UPVC Doors

Here is a reminder that upvc doors should be oiled regularly and checked out by a locksmith if the handles are getting hard to engage. We have just completed a job where the key would not turn in the lock. The customer said that the handles had been a problem for the best part of a year!. Had this been looked at when the problem first started then the customer would only have incurred a labour charge to re-align the door. But by leaving it, eventually something was bound to break and indeed this did happen, leaving the customer with not only a cost in labour, but also the added cost of expensive inner workings as well.

So, if your handles are stiff, get them looked at before it becomes a major problem. High use doors such as business premises and French doors seem to be the most common to drop, but often when doors are caught in the wind or been banged shut for any other reason, it can cause the door to drop, so as soon as you notice any stiffness when pushing the handles up, it is best to call the locksmiths as soon as possible. In most cases, the handles should be as easy to lift when the door is closed as they are when it is open.

admin April 15, 2013

UPVC doors /

Special Deals

Due to rising costs, from the beginning of the 2013/14 financial year our labour rates will be increasing from £45 to £50 per hour, or uncompleted part thereof. However we are going to re-structure our pricing to ensure our customers still receive the best we can offer, and still be much cheaper than the national companies who advertise locally.


Firstly, for any customer who requires locks that come to more than £100, either individually, or jointly, then we will not charge labour. In most cases, this would require more than three locks of most standard types, but we will also allow customers to team up and have work done jointly. For example, two neighbours may each have a front and back UPVC door that need locks replacing. Normally, this would require each individual paying around £140, (still £50 less than a standard national company) but by combining their needs, they each save around £50. This will apply for all types of lock, and the individuals will only be charged for the locks they have, so where one might have a more expensive lock, the other will not be charged accordingly i.e. you will only pay for the locks we fit to your property. Families can be involved as well, and we will consider all cases that are sensible (for example if we have to cross the county to work on the second property, we would expect costs to cover fuel and time).


Home security is very important and at AC Locksmiths we are very keen to help Norfolk residents and businesses be as secure as possible at an affordable price. We also encourage the sense of community that can drive down daily living costs. That is why we still do free security checks, we still attempt repair rather than replacement where possible and we carry a small selection of second hand products for those who might find money extremely tight, with the option to upgrade to a new lock later when just the difference in price will be charged.


We are also open to reasonable suggestions that would improve our business in a way that would satisfy our customers. Please visit our Contacts page for all enquiries and please read our 100% genuine testimonials. You can also join us on Twitter and Facebook for latest updates.

admin March 5, 2013

Special offers /

Burglaries Advice

Last night I had the sad case of having to replace a lock after someone had been burgled. The victim in question admitted having the door locked but with the keys in the lock and in plain view as the door glass was not even frosted. The person also told me they had that “It would never happen to me,” attitude. The fact is, most burglars look for properties where the owners have this train of thought. If you try and think like an invader when you look at your home security and practices, you will be more likely to do the things that prevent the real crooks looking upon your home as an easy target, which will in turn make them move on.

With this particular case, the intruder wanted to be in and out as fast as possible. Otherwise they would have gotten away with a lot more. The fact that only the stuff on show was taken (apparently they missed easy money in draws) proves this. So just making things harder and longer to do will protect you more. I am not saying that if you spend thousands turning your home into Fort Knox you stand no chance of being targeted, but the harder you make it for them, the less chance you have of becoming a victim. AC Locksmiths Norfolk offers a free home security assessment with no obligation to have our recommendations taken up.

Please use any of the methods on our contact page for an appointment. It doesn’t always happen to someone else.

admin February 20, 2013

Burglary prevention /

Fire Safety

We have been doing a lot of work recently where public use buildings have just had fire safety checks. The business owners have been surprised to find that standard locks were not acceptable. These have had to be replaced with thumb turn locks, i.e. locks that will allow persons to escape the building without the need for keys on the inside. Obviously, these lock as normal on the outside. Now would be a great time to have your locks checked as a fire safety precaution and we are happy to help and advise.

Remember, whether or not your doors are unlocked for all the time your business is open, it might still be that thumb turn locks are required for your insurance purposes. Nobody wants to be in the situation where these would be required, but it would be even worse to find insurance does not cover the event. Thanks for reading.

