Broken Key Extraction in Durham, NC

Where keys come under strain in Durham

A key breaks when it is turned against resistance, and Durham's housing supplies several sources of it.

• Shared loft entries. In converted tobacco buildings, every resident uses the street entry and corridor doors, and someone other than you may control them. A cylinder turned that often can wear until keys bind. If a key breaks in a shared door, tell building management first, since the cylinder may be theirs.
• Mailbox, gate and pool locks. In a townhome community, an association may control these small keys, which bend and crack more easily than a house key, and it may decide who services the lock.
• Older cylinders. Homes built before 1960 are 14.2 percent of Durham's housing. A cylinder that has turned for decades wears, and a key that drags is a key that may eventually break.
• Iced keyways. NOAA notes that cold-air damming brought up to half an inch of freezing rain to some areas of the state in February 2014. Ice in a keyway is not a reason to force a key.

Before anyone touches the lock

• Do not push the other half, or a second key, into the lock. It drives the piece deeper.
• Do not put glue on the stub or the break.
• Do not keep turning the lock or rocking the door.
• Keep the broken half. It shows the cuts and can help when a new key is made.
• In a loft or townhome community, ask management before anyone else works on a shared lock.

What to send

1. A clear photo of the keyhole showing the stub, and one of the broken-off half.
2. Which lock it is: house door, unit door, street entry, gate, mailbox or car.
3. Whether the lock is in the locked or unlocked position.
4. Your neighborhood, plus the building name if the lock is in a loft.

If the cylinder was damaged, lock repair may follow, and a snapped car key is a car key replacement matter. Broken key extraction describes the service, and Durham gives the city context.