Broken Key Extraction in Miami, FL

Where keys get stressed in Miami

Keys break when a worn key meets a cylinder that resists it, and Miami supplies both. Brickell, Miami's densest neighborhood, has high-rise residential towers south of SE 15th Road, and a resident of a building like that may carry keys for a unit door, a shared gate and a mailbox. Every turn adds wear.

Older houses may carry older cylinders. Buena Vista's Mission and Craftsman residences date from the 1920s, so if you live in a house like that, say whether the lock is original.

A key that has been stiff for weeks is a warning. NOAA calls Florida the most humid state in the nation, and coastal salt spray can corrode a cylinder until the key binds. Forcing a key against that resistance is how keys snap.

What not to do

• Do not keep turning or wiggling the key. Extra force can push the piece deeper.
• Do not spray household oil into the keyhole. Oil collects grit and can make the cylinder worse.
• Do not glue or tape the halves of the key together and try the lock again. Glue can seal the keyway.
• Keep both pieces of the key. They can help when a replacement is cut.

What to send

Photos of the keyhole and of the broken key are useful, along with a note on whether the piece sits flush, sticks out or is deep inside. Say which lock it is: a unit door, a shared gate, a lobby door, a mailbox or a car. A shared lock belongs to the building, so ask the association or landlord before work starts. Add the building name and the nearest cross streets, and say whether the key was already hard to turn before it broke.

If the cylinder was already stiff, it may need lock repair afterward. Details on the service are under broken key extraction.