admin February 12, 2013

Fire safety /

Saving money reminder

Time has flown since my last blog and lots have happened. Christmas has been surprisingly busy with an increase in window locks, (I will talk about this later) and a house move which has reminded me how much family pulls together when needed. Also this site is undergoing a few tweaks which we are really excited about. Hopefully, this will make us stand out even more.
But, back to the house move. As soon as we had a move date, the usual worries started about the cost of it all, particularly the removal van. As we were not moving very far, we thought a large van and a few trips would suffice. Looking back, I can honestly say that without some very hard work from our family we would have taken a week rather than a day to get done. This has set me to thinking about how, in my experience, many of us are so caught up in our own lives and issues, we do not stop to think about our siblings until those big days like house moves, weddings, etc, and while it is great to be there for these occasions, many of us do the dutiful visits but then go through the same routines. The point I am trying to make is this, if you have siblings, parents, cousins, friends, neighbours, even work colleagues, start talking to them about the more everyday things that cause problems or you could do  with advice on. Find out who their energy suppliers are, who their plumber is, who their locksmith is, do they know anything at all that could make your own life easier and do you know anyone or anything that could potentially help them. If someone in your life is elderly,you could check they are having essential things like boiler services done (without trying to take their independence away) and that they are coping as well as they like to think in an ever more complicated world.
And finally, my advise would be  – you could club together to save money. We say we charge £45 per hour for labour, but I have nearly always found that doing multiple lock jobs, gives me enough profit to be able to waiver any labour cost beyond that first hour. Therefore, if you wanted to upgrade your own locks, you should talk to your neighbours first and see if they want to improve their own home security. Providing the whole job was within a reasonable distance, the labour cost would not only be shared, but reduced as well. This is a policy that could be extended to all trades and should be. After all, most of the trades persons labour charge is to cover things like petrol, tools, etc. If that trades person only has  to travel once, then their own costs go down, a saving that may be passed to the customer.
So, look at your jobs that need doing, talk to your friends, neighbours and family to find out if they are in a similar position and if so, see if you can get the work done cheaper between you. If nothing else, you will be that little bit closer to all.
This talk will also enable you to start your own directories of trusted traders that can be relied on for quality work at reasonable prices.

Now, back to those windows. Insurers are increasingly insisting that upper storey windows have locks as well as the ground floor. Check your own Buildings and Contents policy and then check your windows. I recently astounded myself with how easy it is to gain entry to an unlocked casement window with only rudimentary tools. I am also aware of entire estates of newer build properties that have the wooden double glazed windows. These are often built with lockable windows downstairs but non-lockable upstairs. Check now, because there must be nothing worse than the break in followed by the bad news of invalid insurance.

Finally, some bad news. It is with regret that we are going to  increase labour rates at the start of the new financial year in April. This is due to continued motoring costs and the need to cover such a large area. The increase will be between £5 and £10 ( still to be costed and finalised), but we do intend to continue our current policy of keeping labour rates the same regardless of time of day or day of week.

admin January 20, 2013

insurance / Locksmiths norfolk / saving money /

Locksmiths Accreditation

As of 23rd November 2012, AC Locksmiths are proud to announce we are holders of an NCFE Level 3 accreditation. The locksmithing industry is undergoing big changes behind the scenes, and while governments still do not want a nationally recognised qualification, the industry itself has taken matters into its own hands and taken measures to ensure customers can have some peace of mind in the level of competence of the locksmith they choose to carry out work for them. The result has been working with the NCFE to produce an accreditation with three levels. If you have not heard of the NCFE, they are a body similar to City and Guilds who deal with more “hands on” qualifications and their standards are high. A level 1 accreditation covers the basics of locksmithing while to achieve level 3, a thorough knowledge of locks and entry methods is required. For our customers, this means we have shown the ability to gain entry with minimum damage to doors and framework. While some damage is sometimes unavoidable, we will explain every step of the way the consequences of our actions and allow the customer to make the decision on how to proceed with all the available information. It also means that when installing new locks or equipment, we will make good and not take payment unless you are happy with the end result. Anything at all that causes problems will be explained to you before proceeding. Aside from this, our prices are still very competitive and we will talk you through the cost before work begins so you know exactly what you are paying for. Anyone can call them self a locksmith, but even within the industry, at time of press, not many can say they are NCFE level 3 accredited. Please note our number on the contacts page and put it into your mobile phone address book. You might never need a locksmith, but if you do, you will want the best qualified at the best price.

admin November 27, 2012

auto locks / auto locksmith Norfolk / locksmith norwich / locksmithing /

Externally beaded windows

Experience has shown that despite anything the manufacturers say, double glazed windows that are beaded on the outside are still a security risk. With no particular training, I have been able to remove this beading as a way of gaining entry to properties in the past with no specialist tools and if I can do it then anyone can. Externally beaded windows are easy to spot as they have a thin gap around the edge of the window pane. if you look at your windows from the inside and cannot see this then you will if you look from the outside. There is now a lock on the market to locksmiths that attaches to the glass on the inside and locks over the inner frame making access impossible without smashing the glass. AC Locksmiths wants to be at the forefront of home security and would welcome interest in this new product. If you would like an informal chat about this product and how it could improve your home security with no obligations, then please contact via our contacts page. Thanks for reading!

admin October 26, 2012

Winter months.

