Locks and keys in Fruitvale and Jingletown

Two very different blocks

Fruitvale is busy and commercial along International Boulevard and Fruitvale Avenue, with rows of family shops, restaurants and the plaza at Fruitvale Village by the BART station. A few blocks toward the water, Jingletown is quieter: small cottages, old industrial buildings turned into studios, and murals on the walls.

Shopfront jobs

Many Fruitvale businesses lock up with a glass door, a steel rear door and a roll-down grille. The grille padlock usually wears out first because it lives outdoors. Swapping it for a weather-resistant padlock, and rekeying the doors to one key, is a common combined visit.

Studios and lofts

Jingletown's workshops often have sliding steel doors with a hasp and padlock, or a heavy commercial deadbolt. Tell the dispatcher what the door is made of so the right hardware comes along. Artists storing tools or finished work sometimes add a small safe, too; safe opening starts at $85.00 if the combination goes missing.

Getting here

The Park Street and Fruitvale bridges to Alameda can back up at rush hour, which affects how long a trip takes from the island side. The dispatcher will factor that into the estimate.

Families in shared houses

Plenty of Fruitvale houses are home to more than one household, with an upstairs flat, a downstairs flat and sometimes a converted garage. Each household usually wants its own key, while the front gate stays common. That is a rekey job rather than new hardware in most cases, and it can be done for every door in a single trip, so you pay the service call once.

If the locks are a mix of brands bought over the years, the locksmith may suggest replacing one or two cylinders so the whole house can be keyed in a sensible way.