When you own a home, door and lock issues will arise. Whether these worries pose a safety risk will depend on how you respond to them. The goal is to deal with these problems as quickly as possible, especially if you have a family at home.
You may also save money by taking care of the door and lock-related problems right away because doing so assures the issues don’t worsen.
Let’s examine some of the most typical door and lock issues and discuss how to resolve them.
Typical Door and Lock Issues (and How to Resolve Them)
Key Broken in Lock
It is quite frustrating to have a key break off in a lock, especially if it leaves you stranded outside of your house. It can be challenging difficult to remove the broken key without the proper tools. To make this possible, a portion of the broken key should also emerge from the lock. You might be able to extract the key with some thin pliers or the appropriate tweezers. For this to function, the pins must be able to fit on either side of the key.
If nothing is emerging out of the lock, you will need to call a lock specialist to help you do it so. Even if this issue arises at an odd hour of the night, the majority of reliable locksmiths are accessible around-the-clock.
Doors and locks with loose handles
A door handle or a lock’s interior parts may become loose over time. Each of these parts guarantees that your door operates as it should, so having one of them come loose can cause severe problems. It’s crucial to get anything addressed if your door handle seems flimsy, you hear moving parts in your lock, or your key occasionally malfunctions.
With the appropriate equipment, it’s simple to tighten certain loose pieces at home. However, the inner workings of a lock necessitate more expertise, so it’s better to enlist the aid of a specialist. A locksmith can replace the lock for you if they can’t fix the lock, which will save you time, money, and a lot of hassle.
Misaligned Door Lock
Strike plates and misaligned door locks are frequently related. The good news is that this problem is rather simple to identify, and in some cases, you can resolve it on your own using tools you already have at home. It may be challenging to lock a door when its component pieces are out of alignment. If it is not fixed, it can eventually harm the lock as well.
The mechanism’s screws and hinges can be tightened by hand. However, if this doesn’t solve the issue, further action is needed, such as filing off portions of the strike plate. To prevent further damage, it is recommended to leave these duties to a locksmith.
Locks and latches with a jam
Being locked out of or inside your home due to a jammed lock or latch is always a serious problem. Every time the door jams, attempting to force it open will just cause more harm to your locks. A lock or latch frequently jams for a variety of reasons, one of which is a build-up of debris. If you don’t remove this material, your key may end up breaking off in your lock, which would be another issue. An attempted break-in could also be indicated by a jammed lock on your door.
Get a locksmith to inspect the jammed lock so you won’t have to bother about changing or rekeying your locks. If there was no break-in, they can assist you in clearing the lock and/or latch so it functions normally once more. Instead of calling a locksmith right away, you might also try applying a lubricant.
Cylinder Lock that Spins
A difficulty arises when a key may be inserted into a lock, yet all it does is cause the cylinder to spin. This is a fairly simple issue to identify, but not so simple to resolve — not by yourself. A damaged or displaced set screw could be the cause of a spinning lock cylinder, locking you out of your house.
A locksmith would need to remove the lock in order to inspect the set screws in order to resolve this problem. By doing it yourself, you run the risk of further damaging the lock, which necessitates replacement and is typically more expensive.
Final Reflections
As a homeowner in London, you will undoubtedly run into a lock or door issue at some point. Now that you are aware of the warning signs, keep The Lock Specialist’s telephone number handy: 020 8261 7495. We are here to help you every single day.
