Window and door lock repair
Won't lock, spins, or seized. Usually a one-visit fix.
A door that shuts but will not lock is an insecure building, and it is usually a mechanism or alignment fault rather than anything to do with the door itself. Nearly all of it is repairable in one visit.
What the symptom tells you
- Handle spins with no resistance — the gearbox has failed inside the mechanism.
- Have to lift or shove the door to lock it — alignment. Often hinge adjustment, not a new lock.
- Key turns but nothing happens — the cylinder cam or the connection to the gearbox.
- Stiff and getting worse — dry or contaminated mechanism. Sometimes just needs lubricating.
- Locks when open but not when shut — the keeps in the frame are out of line with the hooks.
Security while you are here
If the cylinder is being touched anyway, this is the moment to fix the real weakness. Most forced entries through modern doors are snapped cylinders. You want three TS007 stars in total: a 3-star cylinder on its own, or a 1-star cylinder behind a 2-star security handle. It costs very little at the point of a repair you are already paying for.
What we need to know
Photograph the mechanism along the edge of the door with the door open, and the handle and cylinder from the face. Between those three images we can usually identify the system and bring the right part.
A photograph is worth ten minutes on the phone. Send one on WhatsApp and we will tell you what it is and what it costs.
Questions
My handle spins and does nothing — is that expensive?
It is a failed gearbox in the multipoint mechanism. It is a stock repair, not a new door, indicatively £90–£220 fitted depending on the system.
Do I need a whole new door if it will not lock?
Very rarely. The lock is a replaceable component and misalignment is adjustable.
What is an anti-snap cylinder and do I need one?
A cylinder with a sacrificial front section that breaks away under attack leaving the lock intact. Yes — lock snapping is how most modern doors are actually defeated.
Can you match my existing key?
Often we can key a new cylinder to your existing key, or key several doors alike. Say so when you book.
The door only locks if I lift it — why?
The leaf has dropped or the frame has moved, so the hooks miss the keeps. Usually hinge adjustment rather than any new hardware.