Broken Key Extraction in Sacramento, CA

Where keys break in Sacramento buildings

A key rarely snaps from one bad turn. It usually gives out after a long run of stress: a blade bent by using it as a lever, a duplicate cut from a worn key, a worn cylinder that needs force, or a door out of alignment that makes every turn a struggle.

Multi-unit buildings concentrate that stress on shared locks. About 24 percent of California homes are in buildings with five or more units, and shared doors there, such as the street entry, mailboxes, a laundry room or a parking gate, are used by many people every day. A key that breaks in a shared lock affects every resident, so the manager or HOA should hear about it first. For a mailbox, ask who is responsible for its lock before arranging work.

Older buildings have their own weak points. On the June 2011 map, Alkali Flat is listed as four adopted districts (Central, North, South and West), and a lock that has turned in an older door for decades can have a worn cylinder. A lock that is seldom used grows stiff, and a stiff lock is where a key is most likely to be forced.

What not to do

• don't use glue, a magnet or a small screwdriver on the piece; glue can seal the cylinder, and pushing the piece deeper makes removal harder
• don't keep twisting the half still in your hand
• don't try the lock with another key until the piece is out
• if the door is unlocked, leave it that way and keep it closed; if it is locked, say so

What to send

• which lock: unit door, building entry, mailbox, gate or garage
• a close photo of the keyway with the piece inside, and of the half you have
• whether you have a spare key
• for a shared lock, whether the manager or HOA has approved the work
• the building's address, plus the cross streets nearest the entrance

More on the service is at broken key extraction. If the cylinder was already worn, lock repair is related, and the Sacramento page covers the rest of the city.