Thanet Locksmiths

Had to open a lock destructively today as someone else already had a go at drilling it unsuccessfully.

 Had the call late last night around 12.30 pm from a distraught wife, as her husband had some sort of altercation and as far as I can tell his car keys along with the keys to the family home were stolen, the police were on site at that time and recommended to have the locks changed to the house, I advised the wife as a temporary security measure to lock the doors from the inside and leave the keys in the locks, that way anyone with a key cannot gain entry from the outside, and to keep the cost down I would come out and change the locks in the morning. The following morning I went round to change the locks and made the family home secure once again.  The point I am trying to make here is that the customer made the correct decision in getting a trained locksmith to change all the locks, so whoever stole the keys will not be able to get in, Christmas is always a busy time for any locksmiths as well as the season to be jolly it is also the season for high crime, please be safe and always l

 Over 22 million doors across the UK could be at risk from a method of attack called lock snapping where the lock cylinder can be broken in just under 60 seconds.  Watch this video https://youtu.be/TCufUpr_QRY At Thanet Locksmiths we recommend that all vulnerable Upvc doors using the older type euro-cylinders should be replaced to incorporate 'Break Secure' cylinders.  After hearing about targeted burglaries on the elderly or vulnerable people within the Thanet area I am now offering the following; a replacement snap-resistant lock for the elderly or the vulnerable supplied and fitted for just £30.00 per lock (basically the cost of the lock plus diesel, normal fitted price is from £80.00 Upvc doors only). OFFER NOW CLOSED These locks are certified to EN1303 they are drill resistant, pick resistant and pull or snap resistant and come supplied with 3 keys.  If you have any elderly relatives, friends or neighbours who you think could do with upgrading their old door locks do not h

  I got called out the other night as a customer who lives in a basement flat had lost his power by doing some DIY and drilled through a live wire tripping all the electric's in there flat, the reason why i got called out was everyone who lives in the other flats above them were all away for the weekend and they needed to get to the consumer units which was above them in the main entrance hall. So i tried for a while to pick the front door lock but sadly i came across a lock that just wouldn't pick open, not because i couldn't pick it, it wasn't anything special a cheap unbranded euro lock that was so full of gunky grease that the pins just stuck and as it was an emergency for the customer to gain entry i had to resort to destructive method of entry and drill out the lock and replace it with new. After gaining entry the customer was a bit bewildered as what was what or what to do when he peered into the electrical cupboard, as i am a fully qualified electrician and elec

 I got the usual call last week from a property developer who had lost the keys to one of their finished projects and asked me if I could break into the property and change the rims (Yale style lock) to which I obliged, I was also asked to hand the keys over to an estate agent the next day as the property was being sold, as I went to hand the keys over onsite to my dismay the property had been broken into over night but the intruders had to resort to brute force and kick the door in to gain entry, I guess the intruders were either spooked or really disappointed as the property was empty and there was nothing for them to steal and no further damage was found inside. On the plus side they couldn’t pick or drill my locks!

Just finished a nightmare job, as an elderly lady had her key stuck on the inside of the lock and she couldn’t turn or extract the key, leaving her vulnerable as the door wouldn’t lock. Ended up to be a faulty gearbox trapping the cam, long story short it took a while to strip it all down and fit an over night gearbox with new lock until I receive the new parts. The moral of this story is if your handle feels stiff or tight when locking it, please get it fixed as soon as you can as this is a clear indication that a fault is occurring and will only get worse to the point of breaking, what should have been a simple door alignment if caught early turned out to be a unnecessary and expensive job.

  Had the call that every locksmith dreads yesterday and that is the failed deadlock, because you can’t get in with the key from the outside and from the inside you can’t get out and you will be trapped indoors as the latch doesn’t retract far enough for the door to open. These problem locks can take time to open and usually has to be done with destructive methods, in this particular case I had to retract the door shut and use a reciprocating saw with a hardened steel blade to cut through the dead lock and replace with new.