housing. The 1950s homes off Ambaum and around downtown are thick with original Schlage and weathered Kwikset hardware, plus the occasional Baldwin mortise lockset that’s worth preserving. We also service Medeco and Abloy when a Burien property owner has stepped up to high-security hardware, which most local locksmiths aren’t equipped to touch. We don’t just name-check brands; we carry cylinders, pins, and springs for the common ones so a rekey isn’t delayed while we order parts. If your building uses restricted keys, we coordinate with the property manager before touching anything, because a copied key in a restricted system is a building-wide problem.
Common Emergency Locksmith Problems We See in Burien Homes
- Rusted and corroded cylinders from the Puget Sound’s damp marine air. Exterior deadbolts on Burien’s post-war homes sit damp for months from October through March. That rust binds pins, seizes cylinders, and snaps keys. We clean, lubricate, and rekey rather than replacing what doesn’t need replacing.
- Worn pin and tumbler stacks from repeated rekeys. Rental units along Ambaum and 1st Ave S often get rekeyed every tenant cycle. After five, six, seven rekeys, the original Kwikset or Weiser cylinder is sloppy and prone to sticking. We extract, rekey with fresh pins, and get the door working.
- Original mortise lock bodies that newer locksmiths won’t touch. A 1955 home off SW 152nd has a mortise case built into the door. Drilling it out means a door transplant. We rekey the existing cylinder or replace the internal springs without touching the door’s mortise prep.
- Swollen wooden doors from persistent moisture. Older Burien bungalows with wood frames and unsealed thresholds swell in the wet season, throwing the strike plate out of alignment. The lock itself is often fine; the door just isn’t closing squarely. We fix the alignment, not just the key.
Pricing for Emergency Locksmith in Burien, WA
Here’s what Burien residents and property managers should expect. A standard residential lockout runs $95 – $150 during daylight hours. Late-night or weekend lockouts run $140 – $220. Broken key extraction adds $40 – $60 to a lockout call when we’re already on site, or $85 – $140 as a standalone visit. Rekeying a standard deadbolt or knob runs $35 – $75 per cylinder, while rekeying an original mortise lock runs $75 – $140 because the cylinder has to be removed from the case, disassembled, and re-pinned correctly. Eviction lock changes land at $65 – $110 per lock. Safe opening is $160 – $280 for residential units. The price we quote on the phone is the full price on the invoice. There’s no call-out fee tacked on when we arrive. Call (855) 382-0943 for a free estimate before you commit to anything.
We Also Serve Cities Near Burien
If you’re in Normandy Park, SeaTac, Boulevard Park, or Riverton, we come out there too. Burien is our core, but the neighboring cities share the same housing stock and the same wet-weather lock problems. If you’re just outside the 98062 ZIP and need an emergency locksmith, call (855) 382-0943 and tell us where you are. We’ll tell you straight whether we can get to you in time.
Serving Burien, WA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Burien 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 – Emergency Locksmith in Burien
Yes, in nearly every case. Mortise locks in Burien’s 1950s homes can be picked or bypassed non-destructively, then rekeyed once you’re inside. We carry mortise-specific picks, cylinder followers, and pin kits for Schlage and Baldwin mortise bodies. A proper rekey preserves the original door mortise prep. Call (855) 382-0943 and describe the lock; we’ll tell you before dispatch what to expect.
Yes, and we do this regularly for Burien property managers along the Ambaum and 1st Ave S corridors. We work with the building’s key schedule, rekey your unit cylinder to a new change key, and keep the master key functioning. We don’t copy restricted keys without written authorization from whoever controls the system. If you’re a renter, we’ll need the property manager’s sign-off before touching anything. Call (855) 382-0943 and we’ll walk you through it.
Don’t force the other half of the key in. Don’t spray lubricant into the cylinder; it can push the broken piece deeper. Call us. We’ll extract the broken key with non-destructive tools, inspect the cylinder for worn pins, and rekey it on the spot if needed. A typical broken key extraction in Burien runs $85 – $140. Call (855) 382-0943 and we’ll give you an exact phone quote.
We service original mortise locks. That’s the honest answer and it’s also the reason property owners off Ambaum call us specifically. A mortise lock on a 1950s home belongs in the door’s existing mortise pocket. Replacing it with a modern deadbolt means filling the pocket, patching the face, and losing the original hardware. Rekeying or repairing the mortise body costs $75 – $140 and keeps the door intact. We won’t sell you a deadbolt you don’t need. Call (855) 382-0943 if you want the current lock worked on, not replaced.
We aim to reach Ambaum Blvd, downtown Burien, and the neighborhoods off 152nd St within 30 to 45 minutes of your call, depending on traffic and time of day. Late-night response is slower because we’re often coming from a completed job elsewhere in South King County, but we’ll give you an honest window when you call, not a vague promise. If you’re locked out somewhere in Burien right now, call (855) 382-0943.
Written by Norm Eckley, Owner at Lodestar Locksmith, serving Burien and South King County since 2010.