Broken Key Extraction in Louisville, KY

Where keys get stressed in Louisville

A key usually breaks when something resists it: a swollen door, a worn cylinder, a hand turning too hard. Kentucky's warm to hot, humid summers can swell a wood door until the bolt binds, and forcing the key against it can snap it. Age adds to the risk, since 36.5 percent of Louisville homes were built before 1960 and a cylinder that has turned for decades can be worn.

Shared doors are turned by more people. One Louisville home in ten is in a building of two to four units, where an entry door may serve several households, and Old Louisville has converted boarding houses and several buildings of 15 to 20 stories. A lock on a door like that can wear out sooner than one on a single-family front door.

What not to do

Do not push the broken piece deeper, glue the halves together, or pry at the lock with pliers or other tools. Any of these can jam the pins or spoil the piece that a locksmith would otherwise grip. Keep both halves, because the broken half shows the key's cuts.

Shotgun houses and shared buildings

Germantown, developed heavily in the 1890s, has the city's largest collection of shotgun houses. If a key snaps in one with front and rear doors, say which door, since the two locks may not match. In a shared entry, the building manager may need to approve the work, so say who that is.

What to send

For a broken key extraction request, send a photo of both key halves and of the lock, and say whether the broken piece is flush with the face or sticking out. Add whether it was your only key, the neighborhood, and the nearest cross streets. A worn cylinder may point to lock repair or lock replacement afterward. The Louisville page describes Old Louisville and Germantown in more detail.