October 2010 @ Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks

"Neighbourhood Locks" Diary Blog, wins Award!

I would like to thank all at www.bestoftheblogs.org for choosing Neighbourhood Locks, as a recipient of your 2010 Top Blog Award!

It is really greatly appreciated, and it's always good to know that readers enjoy keeping up to date with our Security News, and various 'adventures' within the 'Locksmithing Profession'.

Many thanks once again, Simon Barber / Neighbourhood Locks

"Congratulations! This is K***, and your blog, Neighbourhood Locks, is a recipient of our 2010 Top Blog Award!

Nothing is more important to us than safety.  So we've teamed up with HomeSecuritySystems to provide the very best resources to keep you and your family safe.  So we've scoured the internet looking for the best available, and your blog was one of them!"

August / September 2010 @ Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks

August / September saw a marked increase in the amount of Clients requesting that Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks visit, to see if their home security would meet general Insurance Requirements, and would prove effective.

In a few cases, we were pleased to see front doors fitted with British-Standard 5-lever locks, which their Insurers would approve of, and would be likely to make a payment for, in the event of a 'Break-in'. We also noted in these cases, that ground floor windows were fitted with locks too, again compliant with Insurance requirements. In situations where a British-Standard Mortice lock could not be fitted, we noted that a British-Standard Auto-deadlocksng Nightlatch had been fitted.

In some of the homes Neighbourhood Locks were called to though, we saw that several front doors relied on nothing more than a non-British-Standard, non-Insurance-Approved 2, or 3 lever low-security lock, that is intended for a Bedroom, or Bathroom. We have been called to break-ins where these types of locks have been simply opened, and being non-Insurance Standard, the Insurers refused to pay out. It is worrying that the general public consider the security of their home as low priority, - only asking us to fit our 'best' and 'most secure' locks after a Break-in has occurred. We have also seen a rise in Clients asking us to install 'Pickbuster', anti-lock bumping treatment to their existing locks. At only £10 per lock, it is a quick and effective way to help protect against 'Lock Bumping'.

Many of our Clients were also surprised to learn that if their garage joins onto their home, and has a door leading from the inside of the garage to the home, then, for insurance purposes, the outer garage door also requires a 5-lever British-Standard Mortice, or BS Nightlatch, Insurance approved Lock.

Neighbourhood Locks, the local Ipswich Locksmith would recommend you to check the 'faceplate' on the visible edge of the lock, and if it states '2 lever', or '3 lever', to give us a call for a free, no obligation security check.

These last few weeks, we have covered all manner of call-outs in Ipswich, Woodbridge, Kesgrave, Martlesham, Rushmere and further afield, fitting 'secondary security' (such as door 'chains' and 'restrictors'), to opening a locked garage door that had remained unopened for several years (and then replacing the lock), to dealing with the usual 'Lockout' situations.

I was slightly amused by one comment from a Client, that seemed somewhat surprised that I was using Professional 'Picks' to gain entry to his property, and stated 'you're not going to use a piece of bent paperclip then, - like they do in the films?'

I was also asked to resolve a problem lock, that turned out to be about 45 years old if it was a day! It was a well-known brand, and just goes to show that some of the 'big names' in locks are much better value, and can last for years. As the lock was rather special, and not something we see too often, I offered to repair/rebuild it, much to the Clients relief, as I believe the lock had some sentimental value.

It was also with mixed feelings, that Neighbourhood Locks fitted one of the very last Chubb Branded  'Chubb 114' Mortice Locks to be made, to a Client local to me. After almost 200 years, due to brand licensing agreements, the 'Chubb' name will be no more, but will be superseded by the name 'Chubb-at-Heart'. Since 2000, Chubb locks have been manufactured by 'Assa Abloy', which will now be migrated to Yale, and Union. For the Customer though, nothing but the name will change, because the Chubb name we have all known and trusted for years, will live on as 'Chubb-at-Heart'.

With the colder weather upon us, we will now see a rise in failed Mechanisms on UPVc doors, as the door itself contracts in the cold. UPVc doors (and windows) suffer from expansion and contraction in extreme temperatures, with the handle/lock becoming harder to operate. Sometimes it is simply a matter of making some adjustments, - especially if caught early enough. If neglected however, the constant forcing of the handle/lock will eventually break something, which will cost more in the long run. We change a considerable number of these mechnisms each week, which would not have needed replacing if they had been adjusted sooner. Check out Neighbourhood Locks UPVc page for more details.

Until next time.. take care and Stay Safe!

Simon, ~ your local Locksmith

June / July 2010 @ Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks

June was so busy, that it came and went before we had time to update Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks, Blog!

