Broken Key Extraction in Salt Lake City, UT

Where keys snap in Salt Lake City

A key rarely breaks on its first hard turn. It bends a little with each use, then gives way on an ordinary one. A few places in the city put more of that strain on keys than others.

• Shared entry and mailbox locks. In apartment and condo buildings, the street door and a bank of mailbox locks take keys from every resident, many times a day. A worn lobby cylinder makes each key twist slightly as it turns. Building management or the owner usually controls these locks, so let them know before any work starts on one.
• Older cylinders. Salt Lake City has nine local historic districts, among them Capitol Hill, Central City and City Creek/Memory Grove. A lock on a historic house can carry decades of wear, and a key cut from a copy of a copy may fit loosely enough to twist and crack.
• Iced keyways. In winter, water that gets into a keyway and turns to ice can seize the key in the lock. Forcing it, or using the key as a handle on a door stuck in ice, is a common way to snap one.

What not to do

• Don't push the other half or a spare key in after it; that drives the broken piece deeper.
• Don't put glue on the stub to pull it out. Glue that runs into the cylinder can ruin it.
• Don't keep turning what is left with pliers.
• Keep the broken half. It shows the cuts and helps when a new key is made.

If the piece broke off with the door locked, you may also be locked out; see house lockout.

What to describe

Say which lock it is (unit door, lobby door, mailbox, deadbolt, padlock or car), whether the door is locked, and whether any of the blade shows at the face of the cylinder. A close photo of the keyway and one of the broken half help. For a building entry or mailbox lock, include the building name and who manages it. A snapped key is the case broken key extraction covers, and the city's older districts are described on the Salt Lake City page.