Old Kenner · 70062
Locksmith in Old Kenner, Kenner
The original town. Pre-1900 to mid-century homes north of the river between Rivertown and Third Street. Mortise locks, transoms, old-house problems we love.
Old Kenner is where Kenner started. The area between Rivertown and Third Street contains the oldest housing stock in the city — late 1800s Creole cottages, early 1900s shotguns, mid-century bungalows. The locksmith work here is completely different from anywhere else in Kenner. If you own an Old Kenner house you already know that. If you have just moved in, some warnings below. Old Kenner is one of the areas we cover most often.
Why Old Kenner is different from the rest of Kenner
Old Kenner is the historic core of the city and it houses a huge range of construction periods — from 1880s Creole cottages through 1920s shotguns and 1950s bungalows. Every era brought its own hardware and every hardware era brought its own quirks.
Old-house realities that shape the work:
- Mortise locks on most pre-1930 doors. These are cast-iron cases mortised into the door edge, with brass or bronze hardware on the outside. They are almost always repairable and usually worth repairing — modern replacement mortise locks are less well made than the ones already there. Full mortise service runs $165 to $395.
- Transoms and sidelights. A lot of Old Kenner homes have leaded glass sidelights next to the front door and transoms above. Secure them — original sidelights were often on nothing more than a slide bolt. If somebody has fitted a modern deadbolt with a thumb turn but you have a reachable sidelight, that is not actually secured.
- Original skeleton keys. A lot of Old Kenner families still have the original brass skeleton keys from 1910 or so. If you have them, keep them. Warded locks that take skeleton keys are not high-security by modern standards but they are part of the house — better to add a modern deadbolt as a second lock than replace the original.
- Doors that stopped closing after Hurricane Ida. A lot of Old Kenner houses have racked slightly since 2021 and doors that used to close smoothly do not. Frame alignment, not lock replacement.
Local specifics
What we see most often in Old Kenner
- Mortise lock service and repair. Full internal rebuild, cleaning, spring replacement, key duplication. $165 to $395.
- Adding a modern deadbolt without changing the original mortise. $195 to $395 fitted. The mortise stays as the day-to-day lock, the new deadbolt as extra security.
- Skeleton key duplication. $15 to $45 per key on our vintage cutting equipment. Not every locksmith in Kenner can do this.
- Post-hurricane frame realignment. $85 to $145 per door. Sooner is better — the racking gets worse.
- Sidelight securing. Fitting a proper bolt, laminated glass upgrade, or a security film. $85 to $325.
Where you are
Streets we cover in Old Kenner
We cover the whole Old Kenner area: Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Streets, the streets running down toward Rivertown and the Mississippi levee, and the older sections toward Airline Highway. If you can hear the Rivertown train it is us in 15 minutes.
Booking a visit
By appointmentWe agree an appointment window with you when you call. Faster in the morning, longer through the Williams Boulevard evening rush.
Adjacent neighbourhoods we run alongside: Rivertown to the south, and the older parts of Lincoln Manor and Loyola Tract to the north.
Prices
What we charge in Old Kenner
Same prices as everywhere else in Kenner. Same call-out inside every figure. Same “if we can’t open it you pay the $39 call-out and nothing else” rule.
| Service | Daytime | After hours |
|---|---|---|
| House lockout | $89–$185 | $145–$395 |
| Rekey, first door | $95–$185 | + after-hours fee |
| Rekey, each door after | $45–$85 | — |
| Deadbolt fitted | $195–$395 | — |
| Car lockout | $85–$195 | $125–$275 |
| Car key replaced | $150–$625 | depends on the key |
Prices shown are typical ranges. Your total is confirmed on the phone before we dispatch — and if the specific lock, vehicle or job is unusual we tell you the number before we come out. No surprise fees.
Questions
Questions from Old Kenner residents
We have a 1910 mortise lock on our front door. Can you service it or should we replace it?
Service it. Mortise locks from that era are cast iron and brass and they are built better than anything you can buy new. A full service — clean, re-spring, re-pin, lubricate — runs $165 to $395 and buys you another 30 to 50 years. Ripping it out and fitting modern hardware is almost always a mistake in Old Kenner. If someone quotes you replacement without offering service, get a second opinion.
I have skeleton keys but they are worn thin. Can you cut new ones?
Yes — we have vintage key cutting equipment for warded and bit-key locks. $15 to $45 per key. Not every locksmith in Kenner can do this and it is one of the reasons Old Kenner residents specifically ring us.
Should I add a modern deadbolt to my old front door?
Usually yes — but keep the original mortise as the primary lock. Fit a good Grade 2 single-cylinder deadbolt above or below it as a second lock. That gives you modern security without destroying the original hardware. $195 to $395 fitted.
Our doors won’t close properly since Ida. Frame issue?
Yes — Ida and the subsequent settlement racked a lot of Old Kenner frames. Re-cutting the strike plate and adjusting the hinges runs $85 to $145 per door and fixes 80% of “the door won’t close” complaints. Only if the frame itself has moved substantially do we escalate.
We have a beautiful old leaded sidelight next to the front door but it feels vulnerable. What can we do?
A few options — laminated safety-film applied to the inside of the glass ($85 to $185), a discreet interior slide bolt at chest height ($65 to $145), or a full security film retrofit ($185 to $325). We do all three and choose based on how much you want to preserve the aesthetic.
When can you come out to Old Kenner?
We agree an appointment window with you when you call. Our office is at 2110 I-10 Service Rd, straight down I-10 from Old Kenner.
Need a locksmith in Old Kenner?
15 to 20 minutes to Old Kenner. Mortise-lock specialists.
Where else we go from here
Old Kenner faces the river, and the same pre-war housing stock continues downriver through Harahan and River Ridge. Upriver we cover St. Rose and Destrehan.