The range of jobs we are being asked to undertake lately, is extremely varied, which always makes for an interesting time. Many of our Clients have called us in, in an attempt to solve problems that previous 'Locksmiths' have attempted, and been unable to do, and we have built up a reputation for succeeding, where others have failed to either do the job properly, or at all. One had been unable to open a window for the last few years, with two others having looked at it, and been unable to resolve the problem. Neighbourhood Locks, the local Ipswich Locksmith, opened the jammed window non-destructively, within three minutes, and replaced the faulty mechanism afterwards. As Ipswich's only Member of The Institute of Certified Locksmiths, we will always use 'Non-destructive Entry' as our first choice, rather than simply destroying the lock or mechanism, and charging for a new one, as many National Companies do. Always make sure the Locksmith you call, is either a member of 'The Institute of Certified Locksmiths', or the 'Master Locksmiths Association', as these are the only two recoginised Trade Associations, who vet members strictly, both for security, and for competance.

We were also asked to gain entry to two different locked garages, where keys had been lost. One Client was most surprised that Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks had the door open Non-destructively, within a few minutes. We then proceeded to fit a new 'British Standard' 5-Lever Deadlock to the building, to ensure that it was Insurance Compliant.

Neighbourhood Locks were also asked to Gain Entry to a Sweet Shop in the centre of Ipswich, after the lock had been damaged in what may have been an attempted break-in. Access was gained very swiftly, and the damaged lock replaced, which was quite a challenge, and did take a bit longer than normal, as it was 'Father's Day', with a constant flow of Customers in and out of the shop!

The following day, we received a call to an Industrial Estate, where a member of Staff had gone to lock the Unit up, only to find that the locking mechanism had failed completely. They had been given our number by 'Talking Pages' as having a 'Five-Star' rating, and after a short period on-site, we had ensured that the Unit was secure once again.

Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks, were also asked to make up a key to an antique Grandfather Clock, and to open, repair and supply keys for an antique writing desk. This sort of work can be amongst the most interesting and satisfying of all to an old-school Locksmith, as it really puts the 'Smithing' side to the test. The desk lock was opened easily, and then removed, and later stripped down, cleaned, and rebuilt. It is a 'pin' lock, which means that the key would be 'piped' (or have a hole in the end which lines up on the pin in the lock). The pin itself had fallen out, and this, and other small problems had all contributed to the locks failure to work correctly. Once the lock had been rebuilt, Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks, then hand-made a number of piped keys to fit. This is very specialised work, which many cannot undertake these days, although we enjoy keeping the true art of Locksmithing alive.

Local Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks, have also had the usual 'Lockouts' and failed UPVc Door Mechanisms, and are pleased to report that generally Clients are calling us now at the first signs of failure, including 'stiff operation' and 'drooping handles' rather than waiting until the mechanism has failed completely, so locking them out.

Many have told us that they specifically called us, after reading the UPVc Section of our Web-site. These mechanisms do tend to fail with extreme changes in the temperature, as the heat, and cold cause the door to expand and contract.

If you have any lock-related problems, please feel free to call us on 01473 622461.
Until next time, Stay Safe! Simon.

May 2010 @ Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks

May, so far, has seen a larger than usual proportion of 'Lockouts', due to either failed locks, or 'lost key scenarios'.

Regarding the failed locks, we are seeing more of these failures that are only a few years old. With locks available now in 'pound shops', to some, these may appear to be an appealing option, though the low cost has to be weighed up against how much you value your home's security, and the likelyhood of failure of the lock, which often results in the owner being locked out. Many of these are not even 'Insurance approved', meaning that in the event of a 'Break-in', your Insurers will pay you nothing. At Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks, we only fit Insurance rated Locks. Even the well-known brands of lock vary in terms of operation, though most are reliable. With locks, you definitely get what you pay for, and in our opinion nothing matches the genuine Chubb Locks, for reliability and smoothness of operation. They are also very dificult to pick-open, so go a good way towards securing your door. All this comes at a premium though, as Chubb Locks are at the upper end of the price scale. As well as Chubb Locks, we also fit those made by Union, Securefast and Era, and have something to fit all budgets.

