Broken Key Extraction in Athens, GA

Why keys snap in Athens

Keys usually break when they are forced: turned against a binding bolt, pushed into a worn cylinder, or bent under a heavy ring. NOAA describes Georgia's summers as long, hot and humid and its winters as short and usually mild, so heat and humidity matter more for most Georgia locks than ice does. In a humid summer a wooden door can swell against its bolt, and the extra twist needed to throw it can snap the blade. The county describes the surviving original doors on Milledge Avenue as mostly wood, the kind of door that can bind that way.

Shared doors and other locks

Milledge Avenue's buildings include offices, apartments and Greek houses. A key that snaps in a shared front door affects everyone who uses that entrance, so ask the owner or manager before authorizing work on anything that is not your own unit door. The same goes for a mailbox lock or padlock that belongs to a building rather than to you.

What not to do

Stop turning the key. Do not push the stub deeper, glue it, or pry at it with a knife or pliers; each can wedge the piece or damage the pins. Keep the broken half, because it identifies the key. In a rental, tell the landlord in writing what broke and where.

What to send

• A close photo of the keyway showing the stub, plus the broken half if you have it.
• Which lock it is: your unit door, a shared entry, a mailbox, a padlock or a car.
• The street and nearest cross street, or the historic district, and whether the door is original wood.
• Whether a spare key exists, since a spare helps when the lock needs a new key.

A worn cylinder may call for lock repair. The broken key extraction page covers the service, and the Athens page has the local notes.