Emergency Locksmith. UPVC repairs. Car keys & remotes. Ross on Wye. Forest of Dean. 01594 541156 / 07736 038346
Here is an additional remote we provided for a nearby dealer. On this era VW/Audi/Skoda the transponder chip that the immobiliser checks for is separate from the remote PCB. Although it is possible to re-use 2nd hand remote parts on these, it can be a false economy and we will normally only use new components.
Replacement car key/remote supplied, cut and programmed for a Mitsubishi L200. Less than half dealer price (and considerably cheaper and quicker than it would have been if the only key had become lost).
With many Asian vehicles a spare key must be a remote key. A simple transponder (chipped) key may not cancel the alarm or stop the hazards flashing if it has been locked using a remote. With European/US vehicles a programmed key will almost always cancel the alarm if it is put in the ignition and turned on. Therefore Euro/US vehicles can just have a cheaper transponder (chipped) key as a backup spare.
We can provide replacement keys and remotes for many 4wd trucks including most Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi L200, Toyota Land Cruiser etc.
Shortly before midnight we were called to secure a UPVC house door. Their only key had snapped in the lock and the door could not be secured.
This was all caused just because of the broken springs in the handles. The weight of the handle was causing them to droop rather than them returning to centre. As a result the mechanism hadn’t set correctly and it took excessive force to turn the key.
Because the customer had been ignoring the droopy handle it ended being a lot more costly than it would just to change the springs. A droopy or floppy handle might just look unsightly, but it could potentially cause your entire door to be jammed shut, or unlockable. Luckily in this case the key broke before the multipoint mechanism did.
A repair or adjustment to a UPVC door or window is almost always more economical than a complete replacement.
We are very busy for door repairs this week. Normally they peak early spring/late autumn. Shown below are parts of a very clearly broken top case. This particular part is long since discontinued but somebody makes a repair part for the case. This make/model full length mechanism is also unobtainable, although the gearboxes can be found.
Because the gearbox (not shown) has an odd PZ (handle-spindle distance) a complete replacement with modern mechanism would have been more expensive than a repair, and also required new handles to fit the modern handle-spindle distance.
Double glazing & UPVC repairs are normally far, far cheaper than replacing the entire window or door. Recently we repaired a door during the afternoon for over £1000 less than the price the customer was quoted for a replacement door that morning.
Keys were lost to this old (pre 1984) style garage door lock in the Forest of Dean. A key could be obtained to the code on the lock but that leaves the missing key unaccounted for. Simplest and most secure was to pick the lock on the back of the handle to enable it to be replaced for a brand new lock.
Although the lock above is Union branded they are commonly seen with the L&F variant instead. There are dozens of different designs of garage door locks.
If your UPVC door is difficult to lock, or hitting the frame – get it adjusted. Leaving it will end up breaking the mechanism and being unable to open your door, or unable to lock it.
Take a look at the part above and how extremely worn it is. It is part of the mechanism of a UPVC front door that eventually jammed shut. This door must have been wearing against the frame for several years. We were called to open the door and carry out repairs. Repeated strain and force required to lift the handle eventually broke the gearbox. A simple adjustment would have stopped this from happening.
Some unusual multipoint mechanisms can cost over £200 just for the part. Some are long since discontinued and unobtainable. Adjusting your door correctly can prevent the need for new parts or you being locked out.
We were called to repair a set of UPVC French doors. The door wouldn’t lock because the multipoint mechanism had broken. This was caused by the door swinging open with such force against the wall that it was ripping the door off its hinges. This in turn caused the door to drop out of alignment.
Because of the failed gearbox the customer had temporarily secured the doors by tying the handles together with a shoelace.
If you are experiencing any difficulty locking a UPVC door, 90% of the time it is due to mis-alignment. Unless you get the door correctly adjusted the gearbox will fail. This will result in a door jammed shut, or cannot be locked.
Not much going on here at the moment. Most people are already locked down at home so they’re not losing car keys or locking themselves out.
Here are some pictures of the replacement of keys for a ’93 Ford barn find. There were no keys with the vehicle. It is possible to make a key without having to strip the lock but I wanted to clean inside the lock as the old grease was like treacle.
Locked in? Locked out? Unable to secure your property? If you need an emergency locksmith we will still aim to help you whilst maintaining social distancing and taking necessary precautions.
If your routine maintenance can wait until the risk is lower then please wait!
During this special period our locksmith services cover Mitcheldean, Cinderford, Coleford, Ross on Wye and the Forest of Dean in general.
Look after the vulnerable. Help where possible. Stay safe.
This remnant of a snapped key is about to be finally removed from a truck ignition barrel. Whenever the broken key extractor kit needs to come out, it is almost always dark and raining.
We use dedicated broken key extraction tools to remove snapped parts of key. Sometimes it may need 2 or 3 tools in the lock to get the part out. Occasionally it will be necessary to remove the lock and strip it down to remove the broken part.
To replace the key it may be possible just to clamp the broken parts together in a trace-cutter. Or failing that the key can be read by eye or software or cut from code. In many cases it is possible to decode the lock and get a reading from that. In most cases it is possible to cut a new key even if parts or all of the original key are missing.