Neighbourhood Locks has a policy of continually advancing our knowledge and skill, through Training, of all aspects of Locksmithing, in order to remain at the top of the Profession, which is continually advancing as new technologies become available. With this in mind, we recently attended a Training Session in London about 'Key Impressioning'. (This is the second one we have attended). 'Impressioning' is the highly useful, but dying skill, of taking a blank key, putting it in the lock, removing it, and looking for any marks left, and then filing these 'impression marks' away until you have a working key. It is a skill that is generally considered to be too difficult to master unless you are really dedicated and to spend many hours practicing. It has many potential uses, such as making up keys for old 'Church locks', or for furniture locks, antique cabinets etc. The Training Workshop was given by 'Impressioning' Legends Oliver Diederichsen (who wrote the book 'Impressioning') and Jos Weyers who holds the current World Record for Impressioning a Key at just 87 seconds. The day was very informative, with all aspects of the theory of Impressioning covered, and the equipment necessary to carry it out successfully. Jos and Oli were on hand the whole day, giving demonstrations, and offering advice. The Locksmiths who attended, had a go at Impressioning, with some opening locks successfully, including ourselves. It is a skill that takes much practice, but very worthwhile, and as Oli has said 'it is the most interesting way of opening a lock'.

If you have any concerns about any aspects of security, please give Neighbourhood Locks the Ipswich Locksmiths a call, on 01473 622461. Until next time, Stay safe!

April 2010 @ Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks

What a month April was for Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks! Every other call-out was for a failed UPVc Lock, Gearbox, or Mechanism Strip.

When a problem develops wth a UPVc door (or window, for that matter), it isn't always an expensive job, especially if the fault is corrected swiftly. In the first instance, the problem can sometime be resolved by just making a few adjustments to the 'keeps' on the frame. The 'Keeps' are the metal plates and boxes, that the door bolts, latches, hooks, rollers etc. go into once the door is locked. Over time, these 'keeps' can go out of adjustment, sometimes moving subtly, - just enough, that once the lock is engaged, it causes extra friction, as the bolt hits the 'keep', instead of entering it smoothly. Adjusting these can be tricky, and a degree of patience is required to determine which of the 'keeps' is actually the cause, and to correct it. If this initial adjustment isn't resolved, more tension is required to 'throw' the bolts/hooks etc. which is done by applying more force to the door handles. This in turn causes wear to the 'gearbox', which is the mechanism situated behind the handles and lock, that actually 'drives' the hooks/rollers/bolts etc. The Gearbox usually contains a significant number of gear-wheels, arms and springs etc. all of which become 'over-stressed' by the extra force needed to 'throw' the bolts. This normally causes the Gearbox to fail, usually by stripping the teeth from one of the gears, or by making the handles inoperative. Once the handles cannot do their job, which is to retract the latch/hooks/bolts/rollers etc. the door cannot be opened, and the situation needs to be treated as a 'Lockout'.

When we are called out to assess a UPVc Lock problem, it could be that just an adjustment is required. sometimes the lock itself has developed a fault, and requires replacing. Not all locks are created equal! In other situations, it becomes necessary to replace the gearbox, and occassionally the entire Multipoint Locking Strip. Cases where the complete strip requires replacing, usually occur when the failed gearbox is only available as the complete strip unit, or because a part of it has become badly worn, for example hooks or 'shootbolts' that fail to fully retract.

At Neighbourhood Locks the Ipswich Locksmiths, we carefully assess the situation, (and much information can be gained over the telephone when you talk to us), and will advise you once on-site, what is required to make your Locking system function correctly again. We will never sell you parts that we do not think are needed, in order to keep your costs down. We charge no Call-out fee, and are happy to come along and advise you about what is required.

Neighbourhood Locks have built up a reputation of being able to resolve UPVc door and Window related problems, that others have refused to do because they consider them to be too specialised.

If you have any concerns regarding your UPVc Locking mechanism, please give us a call on 01473 622461.

March 2010 @ Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks

March has proved to be another mixed-bag for Ipswich Locksmith Neighbourhood Locks.

We have had a number of calls to replace more failed UPVc Door Mechanisms, and also the UPVc Locking Window Handles. Generally, these mechanisms have a limited lifespan, depending on use, and once the door handles become either stiff to operate, or feel excessively loose, then it is really time to give us a call at Neighbourhood Locks the Ipswich Locksmith, and discuss options. Once a UPVc Door Mechanism fails, (especially those with hooks that engage into the frame once the handle is operated), they can fail quite dramatically, locking the owner out. Sometimes it is just a case of making a simple  adjustment, but if you have any concerns regarding UPVc Mechanisms, please give us a call, as it's much easier to replace the failing mechanism of a door that can be opened, rather than waiting until it's failed completely, and having to deal with a locked door.

