Lock broke (on internal door closed) :(

darrenheaphy

Typical house door inside the house was locked, key broke and door is locked. I don't want to crowbar it open if I can help, any suggestions? I've no spare key :-D The one I had is broken and the piece can't be pulled out, so I can't get a copy.

I presume the only option is cut the lock with a hacksaw blade that doesn't have a thick frame (so I can fit between door)?

quietsailor

Do you need to get it open tonight?

If its not a hurry can you wiggle out the broken bit and bring what's left of the key to a locksmith and if you're lucky its a normal lock like the basta brand. They have maybe 20 shapes of key and the locksmith should have one

Can you see a number stamped onto the head of the key?

my3cents

I don't see any broken bit in that picture, suspect its broken off and dropped down inside the lock.

Do you have any other keys? Try them all and check with neighbors if its an estate as many of the keys may be the same because there are very few variations for those types of locks.

If you have to cut it off try also a jigsaw and pad the space between the door and the jigsaw with a piece of wood so the blade does not bottom out.

quietsailor

To add onto my3cents post, if your using a jigsaw try to get a metal cutting blade. You might find the jigsaw bouncing a lot as the blade will go beyond the lock and hit off the wood behind. If you can hold of a tool called an oscillating saw and fit that with a metal blade its a lot less violent when cutting. I've attached a photo of one - most hire shops would have one.

jmBuildExt

Thats why he suggested putting a piece of timber between the jigsaw and the door (so you're cutting with the bottom of the blade and it doesnt bash off the door stop on the other side)

Wyldwood

If there's any way of getting into the room from the outside via a window then just pop the pins out of the hinge (presume it's an inward opening door).

amcalester

darrenheaphy wrote: »

Typical house door inside the house was locked, key broke and door is locked. I don't want to crowbar it open if I can help, any suggestions? I've no spare key :-D The one I had is broken and the piece can't be pulled out, so I can't get a copy.

I presume the only option is cut the lock with a hacksaw blade that doesn't have a thick frame (so I can fit between door)?

I've cut through a lock like yours just using the blade, took a while but did the job. My hacksaw's frame was too big to fit so just used the blade.

biketard

Wyldwood wrote: »

If there's any way of getting into the room from the outside via a window then just pop the pins out of the lock (presume it's an inward opening door).

Do you mean hinge rather than lock?

EDIT: Looks from the photo like the door might open this way, so hinge pins might already be accessible.

TheW1zard

Set of Try out keys off amazon

biketard

Just to add, you say you can't get the broken part out. I assume that's because it's partly rotated. I've had success in the past rotating keys back into a position where I could then push them through by using something like a dentist's pick or even a pointy knife to rotate the centre bit of the key that was still visible by continually scraping it almost around the circumference of it (or as close as possible). I hope that makes sense.

Looking again at your photo, it doesn't look like that centre bit is still in the lock, though, so I'm guessing the flat bit only broke off.

biketard

Sorry to keep posting, but I just had a thought. If part of the key is stuck in there and it's partly rotated, there's a chance you will be able to rotate it completely and open the door quite easily, as it has effectively started the unlocking process. If that's the case, you would just need something basically L-shaped.

biketard

Any luck, @darrenheaphy ?

garv123

We had a similar problem to yours OP, second door to a room had a broken key in the lock, the broken bit prevented other keys from turning.

We managed to cut if off using a grinder without doing any damage, the disk fitted into the slot with no problems.

These keys are very weak if the door lock is any way stuck, the bit sticking down that engages the lock snaps off easily

1865

This happened to us recently so I wiggled the key out and tried all the ones from the rest of the house and then popped next Door and borrowed all of their room keys - and one fitted. there are only about 5 shapes for the standard interior door so it shouldn't be difficult.

The local key cutting place will be able st sell you a replacement.

Tokyo

Basta interior locks are usually cheap, three-lever design - you can open them in a few seconds with a piece of clothes hanger or similar wire bent to shape.

Cut a piece of clothes hanger, and bend it into the shape below. For scale, imagine the u-shaped bend on the right is about the same size as the head of the key that originally went in the lock. The bend on the left is just a handle for leverage.



Insert into the lock like you would a key, and twist to unlock. It might take a few attempts to get the position right, but it will unlock.


Other option - drill out the lock.