Unlocking a locked door ...

[des0tds]

Hi folks,
My back door won't unlock - wondering if I can do anything rather than calling out a locksmith; I'm generally good with DIY, but know my limits!
I assume (given I can't see it, but it looks the same as my front door) that I have an ERA 3-point lock. The key just turns over in the cylinder. At one point I can feel resistance, but it's not then operating if I keep turning.
(1) are there any easy solutions to this?!
(2) does it help if I get the door off the hinges? Or will the 3-point lock still hold it in place anyway?
(3) Presumably I could grind through the deadlock and the "hooks" to open the door, but then I'd have to replace the entire mechanism. Is that right?
(4) or am I simply better off calling a locksmith/

Thanks for your help folks!

 

[Porque223]

Ask the lockmaker for the price of the part that connects the cylinder to the rest of the lock mechanism. Ask for an exploded view.
Compare this price [$] with what a locksmith will charge, labor plus parts cost [L$].
Estimate the chance [%] that you can fix this lock with the part.

If you value your labor at zero, the breakeven point is
% x L$ = $.

If $ = $30 for the part and a locksmith probably wants $180 then % should be more than 100 x $30/$180 = 17% for you to proceed with the DIY.

As a DIYer I'd give you at least a 50% chance, a coin toss, of fixing this without causing damage to yourself or your lock.

 

[danncus]

Hi,

It can be possible to open the door yourself, you don't say what the door is made from.

Can you post a photo?

Also consider what you will do when the door is opened, It's highly likely there is something broken. how will you re secure/repair the door?!

do some research BEFORE you start. Identify the locking mechanism and suppliers. I would suggest starting work early on a weekday morning, which gives you the maximum chance of obtaining replacement parts during the working day. Lastly, when the lock is working OK with the door open. make sure the alignment is OK or you will soon be in the same position.

This page may help


If you want to get someone to do this for you try the Master Locksmiths Association find a locksmith

 

[des0tds]

Thanks for the response danncus. Door is wood with steel skin. In the end, though, I got a locksmith. I'd done the research already (B&Q and Screwfix stock the lock) but I couldn't see any way of getting the door open. Locksmith snapped the cylinder to remove it, but the locking mechanism was still completely jammed - in the end he drilled three holes through the door above the cylinder hole and that released it.
Thanks for the master locksmith link - will remember that for next time. The guy was here for an hour and a half and although he only charged £40+vat for his time (seems vaguely reasonable), he charged £60 + Vat for the lock box (not sure what it's called!) and £20 + vat for the cylinder - think I could have got both of those cheaper myself.
Thanks again!

 

[Porque223]

Based in the information you now have, could you have done it with some degree of certainty?

 

[des0tds]

Don't think so - not with a "degree of certainty". I could have got the cylinder off (saw on another thread about whacking it with a hammer - given the method used by the locksmith, that would have worked) but after that I'm not convinced I could have unlocked the 3-point mechanism. I guess the advantage now is that I've got three holes in the door to tell me where to drill if it happens again! If I knew where the lock had failed, I might have done some of this and then called out a locksmith (given it was locked shut)!

 

[Porque223]

Using your numbers and not correcting for the Value Added Tax
% x L$ = $
% x 120 = 80
% => 67%

so your low price for the locksmith's labor seems to have raised your 'go ahead with DIY' percentage to at least 67.
The likelihood moved in the right direction so with some tweaking this 'before-DIY odds making' method might be practical.

BTW, a guy in Cowplain once told me that under some circumstances you can be reimbursed for the VAT you paid, but I forget the details. This was circa Audrey Hepburn's demise.