Broken Key Extraction in Ogden, UT

Where keys snap in Ogden

A key usually breaks in a lock that has been fighting it for a while. Three settings in Ogden's housing put keys under extra strain.

Shared doors. East Central has two kinds of multi-unit building: older houses split into units after World War II, and apartment buildings put up in the 1960s through the 1980s. A building entry opened by every tenant, many times a day, wears out sooner than a single-family front door, and keys copied from copies fit it loosely.

Old cylinders. East Central's more than 800 bungalows from the 1920s and West Ogden's small 1930s and 1940s houses can still carry cylinders that have turned for decades. Worn pins grip unevenly, and a key that needs jiggling is a key under strain.

Ice. NOAA notes that cold air crossing the Great Salt Lake occasionally drops heavy snow bands east and south of the lake. Meltwater that turns back to ice in a keyway can stop a key from turning, and forcing it is one way to snap it. Use lock de-icer, not hot water.

What not to do

• do not keep turning or pulling at a stub that sticks out; it can snap again below the face
• do not put glue on the stub or the broken half
• do not spray oil or pour hot water into the keyway
• do not push a spare key in on top of the fragment
• keep the broken half; it helps with cutting a replacement

In a shared building

If the key broke in a building entry, tell the owner or building manager first. That lock is theirs, and they may prefer to service or rekey it for every tenant rather than clear it for one.

What to send

• a close photo of the keyway with the fragment, and of the broken half
• which lock: building entry, unit door, garage or car
• whether the door is now locked, which makes it a house lockout too
• whether you need a new key cut afterwards

A cylinder worn enough to break keys may also need lock repair. The broken key extraction page covers the service.