How to avoid ever calling us
We get the same handful of calls over and over. Nearly all of them were preventable, and in most cases the lock had been warning somebody for weeks.
This is an odd page for a locksmith to write. But we would rather fit a spare key on a Tuesday afternoon than open your front door at eleven at night, and you would certainly rather that too. Here is what we actually see.
1 · The keypad with an ordinary lock underneath it
Your code works. The bottom lock is the problem.
The most common lockout we get called to is not a broken lock. It is a keypad on the deadbolt and an ordinary keyed knob underneath it.
Here is how it goes. You fit a keypad, and within a month nobody in the house carries a key any more — that is the entire point of it. Then one day somebody locks the bottom lock on the way out. A cleaner, a guest, a family member; always innocently, usually out of habit. Your code still works perfectly. It opens the deadbolt. And you are still standing outside, locked out of your own house by a lock you had forgotten was there.
So we fit a passage knob below the keypad as part of the job. A passage knob — hall-and-closet function — has no lock in it at all. It turns, the door opens, and the failure mode simply cannot happen. Where the existing hardware can be converted, we convert it rather than replacing it.
Included with a smart lock installation where it is needed. If your door already has suitable hardware below the deadbolt, we leave it alone and tell you why — we are not going to change something that is already right.
2 · No spare, because “I don’t lose things”
Get a spare before you need one
It sounds obvious and almost nobody does it. We hear the same sentence constantly — “I don’t lose things.” Neither do most of the people we let back into their houses. Keys get left in coats, in other people’s cars, in the hands of somebody who moved out.
Here is the comparison worth making. People weigh a spare key against nothing — against never losing it. That is not the real choice. The real choice is a spare cut on a Tuesday afternoon, or a lockout call at eleven at night, at the after-hours rate, standing outside.
The best spare is not a key at all — it is a code. A keypad lock means there is nothing to find, nothing to steal, and nothing to retrieve while somebody watches you do it. If a code gets out you change it in thirty seconds. If a hidden key gets out, you are paying to rekey the house.
After that, a person beats a place. A neighbour or family member nearby means nothing is on your property at all.
If it has to be outside, two rules. Distance does more work than the hiding place — a key well away from the door it opens is a puzzle even to somebody who finds it. And never the mat, the pot by the door, or the ledge above the frame; those are the three everybody knows. If you use a key box, use a properly rated one and put it out of sight of the street. A cheap box by the front door is the worst of both: it opens with a hammer, and it advertises that there is a key in it.
3 · The car key you meant to get around to
The cheapest car key you will ever buy is the one you buy while you still have one
A spare cut while you still have a working key is a duplication. We copy what already exists and program it alongside the key in your pocket.
Lose the last one and it stops being a duplication. Now it is all keys lost — originating a key from the vehicle, getting through the security gateway, the licensing, and the programming. Same car, same locksmith, several times the money, and usually on the day you could least afford the delay.
People put the spare off because they have no idea what the other number looks like. Now you do.
4 · The battery that warned you for a month
A keypad lock will usually tell you the battery is going — a light that turns red, a beep when you open it. The trouble is the door still opens, so the warning is easy to walk past. Then one day it does not open, and that is when people discover they have no idea where the physical key is.
Check your lock for an emergency power option now, while you are not standing in the dark. Many keypad deadbolts have two small metal contacts on the underside — hold a 9-volt battery against them and you get enough power to type your code once. Some have a USB port instead, and any phone power bank will do it. Most owners have no idea the feature exists and pay for a callout instead.
The MK line closes this at both ends: the app tells you the battery is low while you are still somewhere useful, and the MK-1 has a USB-C port on the underside, so even if you ignore every warning, a power bank opens your door.
5 · The lock that was clicking for weeks
This is the one we get about every other week, and it is the most expensive mistake on this page. Somebody turns the knob and the latch does not retract — shut in a bathroom, or shut out of their own front door.
And nearly every time, the same sentence: “it’s been clicking and giving me issues for a while, I just never did anything about it.”
The lock was telling you. Clicking, sticking, needing a jiggle, a key that only works at one angle, a handle that has gone loose — those are all a mechanism wearing out. It will keep working, which is exactly why it gets ignored.
