We've just moved house and being a bit conscious of the fact that anyone could have keys to the house I want to replace the locks on all doors, two PVC doors included.
The locks on these seem integral to the door and don't appear to be Chubb, Yale etc.. Are these actually replaceable without replacing the whole door?
These locks usually have replaceable cylinders, because the actual locking mechanism is essentially integral and not replaceable.
formatting link
a typical replacement cylinder. However, there is an important caveat when replacing uPVC door cylinders: the doors are often asymmetrical, which means one end of the cylinder must be longer than the other. You'll need to remove the cylinder on your door and measure it up.
The cylinder is held in by a long screw which is exposed on the edge of the door. It should be obvious which it is, because it lines up with the cylinder itself. Just remove the screw and the cylinder should just push out.
Don't forget that any competant locksmith should be able to make up multiple cylinders for the same key - could be a convenient option.
[*] But there is a slight 'trick' just here which you didn't mention and would no doubt trap the unwary... before you push out the cylinder you need to insert the key and turn it a few degrees (I forget which direction); this makes the little black tab which you can see in the screwfix image retract into the body of the cylinder so it slides out. ie, it's not actually possible to slide out the cylinder without a key in the lock.
my sister in law moved recently, her new house has a upvc patio door it is locked shut but there is no key for it, a window fitter who replaced her other windows told her to 'drill it out', has anyone done this? if so what are the pitfalls or is there an easier way to remove the lock?
Yes, a locksmith will have a tool for snapping the cylinder in half, which is how they get jammed locked ones out. Only takes a few seconds, but will require a call-out and a new cylinder.
Driling it is the easiest way. Just drill in where the key goes, dont push as the bit breaks in or it'll jam. Now the lock will turn as if it had a key in it.
Not necessarily. My insurers (eSure) do not mandate any particular requirements for lock type/quality, or even that any are fitted.
However, they do offer a (measly) discount if all door/window locks are fitted to the relevant BS however I imagine that if this option were taken then they'd wriggle out of any claim if, for example, someone were to break in through a window that happened to be unlocked at the time.
What tool would that be? Are you talking about a slide hammer? That might not be a good idea, especially in a plastic door. If I were andrewd909 I'd get a locksmith (a proper one) to look at it. There may be anti-tamper features which will make drilling, etc. likely to spoil the thing. If it were me, I'd just pick it, and see how it comes apart when it's open - back to the locksmith for andrewd909 I reckon!
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.