Locksmith guides
What is worth knowing before you call anyone — including when you do not need to call at all.
It is happening to me now
My key has snapped inside the lock
Do not try to pull it out with pliers or pincers: that is what most often turns a cheap problem into an expensive one, because it pushes the piece further in and then it cannot be extracted without destroying the cylinder. If the piece is sticking out, leave it alone. A locksmith gets it out with an extractor in a few minutes, and in most cases the lock is kept.
I have locked myself out
If the door merely slammed shut, it opens with a non-destructive technique in a few minutes and the lock is kept. If it was deadlocked with a key, it takes longer and sometimes means replacing the cylinder. And if the key was left in the other side, say so when you call: it changes both the price and the method.
The key turns but the door will not open
A key that spins with no resistance and does nothing nearly always means the connection between the cylinder and the mechanism has broken: usually the cam or the pin that joins them. The lock can often be repaired, but the door will no longer open on its own and has to be opened from outside.
To choose well
What lock bumping is
Bumping is a technique that opens low-security cylinders in seconds, without forcing the door and without leaving visible marks. That last part causes the most trouble: with no signs of force, plenty of insurers dispute the cover. An anti-bump cylinder carries counter-pins that stop it working.
What you will be asked to show before the door is opened
Before a home is opened you have to show you belong at that address. If you live there: ID with that address, a tenancy agreement in your name, a recent utility bill, or your padrón certificate. If you are staying in a holiday flat: the booking confirmation naming that address, plus your passport. Being a guest rather than the owner is not the obstacle — having nothing at all linking you to the address is.
How to protect an empty property
An empty property is protected by making entry slow, noisy and visible: a high-resistance lock and cylinder, a reinforced frame, and a house that does not look abandoned. No lock is unbreakable — what you are after is for whoever tries to move on to another door.
How to choose a security lock
Before choosing a lock you need to know where your door is weak. If the frame gives, no lock helps. If the leaf is thin, the same. And if the door is sound but the cylinder is the original builder-fit one, changing only the cylinder gets you most of the improvement for a fraction of the cost.
Cannot find your case?
Tell me over the phone and I will say whether it has an easy fix.