Lock Repair
Most faults that get called a broken lock turn out to be a door that has moved — and that changes the fix entirely.
Call (408) 418-0044
Most calls that begin with the words the lock is broken end somewhere other than the lock. A deadbolt binds because the door has swollen and the bolt now scrapes the strike on its way through. A latch will not catch because the hinges have worn and the door sits a few millimetres low. The lock is the part your hand touches, so it collects the blame for the whole assembly.
Working out which it really is decides everything after it. A misaligned strike is an adjustment measured in minutes. A cylinder with worn pin chambers is a replacement. A handle set full of a decorator's overspray is a strip and clean. Those have very different answers, and the symptom you describe on the phone usually narrows it to one of them before anyone arrives.
Reading the symptom
- You have to lift, pull or lean on the door to lock it. This is alignment rather than the lock. The door has dropped, the frame has moved with the season, or a new weather seal is holding the door proud of where the bolt expects to find the strike.
- The key is awkward going in but turns fine once seated. The problem is the keyway or the key. Grit packed into the bottom of the keyway, a burr on the edge of the blade, or a key cut with a rough finish that catches on the wards.
- The key turns but feels gritty, and worse when it is cold. Old oil-based lubricant has collected dust and become a paste in the pin chambers. Cold thickens it further, which is why this particular complaint arrives in winter.
- The latch does not spring back when you let go of the handle. A tired spring, a spindle no longer square in its hub, or paint build-up in the faceplate mortise stopping the latch from returning the whole way.
- The thumbturn moves but the bolt stays where it is. Something inside has failed and is no longer driving the bolt. That one is replacement territory, and it should be treated as urgent, because the door cannot be relied on until it is done.
Worth knowing before the visit
- Which door it is, and whether it is an exterior door, an interior door or a gate.
- Whether the fault happens every single time or only in certain weather or at certain times of day.
- Whether it appeared suddenly or crept up over a season.
- Whether the door has been painted, re-hung, re-sealed or had new furniture fitted recently.
- Whether you want to keep using the key you already carry, because that decides how the repair is done.
If the door will not close and lock at all as things stand, this has stopped being something you can schedule around your week. see emergency lock repair.
Common questions
Is repairing an existing lock better value than replacing it?
It depends what is wrong and what the lock is. Good hardware misbehaving for a fixable reason - alignment, dirt, a spring, a strike - is worth keeping. Light hardware with internal wear is not, because the next fault is already on its way and you end up paying twice for the same door.
What should I put in a sticky lock?
A dry lubricant made for locks, sparingly, and nothing else. Household oil and general penetrating sprays are the single most common cause of the follow-up call: they work for a fortnight, then bind with dust into a paste that packs the pin chambers and turns a stiff lock into a seized one.
The lock is fine but the door will not stay shut in summer.
Timber and the frame around it move with humidity, so a door that fits in February can fight you in August. The usual fix is at the strike rather than the lock, easing and repositioning it so the latch still catches through the whole range of that movement instead of only part of it.
Can a repaired lock stay on my existing key?
Normally, yes. Where a cylinder has to be replaced it can be rekeyed to match the key you already carry, so nothing in your pocket changes. Ask for that before the work starts, because otherwise the default is to fit the new cylinder on whatever key came in the box with it.
Related locksmith services
Describe the lock or key problem
A short description of what happened gets the right tools on the vehicle.
Call (408) 418-0044