125 articles on what goes wrong with locks, keys, safes and doors, what it costs to put right, and which fixes are worth paying for. Written by the people who attend the calls, which is why several of them argue against calling anybody.
Locks, keys and security
BY SUBJECT
Seven subjects, no filler
Emergency
Locked out, broken in, or a door that will not secure tonight. What to do in the first hour and what it costs.
Residential
Doors, locks and keys on a house: what fails, what it costs to fix, and which upgrades are worth the money.
Automotive
Car keys, fobs, lockouts and ignitions, including the parts dealerships charge for that a locksmith does at your kerb.
Commercial
Shops, offices, restaurants and industrial sites - key control, access control, exit hardware and the code that governs them.
Safes
Buying, opening, moving and servicing safes, and the anchoring step that decides whether the rest of it mattered.
Security
What actually reduces the chance of a break-in, in the order the evidence puts it rather than the order it gets sold.
Guides
How the trade works: pricing, licensing, what a visit involves, and the jobs we would rather you did yourself.
RECENTLY UPDATED
The twelve most recent
- Your Safe Will Not Open: What To Try, and When To Stop
Safes fail in a small number of recognisable ways, and the symptom tells you most of what you need to know. It also tells you whether the next thing you try will help or turn a…
Safes · updated 2026-08-12 - Your Car Key Was Stolen: Cutting a New One Is Not Enough
Lost and stolen are different problems with different answers, and the difference is usually handled badly. A lost key is probably in a drain. A stolen key is in someone's pocket, and…
Automotive · updated 2026-08-12 - You Have Lost Your House Keys. Rekey Tonight or Wait?
Most lost keys are in a coat pocket, a car footwell, or a drain, and nothing comes of it. A few are a genuine security problem, and the difference is not how worried you feel — it…
Residential · updated 2026-08-12 - You Have Inherited a Safe and No Combination
This is one of the more common calls we take and it usually arrives at a difficult time, alongside a house clearance and a probate process. The practical answer is straightforward, and…
Safes · updated 2026-08-12 - Window Locks: Which Windows Actually Need One
Securing every window in a house is expensive and mostly unnecessary. Securing the four or five that someone could actually use costs very little and is skipped in almost every house we…
Residential · updated 2026-08-12 - Why Two Locksmiths Quote Different Numbers
Two honest locksmiths can quote genuinely different numbers for the same job, and one dishonest one can quote a number that means nothing at all. Telling those apart is easier with a…
Guides · updated 2026-08-12 - Where to Put Four Cameras
Most domestic camera systems produce hours of footage in which nobody can be identified. That is not a hardware failure and buying more megapixels does not fix it. It is a placement…
Security · updated 2026-08-12 - Where People Hide Spare Keys, and Where Burglars Look First
There is a reason lockouts are one of our commonest calls and it is not that people are careless. It is that the alternatives to a hidden key all involve a small amount of planning on a…
Residential · updated 2026-08-12 - When the Door Will Not Unlock: Actuator, Switch or Lock
A door that will not unlock is three or four different faults that present almost identically, and the difference decides whether you want a locksmith, an auto electrician or neither.…
Automotive · updated 2026-08-12 - What a Fire Rating on a Safe Actually Certifies
"One hour fire rated" is the most quoted and least understood specification in this trade. It describes a laboratory test, and knowing what the test does and does not do changes what you…
Safes · updated 2026-08-12 - What Your Insurer Means by 'Approved Locks'
Nobody reads the security section of a home or business policy until they are claiming, which is the worst possible time to discover what it says. It takes fifteen minutes to read and it…
Guides · updated 2026-08-12 - What Locks Actually Need — And the Spray That Ruins Them
Locks are among the few mechanical things in a house that get used several times a day for twenty years with no attention at all. Most survive it. The ones that fail early nearly all…
Residential · updated 2026-08-12