As Ipswich's only Member of 'The Institute of Certified Locksmiths', we are always looking to improve upon our skills as Professional Locksmiths. The 'ICL' is one of the two major Professional Organisations for Locksmiths, - the other being the 'Master Locksmiths Association'. Always make sure you choose a member of the ICL, or MLA). The 'ICL' is aimed at locksmiths who 'aspire to the highest standards', and who use 'non-destructive entry' whenever possible, to gain access for those locked-out, and our ideal, is to continually gain more knowledge of all lock related aspects.
Earlier in the month, Neighbourhood Locks attended the 'ICL Convention' in Nottingham. It made for a very interesting day, and had a very good turn out from Trade Suppliers, demonstrating the lastest in security products. Yale were as usual doing great business, promoting the security benefits of their British Standard Yale Nightlatch, which features 'automatic deadlocking' and is Insurance and Police Approved. Most of the 'big' names in Locks were represented, along with products from Union, Chubb, Sterling etc. The new locks, make those of just a few years ago look quite primitive now, offering comparatively limited security against the latest 'threats'.

Some of the latest replacement cylinders for UPVc-type doors, feature 'pin in pin' and magnetic pins, making them significantly more secure against the threat of 'Lock Bumping'. You definitely get what you pay for with locks, and it never ceases to amaze us here at Neighbourhood Locks in Ipswich, how people will skimp on their home's security, until after the 'horse has bolted'. Some of the locks we see, offer virtually no protection at all, with the potential for 10-second openings without any sign of forced entry, which of course makes it hard to prove to your Insurers that there actually was a break-in.

The same is true to a certain degree of Mortice Locks. We see several every week on front doors, that are NOT designed for external use, and are suitable only for applications such as bedroom doors. The most worrying aspect of all, is that most do not realise that in the event of a burglary, their Insurers would be unlikely to pay-out. Check and see if your lock is a 'British Standard 5-Lever Mortice'. If it isn't, you are unlikely to be covered.

While at the ICL Convention, Neighbourhood Locks attended a very interesting 'Workshop' on 'Key Impressioning', which is taking a blank key, putting it in a lock and moving it in order for the pins in the lock to leave 'impressions' on the key, then carefully filing those marks and repeating the process until a working key is made. This is a dying skill within the Profession, and something that can be most useful. It is skills such as these, that keep us at the top of the Profession.

If you have any security concerns at all, please give us a call here at Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks, on 01473 622461.

Stay safe!
Simon

January / February 2010 @ Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks

The beginning of 2010 has provided a great variation of the type of call-outs we are getting here at Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks. Everything from a Commercial assignment that required a 32mm hole to be drilled through a stainless steel fire door in order to upgrade locking hardware, through to completely rebuilding, repinning and hand filing an initial new key for a lock, for a Post Office. On more than one occcassion, we were pleased to be told that we were the only ones that were agreeable to carrying out the work, because it was considered 'too specialised'. All this has made for a very interesting and busy few months.

We received a call recently to rebuild an ageing Church lock, which had become progressively harder to operate. This proved to be very interesting, with some fabrication needed in order to make the lock function again correctly. These old locks are truly remarkable to work on, even though the time taken to return them to their former glory can be considerable. It really is a labour of love.

Along with the more usual Mortice Lock fitting, and replacing after break-in/lost key scenarios, we have also seen an increase in being called to gain entry to vehicles for owners who have inadvertently locked their car keys inside. One Client we visited, had the misfortune to have done this twice in one day, but we were happy to gain access, causing no damage at all to the vehicle.

Neighbourhood Locks also received a call to gain entry to a property, after a lost key scenario, where a well-meaning neighbour had attempted to get the Owner of the property back inside, by hammering on the Yale-type cylinder with (judging by the amount of damage!) a lump hammer! When we arrived on-site, the front of the cylinder had pieces missing from it, as had the door and door frame. The latch bolt had been deformed so badly, that there was no hope to gain entry using the conventional 'non-destructive entry' methods which we use at Neighbourhood Locks Ipswich Locksmith whenever possible. We managed to get the Client safely inside, but what would normally have been a job of a few minutes, with no new lock parts needed, ended up taking somewhat longer, and the Client needing to pay for a new lock. In a situation like this, it is much more cost-effective to give us a call right away.

We have adjusted a lot more 'Rack bolts' recently too. These are the little bolts that are fitted into the edge of the door, and drawn across using a 'Star Key', until the bolt fits into a hole in the door frame. With all this damp weather, wooden doors can have a tendency to warp, and the bolt then does not line up correctly with the hole in the door frame. Sometimes the Client will then attempt to force the rack bolt across, and shear the teeth from the internal mechanism, making the situation worse, as these teeth are not particularly strong. If the bolt is working as it should do, then only a light amount of pressure on the 'key' is needed. Anything more, is a sign that all is not well, and should be corrected before something fails.

Tomorrow we have an early booking to replace a failed UPVc Window handle, and then on to remove a broken key from a lock!

If you have any lock, door, or security-related concerns, please give us a call on 01473 622461
Stay safe!
Simon - Ipswich Locksmiths Neighbourhood Locks