Jammed lock repair in Vancouver
When the key is stuck or the deadbolt will not turn.
If the key is stuck, snapped or turning without doing anything, stop and call. Forcing it further can snap the key or damage the cylinder, turning a repair into a replacement.
Locks rarely jam out of spite. Usually it is one of four things.
A broken key left in the lock after the head snapped off
Keys snap because they are worn, because they are a copy of a copy, or because they were forced against a lock that was already binding. The blade stays in the plug and the lock is otherwise fine.
A seized cylinder that will not take or turn the key
Grit, corrosion and old oil combine into a paste that fills the pin chambers. The key goes part way in, or goes in and will not turn, and forcing it from there is how the key snaps.
A misaligned door pushing the deadbolt into the strike
Not a lock fault at all. The door has dropped, swollen or settled, the bolt drags on the edge of the strike, and you are compressing the whole frame to get it home. Eventually it stops going home.
Winter swelling and a frozen lock on a wood door
Vancouver's wet cold rather than deep freeze: moisture gets into the cylinder and the timber, the door swells against the frame, and the lock binds. North-facing and lane-facing doors go first, usually in the same week each year.
Getting a broken key out of the lock.
Extractor hooks and spiral picks for a key stuck in the lock
Thin tools that catch the blade's cuts and draw it straight out along the keyway. Usually the fragment comes out in one pull and the lock is left working.
Why tweezers and superglue make it worse
Tweezers spread the blade sideways and wedge it. Superglue is worse: it bonds the fragment to the plug and the pins, which turns a simple extraction into a cylinder replacement. Neither is worth trying, and both are common.
Testing the cylinder with a fresh key after the extraction
Extraction is half the job. The other half is finding out why the key broke, since a worn cylinder will snap the next one. We cut a fresh key and test the lock with it.
Repair the jammed lock or fit a new cylinder. We check, you decide.
Freed with cleaning, lubricant and a strike adjustment
The most common outcome, and the least expensive. The cylinder gets flushed and dry-lubricated, the strike gets repositioned, and the door closes without a shove for the first time in two years.
A cylinder swap when the pins or the plug are chewed up
Where there is enough play in the plug that the key wobbles, or the pins are worn past matching a key, no amount of cleaning helps. The cylinder gets replaced and can be keyed to your existing key.
A full deadbolt replacement when the bolt itself is bent
A bent bolt means force was applied, either a forced entry attempt or a door slammed against a thrown bolt. The whole lock body goes, because a bent bolt will jam again.
A jammed lock quote hangs on how deep the problem goes.
Starting figures are on the price guide.
See starting pricesA stuck key, or a lock that will not turn
An extraction is a short job. A seized cylinder that has to come out of the door is a longer one.
A cylinder cleaned and freed against a cylinder replaced
Service and lubricate is labour. A replacement cylinder is labour plus a part, quoted separately so you can see which you are paying for.
Door realignment on top of the repair
Adjusting a strike is usually included in the repair. A door that needs hinges shimmed or a jamb reworked is additional, and we will say so before starting.
After hours, or a daytime booking
A jammed lock on a door that still locks can almost always wait for a daytime lock repair booking. A jammed lock on a door that will not lock cannot. After-hours calls are by appointment.
Stuck key, stiff deadbolt, swollen door. The usual urgent questions.
The deadbolt will not turn. Is it the lock or the door?
Test it with the door open, if you can. Throws freely open but jams closed? That is the door and the strike. Jams either way? That is the cylinder or the bolt.
Can a key snapped off flush with the lock still come out?
Usually yes. Flush breaks are routine for an extractor if the fragment has not been pushed further in. Do not poke it, do not turn what is left with pliers, and do not glue anything to it.
Can a frozen lock be thawed on the spot, or does the cylinder come out?
Nearly always on the spot. Gentle warmth and a dry lubricant free most of them. Skip boiling water: it refreezes and strips what lubricant is left. Never force a cold key, because it is brittle.
Can you fix it if the door will not open at all?
Yes. That is a lockout and a repair in one visit. The door is opened first, then the fault is found and fixed. You hear the price of both before any work begins.
Will a door that swells every winter keep jamming after the repair?
Less likely, if the repair covers the door and not just the lock. Easing the binding edge and moving the strike give it room. Wood still moves, so it may need a tweak later.
No pry bar, and drilling only as a last resort.
A jammed lock is a mechanical problem with a mechanical answer, and force is almost never it. Prying a door that is binding splits the jamb; drilling a cylinder that is merely dirty destroys a working lock.
So the fault gets diagnosed before anything is dismantled, and the fragment gets extracted rather than pushed. The cylinder is tested with a fresh key before we call it fixed.
If drilling genuinely becomes the answer, you hear the reason, the replacement part and the total first. The new cylinder goes in on the same visit when we carry a match. See why drilling your lock should worry you for what a drilled cylinder actually costs you.
929 Drake Street, Vancouver.
The Vancouver Locksmith Ltd. · 929 Drake St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2P2 · 778-655-1957. The shop is not open yet. Until it is, the van comes to you, anywhere in the Lower Mainland. Evenings, weekends and holidays are by appointment.
Tell us what is going on, and we'll price it first.
Call, book online or ask for a callback. You will have the method and the number before any work begins.