EVERYTHING, A TO Z
All 125 articles on one list
- A Home Security Audit: What Gets Checked and What You Get · Residential
- ADA Door Hardware: Force, Height and the Closed-Fist Test · Commercial
- ANSI Grades on Commercial Doors: What the Number Buys · Commercial
- Access Control or Keys? The Door Count Where the Maths Changes · Commercial
- After a Break-In: The First Six Hours · Emergency
- After a Break-In: The Order to Do Things In · Emergency
- Alarm System or Better Locks First? · Security
- An Employee Left With a Key: What To Do This Week · Commercial
- An Unanchored Safe Is a Heavy Box With Your Valuables In It · Safes
- Are Smart Locks Worth It? An Honest Answer From People Who Fit Them · Residential
- Automating a Gate: The Safety Devices That Are Not Optional · Security
- Bathroom and Bedroom Locks: Privacy, Not Security · Residential
- Builder-Grade Locks on a New House: What You Actually Got · Residential
- Bump Keys and Lock Picking: What Actually Happens in Break-Ins · Security
- Buying a Car Key Online: When It Works and When It Wastes a Visit · Automotive
- Buying a Gun Safe: Fire Rating, Steel and the Bolt-Down · Safes
- Buying a Safe: What to Look For, From People Who Do Not Sell Them · Safes
- Cam Locks, Tubular Keys and Equipment Locks · Commercial
- Car Key Replacement: What It Really Costs, and Why the Dealer Quote Is Higher · Automotive
- Changing Locks in an Apartment Without Breaching the Lease · Residential
- Changing the Locks After a Separation: What You Can and Cannot Do · Residential
- Child-Proofing Doors Without Trapping Anyone Inside · Residential
- Community Gates: Codes, Clickers and Who Holds the List · Security
- Construction Sites: Temporary Locks, Real Losses · Commercial
- Does Insurance Cover a Lost Car Key? · Automotive
- Door Closer Slamming, Dragging or Not Latching: Which Screw to Turn · Commercial
- Door Closers and Panic Bars: What the Fire Inspector Is Looking For · Commercial
- Door Entry Systems for Small Buildings · Commercial
- Door Viewers: Height, Angle and the Digital Ones · Residential
- Doors After a Storm: What to Check Before You Call Anyone · Residential
- Drop Safes for Businesses That Take Cash · Safes
- Egress: The One Rule Every Lock Has to Obey · Commercial
- Electric Strikes vs Maglocks: Fail-Safe, Fail-Secure and Fire · Commercial
- Electronic Keypad or Dial: Which Safe Lock Lasts · Safes
- European Car Keys: When a Locksmith Can Do It and When Only the Dealer Can · Automotive
- File Cabinet and Desk Locks: The Code Stamped on the Face · Commercial
- Fitting a New Deadbolt: What Separates a Good Install From a Bad One · Residential
- Fitting a Panic Bar: The Decisions That Have to Be Made First · Commercial
- Five Lock Jobs Worth Doing Yourself · Guides
- Five Things a Locksmith Will Not Do, and Why That Protects You · Guides
- Floor Safes and Wall Safes: Concealment vs Protection · Safes
- Forgotten Your Safe Combination? Read This Before Trying Again · Safes
- French Doors: The Inactive Leaf Is Usually the Whole Problem · Residential
- Grade 1, 2 and 3: What the Numbers on the Box Actually Mean · Residential
- Gun Safe Service: Anchoring, Opening and the Thing Nobody Checks · Safes
- High-Security Locks: What You Are Actually Buying · Commercial
- Home Security: What Actually Works, Ranked by Cost · Residential
- How Break-Ins Actually Happen in North Texas · Security
- How Locksmith Scams Actually Work, and How to Stop One Mid-Call · Guides
- How to Change the Combination on a SecuRam TopLit Safe Lock · Safes
- How to Choose a Locksmith in Dallas-Fort Worth Without Getting Stung · Guides
- Is This an Emergency? An Honest Guide to Not Overpaying · Guides
- Just Moved In? The Lock Checklist Nobody Gives You at Closing · Residential
- Key Control: The Cheapest Security Policy a Small Business Can Have · Commercial
- Key Fob Batteries: The Five-Minute Fix Before You Call Anyone · Automotive
- Key Fob Stopped Working? Work Through It in This Order · Automotive
- Key Snapped in the Lock: What Not To Do Next · Residential
- Key Stuck in the Lock: Work Out Which Failure You Have Before You Pull · Residential
- Key Will Not Turn in the Ignition: The Free Fix Most People Miss · Automotive
- Keypad Locks for Business: Good Enough Until They Are Not · Commercial
- Keys Locked in the Boot: A Different Job From a Lockout · Automotive
- Keys for Classic and Pre-1998 Cars · Automotive
