Broken Key Extraction in Greensboro, NC

Where keys snap in Greensboro

A key usually breaks because it was forced, and a few Greensboro settings invite forcing.

• Apartment entrances in College Hill. The district's 1993 nomination notes new apartment buildings on Spring Garden and South Mendenhall streets. A building entrance is used by every resident and is normally the owner's or manager's lock, so tell them before anyone works on it.
• Upper-floor doors on Elm Street. The oldest commercial buildings in the Downtown Greensboro Historic District are 1880s brick, usually three stories. A street door or back stair to an upper floor may go unused for long stretches, and a stiff, neglected lock is where a key gets turned too hard.
• Ice. NOAA describes North Carolina winters as moderately cold, and ice can glaze a keyway. Twisting a key against ice inside the cylinder is an easy way to snap it, so let the ice clear first.

What not to do

1. Do not keep turning a stub, or pry at a piece that sits flush with the face of the lock; it can wedge deeper.
2. Do not put superglue on the broken end. Glue that reaches the pins can ruin the cylinder.
3. Do not push the other half, or a spare key, into the keyway.

If the door is locked and the key broke in it, you are also locked out, so say that first. If the door is open, leave it unlatched rather than letting it close on the damaged lock.

What to send

• a photo of the keyway and one of the broken half of the key
• whether any part of the key sticks out of the lock
• which lock it is: house door, building entry, mailbox, storefront or car
• whether the door is locked shut or standing open
• for a shared entry, the name of the owner or manager

Once the piece is out, a cylinder that was forced may need lock repair. Removal work is described on the broken key extraction page, and the Greensboro page has the district background.