Lost keys - New locks?

Bateman_2

I have lost the keys to my house. I have another set I am using at the moment, but would like to change the lock for security reasons. The price for a locksmith to do this would be rather a lot. Could I buy two new, identical lock barrels and simply put them in place of the old, using the two new keys supplied as my house keys? - is removing the barrel and replacing it easy? - or is there anything that could go wrong, and need even more fixing?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Bateman

benjus

What type of locks do you have? Euro lock cylinders (as used in uPVC doors) are extremely easy to change, but you have to make sure you buy the right size cylinder. Mortice locks and Yale locks are also easy if you get a replacement that fits the cut-outs in the door and frame.

moonrakerz

If you are replacing locks, watch this first !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr23tpWX8lM

ukwoody

Moonraker. Please don't panic people over this again. There is a whole thread and more about it, and as somebody who does an awful lot of locksmith work, most of it is pure sacremongering. Yes it can happen, so can a brick thru the window.
That said, please do buy decent quality locks there is a lot of difference.

As Bejus has said, which sort of lock are you trying to replace?

Woody

Andy_Hamilton

Have a look on screwfix, they might not be the cheapest but they have them in stock and there is normally a trade counter open to the pubic locally. If you can't figure out what lock you need just remove it and take it with you leaving someone in the house.
It should cost no more than £30 to do it yourself but also could be under £10 if you have a standard lock.

moonrakerz

ukwoody wrote: »

Moonraker. Please don't panic people over this again.

I am not "panicking" anyone ! If you wish to be driven to a state of panic by well meant advice on how to secure your house properly that is up to you and if you wish to replace door locks with something that can be opened with

http://www.ukbumpkeys.com/bumpkeys.html

that's fine by me. But this is meant to be a money saving site, not a "make it easy to have your house burgled" site.

Why are people selling and buying complete sets of these keys ? There can be only one reason ! Locksmiths have known about this technique for years, so they certainly aren't buying them, they can make their own. One website selling these keys claims they are bought by locksmiths and police forces - pull the other one, it's got b***s on it !

Grumps

For Euro type cylinders. try (I think) North West locks. Their site has diagrams showing the different lengths/offsets of cylinders, and, I believe, are quite competitive on price.

For mortice type locks, if you take them along to a good supplier, assuming that they are decent locks in the first place, they may be able to change the levers, and re-key them. When I last moved house, with three external doors, and a separate garage, all with naff locks, I went and bought decent replacements and had them all changed to the same key. It causes far less wear on the trouser pocket.

ukwoody

moonrakerz wrote: »

Why are people selling and buying complete sets of these keys ? There can be only one reason ! Locksmiths have known about this technique for years, so they certainly aren't buying them, they can make their own. One website selling these keys claims they are bought by locksmiths and police forces - pull the other one, it's got b***s on it !

This has all been covered at least twice before, (yawn). You are wrong, in that locksmiths do buy them. Why should I spend 3 or 4 hours making them when I can by them? BUT and this is a really big BUT, It is not simply a case of sticking these items in locks as the video shows. it generally takes a LOT of practice, and each lock is different, you need different requirements for each lock. I have 2 electric pick guns, 2 sets of jiggle keys, and stuff you cannot imagine. This is a bit hard to explain, but I am a part qualified locksmith (basically thanks to the MLA my old qualification is now no longer recognised unless i want to pay them a damn fortune to re-do everything, which I have a feeling I'm gonna have to do in October anyway;-( )
I have over 20 years of experience in that field, and I still cant get into all locks. Many locks have mushroom tumblers, anti bump pins, the list goes on.
Yes you can buy these and get in to a house, but I can snap a Eurocylinder and be in within about 1 minute too.

You are right to remind people about house security, but many of these sites are designed to worry people and panic them needlessly. One more very important thing. I'm not sure if that Youtube sight is the American video with the lock in the door handle, but if it is, their locks are generally much simpler than ours are over here due to the nature of the locking mechanism, which I am not going into here on a public forum.

woody

moonrakerz

ukwoody wrote: »

You are right to remind people about house security,

Thank you !

turk3y

i am a novice diyer really and I redid the locks on my flat as a matter of precaution when i brought it, i got a new yale barrel and fitted it, as well as a new rear latch mechinism (that was the hard part as it was a different size, dam yale changing the design). The barrel just slots in, if the door is thin or the rear latch small you may need to cut the shaft slightly but thats about as hard as it should be, its two bolts to secure.

These security issues really highlight the need for a little care, and also a second lock or deadlock, i have a second lock (dont know the exact name) but it is not the same type so to break in you would need to deal with two locks. we lock this when we go out, and the gf puts the night latch on when she is alone late or at night, so now people would need to break glass to get it realistically and we would hopefully hear that. Also dont leave the keys in the door and other simple things that the police sudgest.

if you are worried about security invest in a wireless alarm as they are quite cheap now, and I think almost all crooks are opertunists they will take one look at it and decide one of your neighbours is less hastle.

ukwoody

turk3y wrote: »

These security issues really highlight the need for a little care, and also a second lock or deadlock, i have a second lock (dont know the exact name) but it is not the same type so to break in you would need to deal with two locks. we lock this when we go out, and the gf puts the night latch on when she is alone late or at night, so now people would need to break glass to get it realistically and we would hopefully hear that. Also dont leave the keys in the door and other simple things that the police suggest.

This is one of the best and simplest ways to make life harder for the thief. Fit a good quality 5 lever mortise Deadlock as a second lock(£11, Wilkinsons). Even for a pro with the right gear, you will not generally have an easy time to open one of these. To improve on that go for a BS rated (often marked insurence) 5 lever mortise deadlock. These contain various shims and barrels designed to make picking nearly impossible, and special drills need to be used to drill the case open.

One slightly wierd contradictory point, is that with a lot of modern Euro cylinders, if the key is in the barrel on the inside of the door, it makes it virtually impossible to pick the lock or use bump keys from the outside, this is due to a spring mechanism fitted to many modern ones that relates to the depth a key can enter. So if you have a solid wooden door it *can* be better to leave the keys in.

woody