Here is what waiting costs. Called early, it is a latch repair or a lock replacement in daylight, at a normal rate. Called after it fails, the door is shut and the lock is defective — so we generally have to destroy the lock to get in, and then replace it anyway. You end up paying for the emergency visit, the entry, the new lock and the installation, instead of one straightforward job.
If a lock is misbehaving, that is the moment to call. Not when it stops.
6 · The break-in that looked for an easier house
Burglary is the one on this list that is not about a lock at all. Somebody choosing which house to try is making a quick, lazy decision, and almost everything that changes their mind is cheap.
Nobody wants to be lit up or recorded while committing a crime. That is the whole principle. So:
- Motion-sensing lights. The single best value item on this page. People do not like doing wrong things in the light.
- Cameras, or a video doorbell. Being recorded is a reason to walk on. A visible sign saying you are recording does work on its own.
- A lock that watches the door. The MK-3 Lockbell records when it detects motion, and a smart garage keypad can do the same at the side of the house, which is where people actually try.
- A dog bowl. We are serious. Put a bowl by the back door with a name on it even if you do not own a dog. Criminals do not like dogs — dogs are alert, dogs make noise, and nobody wants to find out.
None of these are locks and we do not make money on most of them. They work because they change the answer to “is this house worth the trouble?” before anyone touches your door.
The thing they all have in common
Every one of them kept working while it warned you. A red light on a door that still opens. A lock that sticks but still turns. One key that has not been lost yet. Nothing forces the issue, so it waits — until it cannot.
None of this is complicated and none of it is expensive done early. It is only expensive as an emergency.
Questions people ask
My door knob turns but the door will not open. What is wrong?
The latch is not retracting. Something inside the lock — usually the spindle, the retractor or a worn latch — has failed, so turning the handle no longer pulls the bolt back. If you are shut in a room, do not force it; a door that is still closed is easier and cheaper for us to work with than one that has been shouldered. If it is your front door and you are outside, call rather than book online — this one needs a locksmith, not an appointment slot.
My lock has been sticking and clicking. Is that serious?
Yes, and it is the single most common thing we wish people had called about sooner. A lock that clicks, sticks or needs jiggling is telling you it is wearing out. It will keep working — right up until it does not, usually at the worst moment. Fixed early it is a latch repair. Fixed after it fails, we generally have to destroy the lock to get the door open and then replace it, which is four things you are paying for instead of one.
How do I stop getting locked out of my house?
Two things cover almost every lockout we attend. Make sure the lock below your keypad cannot lock — a passage knob has no lock in it, so nobody can shut you out by turning it on the way past. And keep a spare somewhere you can genuinely reach: a neighbour, family nearby, or a combination key box by the door.
My smart lock battery died and I am locked out. Could I have avoided that?
Almost certainly. Most keypad locks warn you for weeks first — a light that turns red, a beep on entry — but because the door still opens, the warning gets ignored. Many locks also have an emergency power option most owners never knew about: metal contacts on the underside where you can hold a 9-volt battery, or a USB port you can run a power bank into, giving you enough power to enter your code once. Worth checking your own lock now rather than in the dark.
Is it worth getting a spare car key?
Almost always, and it is arithmetic rather than sales. While you still have a working key we are duplicating one. Once the last key is gone it becomes all-keys-lost — originating from the vehicle, security gateway access, licensing and programming — and it costs several times as much. Most people put it off because nobody ever told them what the other number looks like.
Where should I hide a spare key?
Our honest answer is: ideally you do not hide one, because a code is better than any hiding place. A keypad means nothing to find, nothing to steal, and nothing to retrieve while somebody is watching. Change the code in thirty seconds; changing a compromised key means rekeying the house. After that, a person beats a place — a neighbour or family member nearby. If it must be outside, distance from the door matters more than the hiding spot, and skip the mat, the pot by the door and the ledge above the frame. On key boxes: only a properly rated one, and out of sight of the street. A cheap box by the front door opens with a hammer and advertises that there is a key in it.
Something misbehaving right now?
Send us a photo or tell us what it is doing. If it is a five-minute fix we will say so, and if it is not our job we will tell you that too. Estimates by photo or text are free.