Frequently asked questions

You have to show the car is yours: the registration document, the technical sheet or insurance in your name, together with your ID or passport. Without that it does not get opened.

With the right technique, no. On recent vehicles with electronic locking it is sometimes worth weighing up whether it is the best route: you are told before anything starts.

Coding keys with a transponder needs programming equipment that is specific to each make. Ask about your model when you call and I will tell you whether I can do it or whether the main dealer suits you better.

Call 112 first. Where there is a genuine risk to a person or an animal, the emergency comes first, not avoiding a broken window.

No, but bring the rental agreement: it names you as the driver and that is what does the job in place of a registration document.

Emergencies are attended outside normal hours, but I am one person, not a call centre. If I cannot at that moment, I tell you instantly rather than stringing you along.

More than in normal hours, and you are told the exact amount by phone before I leave home. Never on arrival.

August is precisely when the coast needs it most. It is also when the motorbike shows its worth: the C-32 and the old centres of Sitges and Calafell are impossible.

Yes, noticeably. If you have somewhere to sleep and the property is secure, waiting for normal hours saves you money — and I will be the one to tell you so.

How long it holds and which techniques it stops. A basic one gives way to bumping in seconds; a good one resists bumping, picking, snapping and drilling. If your door is reinforced, the cylinder is usually the weak link, and there it is worth it.

One key that opens several locks: the main entrance, the storage room, the garage and your flat. Very useful in apartment blocks, and it saves carrying six keys.

Not much. If the door is thin timber or the frame is loose, they come in that way and never touch the lock. The whole door gets looked at and I tell you where your real weak point is.

It depends on the door and where it is vulnerable. Three is usually enough on a home; more points on tall or very exposed doors. It is not «the more the better» at any price.

Sometimes yes, but it depends on whether the leaf will take the machining. If the door is thin, reinforcing the door works out better than fitting a lock that splits it.

Some companies allow for it. Ask yours, and I will give you in writing what has been fitted.

It depends on the access points and the residents. It is planned with the managing agent and done over one or two visits so nobody is left unable to get in.

Yes, with a patented key and an ownership card: without the card the manufacturer will not duplicate. That is what solves the «no idea how many keys exist» problem.

Always, itemised. A community needs it for the meeting, and it also avoids arguments afterwards.

Call: leaving premises open all night is not an option. In many cases it can be secured temporarily and the repair finished the next day with the right part.

The mechanical side and the lock, yes. If the fault is the motor or the control board, we weigh up repair against replacement and I tell you straight.

Yes, and it is usually the sensible choice: it is done with the shop closed and you lose no sales.

If the current frame is sound and you want to move up a level without building work, reinforced. If you want maximum protection and can take on replacing the frame as well, armoured. I look at your door and tell you which genuinely pays off.

Often yes, if the leaf and hinges will take the added weight. If the door is thin or has warped, replacing it works out better.

Not much. A heavily reinforced door in a weak frame opens by taking the frame with it. That is why the whole thing always gets checked.

The fitting is a matter of hours. What takes time is manufacture, because it is made to measure: reckon on several weeks from the day measurements are taken.

Yes, the frame is replaced too. There is usually some paint or plaster to make good around it, and it is worth knowing that in advance.

If you want the maximum and you are staying in the property for years, yes. If it is a rental or the budget is tight, a well-fitted reinforced door with a good cylinder gives a great deal for what it costs.

On many models yes, by manipulation. On high-end safes it sometimes has to be drilled at a specific point and then repaired. You are told beforehand which case yours is.

That is the most common call and the cheapest. On many keypads it can be powered externally and opens straight away. Mention it when you call and save yourself a fright.

Serious models warn you well in advance and carry an emergency route: a hidden physical key or external USB power. If a model has neither, I do not fit it.

Not necessarily. It is more convenient. Mechanical security still depends on the lock and the frame: a cheap smart lock on a weak door does not protect more, it just opens differently.

The realistic risk is not hacking, it is the shared code nobody has changed in two years. The advantage is being able to revoke access — but you have to actually use it.

This is the case they were made for. No key handovers, no lost keys in August, and a code per guest that expires on checkout. On this coast it usually pays for itself in a season.

Not necessarily. With a master keyed system their level is cancelled without touching the rest. If there is no such system, the cylinders for what that person could open get changed — not the whole premises.

That is the norm for scheduled work: you lose no sales and it goes better with the place empty.

Yes, every job comes with an invoice.

If the mechanism works fine and the problem is the keys, the cylinder is enough. If the lock has been forced or is failing, it has to be changed. It gets looked at before anything is decided.

A standard replacement is under an hour. If the door has to be machined because the new lock is not identical, it takes longer.

On most doors, yes. When the lock has been forced, has seized, or is high-security and deadlocked, it sometimes has to be destroyed. You are told before, never after.

Something that connects you to the address. If you live there: ID with that address, a tenancy agreement, a bill in your name or your padrón certificate. If you are staying in a holiday flat: the booking confirmation showing that address, plus your passport. Without something, the door does not get opened — it is a legal requirement, not a preference.

It can still be opened, but it takes longer and in some cases the cylinder has to be replaced. Mention it when you call so the price you get is realistic.

It depends on the town and the time. Each area page shows the real arrival time. No single round number gets promised for everywhere — that would be a lie.

You are told the price by phone before I set off, call-out included. There is no surprise charge on arrival.

Emergencies are attended outside normal hours, at the corresponding rate, which you are told when you call.

No. You can write in English on WhatsApp, send a photo of the door, and it gets sorted from there. Along this coast it is a normal week.

No. The cylinder is only the barrel the key goes into. The lock is the whole mechanism. If the problem is the keys, the cylinder is nearly always enough — and it is considerably cheaper.

An opening technique using a modified key and a sharp tap, which opens basic cylinders in seconds and leaves no mark. An anti-bump cylinder blocks it.

Yes, it is called master keying: one key opens the main entrance, the storage room and your flat. It is common in apartment blocks.

It cuts the risk a lot, because most entries are made by the quickest, easiest route. But no lock is unbreakable: what it does is make forcing it take time and noise, and that is usually enough for them to try another door.

No. With people inside, changing the lock yourself can amount to a criminal offence of coercion, even though the property is yours. That is a matter for a solicitor and a court. I will tell you that on the phone and not charge you a call-out for nothing.

It depends where the attack would come from. The escutcheon protects the cylinder from being pulled or drilled; the lock resists levering. I look at the door and reinforce what is genuinely weak, not what is most expensive.

Less than on a ground or first floor, but the main entrance door and the storage room count too. It is worth looking at the whole thing.

You can, but this is exactly the warning that comes before being locked out. Fixing it by appointment costs considerably less than an emergency on a Sunday.

Better not. Oil-based lubricants attract dust and in the medium term make the sticking worse. Locks want graphite or a proper dry lubricant.

Nearly always yes, with an extractor and without destroying the lock. Do not try to pull it out with pliers: that usually pushes the piece further in, and then there is no option left but replacement.

If it is the one that came with the flat and has never been changed, almost certainly yes. Basic builder-fit cylinders are the standard target. One look is enough to tell.

No, they are two different attacks. A decent cylinder protects against both, but it is worth checking that it says so rather than assuming.

No. Bumping attacks the cylinder, so changing the cylinder is enough. The lock and the door stay as they are.

A card proving you own the cylinder; without it the manufacturer will not cut copies of the key. It is what stops anyone duplicating your keys at a kiosk.