Broken Key Extraction in Reno, NV

Where keys get stressed in Reno

A key tends to snap where it is worn or bent, and where it is turned hard. Multi-unit housing keeps keys under steady use. At multi-family homes such as those in Damonte Ranch, one key may open a unit door, a building entry, a gate and a mailbox, and each is another chance for a weak key to give way.

Older cylinders add stiffness. Washoe County's housing is aging, with about 35 percent of homes built before 1980, and a lock turned for decades can grow stiff or catch. Cold adds more. In northern Nevada the freeze season starts in early autumn and lasts into late spring, and forcing a key into a lock that has frozen moisture inside is one way a key breaks.

What not to do

• Do not push the broken piece deeper or pull at it with pliers, tweezers or a second key. That can jam or scar the cylinder.
• Do not glue the pieces together or put glue near the keyway.
• Do not force a key into a lock that may have frozen. Forcing is how a key breaks in the first place.
• Do not keep turning to see whether it gives.

What to send

• A close photo of the keyway showing whether any piece sticks out
• Which lock it is: unit door, building entry, gate, mailbox or padlock
• Whether it broke in the cold, or in a lock that was already stiff
• The broken pieces, kept in a bag, and any spare key, so a matching key can be cut
• Whether the lock is yours or the property's, since a shared entry or mailbox lock may need the manager's approval

Details of the service are on the broken key extraction page. A lock that keeps binding after the key is out is a lock repair matter, and Reno's housing types are covered on the Reno page.