Seasonal UPVC door Problems
After the Beast from the East has left us, the weather has finally started to warm up again.
And with the warm weather, comes the next round of problems with upvc door locks.
This is especia
lly true for French doors that have been shut through the entire winter and lockingmechanisms on wooden doors as the wood starts to dry out. If you have any type of door where youhave to lift the handles to lock it, and the door has become hard to lock, then call your local locksmith now, before something breaks. Your local locksmith can usually make some dooradjustments to get everything working fine again, thus saving you the extra cost of replacingexpensive broken mechanisms. Check your door locking mechanisms for any sign of rust and oil twice a year- I suggest when you put the clocks forwards and back. When oiling, give a good squirteverywhere you can see a moving part, and if you push the handles down, the retracting latch willreveal a small hole into which you should squirt more oil to make sure everything is well lubricated.Away from multi-point locking doors, I have been on a few jobs recently where the customers havecomplained of hard to operate mortice (often called ‘Chubb’) type locks. My first action upon arriving, is to try the lock for myself. When discovering that the lock is indeed difficult, I inspect thekey. Locks usually work or seize up. Intermittent problems usually point to something else, and ninetimes out of ten, I see the customer has given me a co
pied key, or one of the prongs is bent. Keys cutin chain key cutting shops are usually done by people who are not trained very well because the staff turnover is high because wages and career prospects are low. Cobblers, engravers, etc who do key cutting have usually been doing it for yearsand have a more practiced eye when comparing their cut to the original. You can also ask your local key cutter to provide genuine copy blanks for you.
You might have to pay a bit more and you might have to wait while they order some in (some don’t stock because too many people want the cheap option when it is not properly explained), but your key will be better quality, last longer and protect the life of your lock. It all works out better value in the long
run. My main point on this topic however, is this; if you are having intermittent problems with yourlock, gather all your keys and try each one with the door open about ten times. Keep the keys that work. Get more copies from the originals that will have the lock bran
d on them, and ask your key cutter for original brand blanks from which to cut your new keys. Doing this yourself, will save the cost of calling me out to fix a non-existent problem. If all keys experience problems with the door open, or the problem persists when the door is closed, then by all means, call your local locksmith.
In other news, smart locks for wooden doors that are insurance standard are coming soon. If you want more information on this brilliant new product, please call or email using the in
formation on my contacts page.
A reminder that many elderly people do not have access to relevant information. If you know
someone without internet access, please check their locks for the British standard kite marks. If theydon’t have these marks, there is a strong likelihood that these people are not covered by the insurance they are paying for. Please give them the number of a local locksmith who will do a free security check (if he is worth anything) and give a no hassle, no obligation quote. And while UPVCdoors do not currently need a kite mark, cylinder snapping is on the rise and entirely preventable with the correct kite marked, anti-snap cylinders. I have tested ones you can buy in DIY shops and they are not as good as ones your local locksmith can provide.
If you require any more information about the topics raised in this or any of my other blogs, then please contact through any of the ways shown on my contacts page.
Thanks for reading.