According to the Office of National Statistics burglary accounted for 7% of all crimes reported in a 2011/2012 survey which totalled 501,053 incidents. Vehicle related theft was a huge 13% representing 1.2 million occurences across England and Wales. There are two points to be made here. Firstly, half a million reported crimes may not seem like much especially here in Norfolk where most of the population is spread out across small towns and villages, but I picked up my local area weekly this week and looked at the police report. Within fifteen miles of my location there were more than four reports of burglary and more attempted efforts. This clearly shows rural areas are just as easily targeted as the big cities. Secondly, cars are obviously an easy target. Don’t leave anything on display except additional security such as steering wheel or handbrake locks. The opportunist will smash your window for the slightest thing, be it a few pence or a mobile phone, etc. He or she has everything to gain while you have your insurance excess at the very least to pay out for the sake of taking a few moments to hide your stuff. Some things might not even seem worth taking to you, but why take the risk. Put it away in the glove compartment, or better still take it with you and leave the glove compartment empty. Also the clocks go back on 28th October. Halifax Home Insurance report a 63% increase in burglary claims during the winter months with the average cost of a winter burglary being £2,623 while the average cost through theft from a car amounts to £347. As a result of vehicle crime, premiums have shot up by 8.5% in the last year. Please bear in mind, these are reported figures. What of the cases of attempted burglary where only damage was done (usually down to good locks) or just a few small bits taken. I have been to several jobs where the customer just did not think it worth reporting to the police. While we do not condone non-reporting, how many cases are there out there that would change the figures? In the lucky cases of failed burglaries, these are almost always down to one of two things. Incompetent burglars or good security. Its worth updating home, vehicle and commercial security before the incompetent burglar becomes polished. One last point. Possibly the biggest increase in theft at the moment is centred around gardens. We keep a lot of quite valuable stuff in our sheds, garages and other out buildings. Even furniture is being taken from gardens. For advice on security relating to the above topics and a free security check with no obligations, please contact via any of the methods on our contacts page. Thanks for reading.

admin October 15, 2012

Squatters

Commercial property owners beware! New legislation means that squatting in a residential property now carries a fine of up to £5,000 or a year in jail but this only applies to residential property and now owners of commercial properties are at more risk as this new legislation does not encompass comercial property. If you are a commercial property owner, then now is the time to make sure your security is up to standard. It is being advised that owners of empty commercial buildings should have caaretakers in place to look after the buildings but 24 hour monitoring could be a prohibitive cost. Very often, we find old empty buildings have some of the poorest locks making them prone to vandals and squatters alike. AC Locksmiths do complete security checks for free. We will tell you our reccomendations at time of survey along with a no obligation quote for any work that nay need carrying out. In some rare instances an immediate quote may not be possible, but in all events this will take no longer than 24 hours. here is nothing to lose, so please book your appointment via the contacts page. Thanks for reading!

admin October 15, 2012

Insurance

Whilst on my way home today I heard a feature on the radio regarding the difficulty of getting insurance companies to pay out for a stolen car. The problem was that the car was supposed to be virtually unable to be stolen without one of the two keys the manufacturer provides. But these electronic keys can be cloned and although the insurance companies know this, they were trying to say that their client must have been party to the theft. It took 9 months for the claim to be settled and an intrusive investigation into the clients finances. The conclusion that was drawn from this episode was that the customer should not have taken the manufacturers security systems as being as good as he was assured. The range of additional security for cars is large, but in many cases, the most effective is the cheapest. As has been said in previous posts, nothing is foolproof, but the idea has to be to make the thief move on to the next target. Things like brightly coloured handbrake or steering wheel locks can easily be seen from outside the vehicle and present the thief with another problem to contend with. Wheel clamps do likewise, and are relatively cheap compared to the high tech stuff that can cost you more than the car is worth. Every layer of security, no matter how cheap, is more time in which the thief is likely to get caught so therefore it stands to reason he is more likely to move on to the next target. This applies to our homes as well. If you have read my previous posts, you will know that I have a strong commitment to the security of upvc doors. Like the car manufacturers, window and door companies are selling you doors with hooks, bolts and all sorts of security- but weak lock barrels that make the rest stand for nothing. Remember, 42 seconds without any noisy drills and the burglar can be in your home. Every customer I have demonstrated this to has replaced with the diamond standard lock barrels that display the BSI kite mark-an instant visual deterrent to the would-be burglar. We would all like to be able to afford alarm systems and while that is something AC Locksmiths will soon be providing, the dummy cameras and motion detecting lights are just as likely to make your home just another place to pass by for the burglar on his way to easy targets. Should you want further advice or tips, please feel free to contact via our contacts page. Don’t put yourself in to a situation where you have to fight your insurance company for a pay out. 9 months is a long time to be without a car, television, computer, etc. Thanks for reading!

admin September 19, 2012

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