As a homeowner in Long Beach, CA, the safety of your family and property is your top priority. The good news? You don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a state-of-the-art alarm system to dramatically improve your home security. As the trusted locksmith serving Belmont Shore and greater Long Beach, we've helped hundreds of residents upgrade their home security with smart, affordable solutions.
In this guide, we'll walk you through the most effective and budget-friendly ways to strengthen your home's defenses — starting with the most important layer of security: your locks.
1. Upgrade to Grade 1 Deadbolt Locks
Many homes in Long Beach still use builder-grade locks that can be defeated in seconds. A Grade 1 deadbolt (the highest residential rating by ANSI) offers dramatically more resistance to kicks, picks, and bump keys. Brands like Schlage, Kwikset, and Medeco all offer excellent Grade 1 deadbolts in a range of price points.
At Belmont Locksmith, we install and re-key deadbolts throughout Long Beach — including Belmont Shore, Naples, Bixby Knolls, Signal Hill, and beyond. A professional installation ensures the lock is correctly set in the door frame for maximum security.
🔒 Pro Tip: A deadbolt is only as strong as the door frame it's in. Ask us about reinforced strike plates and door frame kits — they stop kick-in attacks far more effectively than the standard 1-inch screws most homes come with.
2. Re-Key Your Locks When You Move In
If you recently bought or rented a home in Long Beach, re-keying your locks is the single most important security step you can take. You have no idea how many copies of the previous key are floating around — contractors, previous tenants, real estate agents, neighbors.
Re-keying is affordable (much cheaper than replacing locks entirely) and takes under an hour for an experienced locksmith. We re-key locks throughout Long Beach and Belmont Shore same-day, often for a flat fee. Read our full guide on re-keying locks here →
3. Install a Door Reinforcement Kit
Statistics show that the majority of home break-ins involve kicking in the front door. The lock itself rarely fails — the door frame does. A door reinforcement kit replaces the weak strike plate and short screws with a heavy-duty steel plate secured by 3-inch screws that anchor into the wall studs.
- Cost: typically $30–$80 for materials
- Installation time: 1–2 hours
- Effectiveness: dramatically reduces door kick-in success
Our technicians can supply and install door reinforcement throughout Long Beach as part of a broader security assessment.
4. Add a Peephole or Smart Video Doorbell
Knowing who is at your door before you open it is a basic but highly effective deterrent. A wide-angle door viewer (peephole) costs under $20 and takes 10 minutes to install. If you want to step it up, a video doorbell lets you see, hear, and speak to visitors remotely from your phone — even when you're not home.
Both are excellent additions for homes in high-foot-traffic areas like Belmont Shore's 2nd Street corridor or any multi-unit building in Long Beach.
5. Consider Smart Locks for Keyless Convenience
Smart locks have come a long way in reliability and affordability. Brands like Schlage Encode and Kwikset Halo offer Wi-Fi connected deadbolts that let you lock/unlock remotely, create guest codes, and receive access notifications — all without a monthly subscription.
They're especially popular with Airbnb hosts and rental property owners in Long Beach who need to manage access for multiple guests. Read our full smart locks guide here →
💡 Did You Know? Belmont Locksmith installs, programs, and services smart locks from Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, and more. We'll make sure your new smart lock is correctly fitted, properly aligned, and fully tested before we leave.
6. Secure Sliding Doors and Windows
Sliding glass doors are a common entry point for burglars in Long Beach homes. Reinforce them by:
- Placing a cut-down wooden dowel or metal bar in the track
- Installing a secondary foot lock or pin lock in the frame
- Adding a security film to the glass to prevent shattering
- Using a sliding door lock bar for the handle
We also recommend keyed window locks for ground-floor windows, particularly for homes near beach access points in Belmont Shore.
7. Light Up Your Entry Points
Motion-activated outdoor lighting is one of the cheapest and most effective deterrents available. Solar-powered LED flood lights cost as little as $15–$30 each and require no wiring. Focus them on:
- Front door and porch
- Side gates and alleyways
- Garage doors
- Back yard entry points
Well-lit homes are significantly less likely to be targeted by opportunistic burglars — particularly in densely populated neighborhoods like Naples Island and Belmont Heights.
8. Get a Professional Security Audit
Not sure where your home's vulnerabilities are? Belmont Locksmith offers free security assessments for Long Beach homeowners. We'll walk through your property, identify weak points in your current lock hardware, door frames, and access points, and give you a prioritized list of improvements — no pressure, no upsell.
Our technicians are licensed, bonded, and have years of experience helping Long Beach residents protect their homes and families.
Conclusion
Improving your home security doesn't have to be expensive. The most impactful steps — upgrading your deadbolts, re-keying your locks, reinforcing door frames, and adding motion lights — can be done for a few hundred dollars or less. When done by a professional locksmith in Long Beach, these upgrades provide years of reliable protection for your home and family.
Belmont Locksmith is your local, trusted source for all residential security needs in Long Beach, Belmont Shore, Seal Beach, Signal Hill, and surrounding communities. We're available 24/7 for emergency lockouts and routine security upgrades alike.