Guides
Written by the people who answer the phone
What to do, what not to try, and what it should cost.
Emergencies · 5 minutes to read
Locked out? What to do in the first ten minutes
Most lockouts end well. The ones that end with a damaged door usually went wrong in the first ten minutes, before anyone rang a locksmith.
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- Locks Anti-snap cylinders, and the two fitting mistakes that undo them A three-star cylinder is designed to break in a controlled place and leave the locking part behind. Half the ones we look at were fitted in a way that defeats it.
- Emergencies The key snapped in the lock. Leave the stub where it is A broken key comes out in ten minutes if nobody has touched it, and in an hour and a new cylinder if somebody has been at it with pliers.
- Safes Forgotten the code to your safe? Try these before you ring anyone Most home safes that will not open have a flat battery or a lost override key, not a forgotten code. Here is how to tell which, and when to stop.