Broken Key Extraction in Myrtle Beach, SC

Where keys get stressed here

Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates put about 21 percent of Myrtle Beach homes in buildings of 20 or more units. Residents of such buildings may turn a key in several places each day: the unit door, a lobby or garage entry, sometimes a storage room or gate. A worn, bent or twice-copied key is more likely to snap, and so is a key that sat in a drawer since last season and then meets a lock stiff with sand.

What not to do

• Stop turning the moment a key resists. Extra force is what snaps it.
• Do not push the broken piece deeper, and do not dig for it with a pin, knife or tweezers; that can jam the pins or scar the keyway.
• Do not spray oil or add glue to the keyhole. Oily sprays can hold sand, and glue can fix the piece in place.
• Keep the piece that broke off and the half still in your hand. Both help identify the key.

Shared locks are not always yours

Lobby, garage and gate locks in a multi-unit building are often controlled by management or an owners' group, so tell whoever controls the lock before work begins. The door to your own unit is a different matter, though a landlord should hear about it first if you rent.

What to send about the key

• A photo of the keyhole with the stub showing, plus the broken piece if you have it
• Which lock: unit door, lobby, garage or gate
• The building name and unit number, or the nearest avenue number in Myrtle Beach
• Whether you have an intact spare key

For the job itself, see broken key extraction. If the cylinder was damaged, lock repair may follow. Requests from Myrtle Heights, Withers Swash and elsewhere in Myrtle Beach should name the exact door.