Planned work, booked ahead
Lock change in Orihuela Costa: cylinders, multipoint and gates
A new cylinder after a change of tenant or owner, an anti-snap upgrade, a multipoint gearbox that has started to grind, a garden gate lock that has seized in the sun. Booked for a day that suits you.
- Cylinders sized to your door
- Old parts taken away
- Price agreed before work starts
Reasons
Why people change their locks on this coast
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A home that changed hands
Resale homes in the urbanisations often come with keys from several owners and lettings. New cylinders are the only way to know who can open the door.
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A lock worn by sea air
On the seaward side of the N-332, salt air and fine dust work into cylinders. A key that has to be jiggled is a cylinder near the end of its life.
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A garden gate that has seized
Gate locks stand in full sun and rain. Under the pines of the Dehesa de Campoamor, needles and resin add to it, and the lock gives up long before the gate does.
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Keys gone missing
A set lost on the beach, or a bunch that went with a bag. If anything with the address on it went too, change the cylinder.
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A multipoint lock grinding
The handle has to be lifted harder each month. The gearbox inside the door is wearing, and replacing it before it jams saves a lockout.
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An upgrade to anti-snap
Older euro cylinders can be snapped. An anti-snap cylinder of the right length is a simple, effective change.
What is fitted
Cylinders, lock bodies and gearboxes
Most front doors on quads, bungalows and townhouses here take a euro cylinder: the cylinder is measured each side of the centre and ordered to match, because a cylinder that pokes out beyond the handle gives a snapping tool something to grip. Multipoint locks, common on uPVC and composite doors, have a gearbox that can usually be replaced on its own.
Aluminium sliders and porch doors have locks of their own and are covered on a slider that will not lock. If the door was forced, start with repairs after a break-in, which also covers stronger cylinders and reinforcement.
Booking it
How a lock change is arranged
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A photo of each lock
Sent on WhatsApp, with the door edge visible. Often enough to know which cylinders to bring.
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A day and a price
The visit is booked for a time that suits you, and the price agreed before any work starts.
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Fitted and tested
Each cylinder is fitted, every key tried in every lock, and the old parts taken away.
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Keys counted
You are told exactly how many keys exist, so you know where every one of them is.
Owners who are not here can arrange it through help for owners abroad. If the lock fails before the visit, opening without breaking the lock covers getting in. Photos go through the contact page.
Questions
About new cylinders and repairs
Is it the cylinder that needs replacing, or the whole lock?
In most cases the cylinder alone, which is the barrel your key slides into. The mechanism hidden in the edge of the door only gets replaced if it has worn out, broken, or is the wrong type for the door.
What does anti-snap actually mean?
A euro cylinder can be snapped at its weakest point and turned from outside. An anti-snap cylinder has a sacrificial section, so if it is snapped, the part that operates the lock stays in the door.
Can the front door and the garden gate take the same key?
Often, when both use euro cylinders of a compatible make. Keyed-alike cylinders are ordered as a set, so say how many doors and gates you want on one key before the visit.
The house came with a bunch of keys and nobody knows who else has copies.
That is the clearest case for new cylinders. Builders, agents, previous owners, cleaners and past tenants may all have had a key; after new cylinders, only the keys you were handed will turn them.
Can the work be done while I am in the UK?
Yes, with someone you trust here to open up and receive the new keys. The second home page explains how that is arranged.
Along the same coast
What people usually need next
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Post-burglary repairs
The forced door locking again first; stronger cylinders and a reinforced frame once the Guardia Civil and the insurer have seen it.
After a break-in -
Help for owners abroad
For owners who spend months in the UK or elsewhere: locks checked before you fly, access arranged for a trusted person, a door secured while you are away.
Second homes -
A slider that will not lock
Sliding terrace doors that will not latch, glazed porch enclosures, solarium doors and uPVC doors that have dropped out of line.
Aluminium & uPVC doors
A lock you no longer trust?
Send a photo of it on WhatsApp, or ring to book a day.