Locksmith and Security Services in Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
RBD Security is a Capitol Hill locksmith and security company based in Washington, DC, with an office at 1717 N Street NW and technicians on the Hill every week. We rekey and repair the locks on Capitol Hill’s rowhouses and English basements, upgrade intercoms and access control in its apartment buildings and offices, install security cameras, and fabricate steel alley gates, railings and window bars for the historic district. Emergency lockout service runs 24/7. Call (202) 709-9466.
A Capitol Hill locksmith who works the Hill every week
RBD Security is a local DC company. Our technicians work on Capitol Hill regularly, from the rowhouses around Lincoln Park and Stanton Park to the shops on Barracks Row and Pennsylvania Avenue SE, the Eastern Market blocks, the H Street NE corridor and the new buildings toward Navy Yard and NoMa. When you call a locksmith on Capitol Hill, you are calling people who already know the alleys behind the lettered streets and which blocks have resident-only parking.
We cover the whole neighborhood, from Union Station and H Street south to the Southeast Freeway, and from the Capitol grounds east past Lincoln Park toward RFK. The Eastern Market, Capitol South and Union Station Metro stations are handy landmarks when you tell us where you are.
Rowhouses, English basements and alleys: what Capitol Hill buildings need
Capitol Hill is the largest residential historic district in DC, and most of it is late 19th-century brick rowhouses. Many still have their original front doors with mortise locks and transoms. We repair and rekey that hardware, or fit a high-security cylinder such as Medeco or Mul-T-Lock inside the existing lock so the door keeps its character and you get real key control.
A large share of Hill rowhouses have an English basement apartment under the stoop, which means a second front door, a shared rear yard and a lot of keys in circulation. A small master key system, or a keypad lock on the shared gate, keeps turnover simple for owners who rent the lower unit.
The alleys are the Hill’s weak point. Most rear yards back onto a public alley with a wooden fence and a parking pad, and that is where break-ins start. A fabricated steel alley gate with a real lock and a closer, a light over the rear door and one camera at the back corner solve most of it. Our guide to alley gate security for DC rowhouses walks through the options.
The commercial blocks on 8th Street SE, Pennsylvania Avenue and H Street NE run on storefront glass doors, panic hardware and high staff turnover. We service all of it and set up restricted keyways so a departing employee’s key stops being a risk. Offices and associations near the Capitol often need card access, visitor intercoms and camera coverage that meets a landlord’s or insurer’s requirements.
Historic district note: the Capitol Hill Historic District covers most of the neighborhood. Exterior changes visible from the street, including fences, gates, railings, window bars and doors, are reviewed by the DC Historic Preservation Office. Rear alley gates and window bars that do not block a required exit are usually simple approvals, and we fabricate designs that fit the block.
Services for Capitol Hill homes and businesses
- Residential locksmith: rekeying, mortise lock repair and high-security cylinders for rowhouse and basement-unit doors.
- Emergency lockouts: 24/7 help when you are locked out of your house, unit or office.
- Intercom systems: video and telephone entry for apartment buildings, condos and split rowhouses.
- Access control: card readers, keypads and cloud systems for offices, associations and nonprofits near the Capitol.
- Commercial locksmith: storefront locks, panic bars and master key systems for Barracks Row, Eastern Market and H Street businesses.
- Gates and fences: steel alley gates, parking-pad gates and gate operators.
- Custom welding: window bars, areaway railings and gates built for the historic district.
- Security cameras: coverage for front stoops, rear alleys and building entrances.
Security guides for Capitol Hill owners
- Alley gate security for DC rowhouses
- Rekey or replace locks after moving in
- Window bars in a historic district
- Security camera planning for a DC rowhouse
- Apartment intercom upgrades
Capitol Hill and the neighborhoods next door
We also work in Navy Yard and Capitol Riverfront, NoMa, Hill East, Kingman Park and Southwest Waterfront. See our pages for Dupont Circle, Downtown and the White House area and Capitol Heights, MD, or the Washington DC locksmith page for the rest of the city.
Need a locksmith on Capitol Hill right now? Call (202) 709-9466, 24/7 for emergencies, or request a quote.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. We cover the Hill from Union Station and H Street NE to the Southeast Freeway, and from the Capitol east past Lincoln Park, plus Navy Yard, NoMa and Hill East next door. Our office is at 1717 N Street NW in Dupont Circle.
Rekey both units when a tenant changes, and put the shared doors and the rear gate on a small master key system or a keypad lock. That way you hold one key, each tenant holds one, and a lost key means one cylinder change rather than a new set of locks.
Most of the Hill is in the Capitol Hill Historic District, so exterior work visible from a street is reviewed by the DC Historic Preservation Office. A rear alley gate on your own lot line or window bars that do not block a required exit are usually straightforward. We fabricate designs that fit the block and can advise on the review.
We respond 24/7 from our Dupont Circle office. Call (202) 709-9466, send a photo of the lock for an estimate, and have ID ready; we verify that you are the resident or an authorized employee before opening a door.