- Keys, Carers and Ageing Parents: Access Without Losing Control · Residential
- Leaving Town: The Checklist That Is Mostly Not About Locks · Security
- Lever Handles vs Knobs: Accessibility, Security and Cats · Residential
- Lighting and Shrubs: The Cheapest Security You Own · Security
- Locked Out of Your Business: What a Locksmith Will and Will Not Do · Commercial
- Locked Out of Your Car: What Actually Happens When Someone Opens It · Automotive
- Locked Out: What To Do in the First Five Minutes · Emergency
- Locksmith Licensing in Texas: What to Ask For · Guides
- Mailbox Lock Replacement: The One a Locksmith Legally Cannot Touch · Residential
- Managing Keys Across Fifty Units · Commercial
- Master Key Systems for Small Business: When They Help and When They Fail · Commercial
- Medeco, Abloy and Mul-T-Lock: What You Get for the Money · Residential
- Medical Offices: Records, Drugs and Access Logs · Commercial
- Motorcycle and Fleet Keys: Two Jobs Nobody Plans For · Automotive
- Moving Into New Premises: The Locks Checklist Before Day One · Commercial
- Moving a Safe: Why It Is Not a Job for Four Friends · Safes
- On-Board Key Programming: Which Cars Let You Do It Yourself · Automotive
- One Key for Every Door: How Keyed-Alike Actually Works · Residential
- One Key for the Whole House: What It Costs and When Not To · Residential
- Passports, Deeds and Hard Drives: Which Safe You Need · Safes
- Porch Theft: Lockers, Cameras and What Actually Deters It · Security
- RVs, Boats and Trailers: The Keys Everyone Forgets · Automotive
- Rekey or Replace? How to Decide Without Overspending · Residential
- Relay Theft: Why Your Car Was Stolen Without the Key · Automotive
- Rental Cars and Company Vehicles: Who Authorises the Opening · Automotive
- Rental Property Locks: A Policy and a Turnover Checklist · Commercial
- Restaurants: Back Doors, Deliveries and Closing Time · Commercial
- Retail: The Front Door, the Stock Room and the Fitting Rooms · Commercial
- Safe Repair: What Fails, and What It Means When It Does · Safes
- Schools and Churches: Lockdown Hardware Without Blocking Exits · Commercial
- Security Cameras: Where to Put Them, and What They Will Not Do · Security
- Self-Storage: Disc Padlocks, Cylinders and Overlocks · Commercial
- Sheds and Outbuildings: Where the Ladder Lives · Residential
- Short-Let Access: Codes, Turnovers and the Cleaner Problem · Commercial
- Sliding Patio Doors: The Weakest Door in Most Houses · Residential
- Smart Lock Locked You Out: The Four Causes and the Fix for Each · Residential
- Smart Locks and the Rest of the House: Hubs, Matter and Lock-In · Residential
- Steering Locks and Kill Switches: Visible Deterrents That Still Work · Automotive
- Storefront Doors: Why the Stile Width Decides Everything · Commercial
- Storm Shelter Doors: The Latch Is Part of the Rating · Residential
- Storm and Screen Door Locks: Low Stakes, Common Calls · Residential
- Texas Rules on Rental Locks: Rekeys, Bolts and Who Pays · Commercial
- The Door Will Not Lock: Six Causes, In the Order They Actually Happen · Residential
- The Garage Is the Weak Point in Most Houses. Here Is Why. · Residential
- The Hinge Side Is Half Your Door, and Nobody Looks At It · Residential
- The Key Cabinet: Boring, Cheap, and It Works · Commercial
- The Offboarding Checklist Nobody Runs Fully · Commercial
- Transponder Keys: Why a Cut Key Alone Will Not Start Your Car · Automotive
- Video Doorbells: Useful, Overrated and Occasionally a Legal Question · Security
- Warehouses: Roller Shutters, Man Doors and Yard Gates · Commercial
- What Actually Happens When We Arrive · Guides
- What Locks Actually Need — And the Spray That Ruins Them · Residential
- What Your Insurer Means by 'Approved Locks' · Guides
- What a Fire Rating on a Safe Actually Certifies · Safes
- When the Door Will Not Unlock: Actuator, Switch or Lock · Automotive
- Where People Hide Spare Keys, and Where Burglars Look First · Residential
- Where to Put Four Cameras · Security
- Why Two Locksmiths Quote Different Numbers · Guides
- Window Locks: Which Windows Actually Need One · Residential
- You Have Inherited a Safe and No Combination · Safes
- You Have Lost Your House Keys. Rekey Tonight or Wait? · Residential
- Your Car Key Was Stolen: Cutting a New One Is Not Enough · Automotive
- Your Safe Will Not Open: What To Try, and When To Stop · Safes