Can't remove key

[Pinaar698]

Hi,
My Mum seems to have a problem with her UPVC front door. It is a multipoint lock, the kind where you lift the handle to throw the hooks and lock it. Problem is although the door locks OK once it is locked the key can not be removed. If the door is not in the frame the locks throw and the key comes out no problem. Logic suggests the door being slightly out of line causing the hooks not to fully engage to allow key release. Does this sound right and if so how can I put it right ? We need to sort it as Mum is 85 and locks the door from inside every night but with the key still in it prevents us being able to get a key in from outside so if anything ever happens to her we will effectively be locked out.

 

[Doggit]

The lock could be faulty, and the gear mechanism could be worn, but as the doors okay when it's not closed, that suggests that it may have dropped, and would need the glass taking out, and packers placed in whats called, a toe and heel position to push the door back upwards. The cheat method, is to lower the catches on the frame that the locking bars snap into.

 

[Pinaar698]

OK the cheat method sounds like my kind of thing - is it just screws to lower them ?

 

[Doggit]

Not quite, but close. Some of the locks push upward, and some go downwards, so you need to check first. You can make a mark on the door where the locks will be, then close the door and transfer the marks to the frame, and then round to where the catches are. But have a look online how to toe and heel a double glazed door, as that may well be easier for you; you just need to remember to push the door upwards slightly when you are packing the glass though.