Gunky lock

 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 electrical test inspector although now retired from this trade i had a quick look for him and showed him where his trip was, it was an old earth leakage trip which should be now changed to a modern RCD, however i digress, not only did he trip the electric's but blew the main cartridge fuse, so he had to call seeboard to come out and repair the mains and then an electrician to repair the damage that he did with the drill, quite an expensive night just to hang a picture on the wall.

The moral of the story here is please do not let your Landlord or handyman spay grease into the lock and use a graphite powder instead, also make sure the property that you rent has and up to date electrical certification.