Broken lock mechanism on UPVC Front Door

rlb1397

Hoping someone has some tips or advice on what I can do to fix a problem I am having with my front door. It is a door that locks automatically when it closes but can then be double locked using the key. When I am closing the door now it is not locking automatically and it has become incresingly difficult to then use the key to lock the door. I am worried that it is not locking properly and I am leaving my home vunerable. Does anyone have any ideas or do I need to call a professional/replace the door?

Thanks

ccfcforever1987

We had a similar problem with our back door. UPVC with standard 5 point locking mechanism. We found that the door would close ok but when you tried to lift the handle to engage the locks the handle would only go so far so we couldn't actually lock the door.

Called out a locksmith who diagnosed a broken gearbox unit. Took him half a hour to extract the gearbox and replace with a new one. Cost just over £100, including the new gearbox, which is better than the £400-£500 it would have cost for a new door.

Be careful when you contact a locksmith though and check their call-out rates / charging structures. Some charge by the half hour, then quarter hour others have flat call out fee and then charge either by the quarter or half hour.

Waldir

Maybe the frame moved a bit with the cold, and things are not aligned well enough anymore? (esp. if it is a door where you need to lift the handle to engage the locks)

On my UPVC door there are several screws that I could use to adjust this (to move the door relatively to the frame)