Opening a locked uPVC door that won't

FWIW, that's what I ended up doing when I moved here and the back door had no key. Took seconds . . .

Thanks Rob.

I'll take the big spanner with me. :)

My old fashioned chubb 5 lever sashlocks needed an electric hacksaw to open from the inside after the ex departed with all the spare keys.

Tried tweaking hinges; no good so went the Breaking & Entering route. Lock wasn't snapping from the inside (the longest part of a 60/40mm barrel but when I went outside (through the other door) it snapped with very little effort in just a few sideways wiggles! Bit of an eye-opener to see how quick and easy it is to break into one of these doors with just an adjustable spanner and a flat screwdriver! (once you've removed the external lock cover)

Anyway, lock snapped and removed but the unlocking lever that the barrel operates against was still solid. A bit of prodding and wiggling and eventually it clicked across and the door was open. The gearbox mechanism was a bit mucky and there were a few bits that looked a little worn so going to try just replacing the gearbox and Euro Cylinder first to see if it sorts things out.

The rest of the shoot bolt bits seem to be working just fine so hopefully I can re-use those bits.

Thanks for all the ideas and advice. Looks like I'm almost sorted on this niggling issue now.

Cheers Pete

Mine slide up and down, Don't buy any of these, they seem to warp and then either cannot be adjusted or cannot be done or undone. I think the next doors will be different design. These have been almost as much aggro as the wooden one they replace. Brian

Are you going to replace it with an anti-snap Euro cylinder? Might be better from the security point of view, but if the door gets stuck again that route of opening it won't be available. :-(

That was a dilemma Jeff. The outside of the door is an exterior roof with very restricted access so security isn't a big concern but a bit of "wall hopping" and somone could potentially reach the door. The lock was an obscure size and no-one had stock but most of the on-line suppliers were fully anti-snap or had sacrifical weak points on both sides of the lock which I didn't want as I want it to be snappable for the furture.

The solution came from a lock that has a sacrificial cut on the exterior facing part of the barel so anti-snappable but the interior portion has a thumb-turn to lock rather than a key and could be snapped from the inside should it ever be required.

Just got to wait for it to arrive in post now.

Cheers Pete

Three things about a thumb-turn lock: usually can't be dead-locked, so can be operated by a key - unlike a standard one where a key inside prevents this

If there a letter box, a small hand can reach through and open the door

insurance usually ays that key should not be left in lock (money before life, of course). TT lock is the ultimate 'key left in'.

I believe many of the anti pick/bump/drill locks may also be only protected this way on the exterior side of the lock.

Thanks for the notes Peter. If it were a ground floor front or back door with easy access from street level I'd not even consider it. No letter box, there's actually no access to the flat at all other than through our shopfront. The buuilding is mid-terrace and the opposite side is a terrace of old 2 storey ex-stable blocks from when the fire station used horses.

Even the most secure lock would be circumvented with the popular "just break the glass" method of entry so a thumb-latch is indeed way down on the list of security concerns, but I thank you for highlighting the failings of such a device.

Cheers Pete