Sound familiar?Applewood Heights
- The call
- You are inside, the deadbolt is thrown, and the thumb-turn will not budge. It moved a little last week with some effort. Now the door you walk through every day is a wall, and you need it open.
The old mortise lock on the front door of the house turns the key halfway and stops with a dull clunk. It has been getting harder for months, and the brass key is starting to show a bend.
In plain words
The visit runs in a set order. On the phone you describe what the key does: refuses to turn, spins freely, or works only when the door is pushed. That description tells the locksmith what to bring. At the door, identification and your connection to the property are confirmed. The key, keyway, door fit and strike are examined before anything is forced. The opening uses the least disruptive method the condition allows. Then the failed part is serviced or replaced, the door is adjusted if it caused the jam, and the lock is tested open and closed with every key before the locksmith leaves.
Seized & Jammed Lock Opening · Applewood Heights
How the visit goes
Scene 1
Whose door, and which door
The first check is the person, not the lock. The locksmith confirms that whoever is asking for the opening is entitled to it, usually with photo identification that matches the address, or a lease, deed, property-management record or a manager who can vouch for you. For a business, a key holder or the person named on the lease is enough. If everything that proves it is behind the jammed door, the check is finished once you are inside and before the locksmith leaves. Then a short walk to the other entrances: a second door on the same key gives a comparison lock and sometimes a gentler way in.
Scene 2
Thawing ice and clearing salt
Ice is melted, never chipped. A lock de-icer or gentle warmth on the cylinder face turns the frozen meltwater back to liquid so it can drain, and the key is then worked until the plug turns. Boiling water is kept well away, because it refreezes inside and can crack cold brass. Salt crust is flushed out with contact cleaner and the plug is dried thoroughly before any lubricant goes in, since salt and moisture sealed under lubricant keep corroding. The cylinder is then dressed with the lubricant specified for that product, applied once everything is dry. If the weatherstrip has frozen to the door, that bond is released and the seal wiped.
Scene 3
Keeping the cylinder clean and dry
A serviced cylinder stays that way with very little effort. At the interval and with the product that cylinder's maker specifies, a short burst of lock lubricant into the keyway followed by a few turns of the key is enough; stay with that one product, since mixing lubricants makes a paste. Household oils, penetrating sprays and silicone meant for hinges belong nowhere near the pins, because they thicken and attract grit. Wipe the key before it goes in on a muddy or salty day. If the lock ever starts to drag, a puff of lubricant is the first response, and a call is the second.
In the van
- Penetrating lubricant
- Replacement cylinder
- Replacement tailpiece or cam
- Long hinge screws
- Dry PTFE or graphite lock lubricant
What shapes the quoteMarkland Woods Locksmith Co.
- Door and hinge adjustment
- When the door caused the jam, hinge screws, shims, a strike move or a deepened bolt pocket are quoted as their own line beside the opening.
- Matching finish and keyway
- A replacement that has to match an unusual finish or a restricted keyway takes a specific part rather than a stock one, and the quote reflects the part.
- Ice and salt on the day
- A cylinder frozen solid or crusted with salt needs thawing, flushing and drying before it can even be diagnosed, and a winter call is quoted with that time in mind.
FeesSame any hour
Frequently asked questions
The lever on our shop door goes down but the latch does not pull back. Is that a lock problem?
It usually points to the mortise case rather than the cylinder, and it is a common complaint on commercial doors. Inside the case a return spring, a worn hub, or another part of the latch's drive path can have failed, so the lever moves without driving the latch. The locksmith gets the door open, draws the case out of the door edge, replaces the worn part, cleans and greases the contact points and refits everything, then tests lever, key and thumb-turn together.
My keypad deadbolt is jammed and the motor just whirs. Is that the same service?
Yes, with one difference. On an electronic deadbolt the motor is trying to throw a bolt that is bound in the strike, and it strains or times out instead of driving it. Door alignment is a common cause, though batteries, corrosion, an overtightened mounting bolt, or a hardware fault can produce the same strain. The locksmith frees the bolt, adjusts the strike or hinges so it travels without resistance, checks the battery contacts, and confirms the auto-lock throws cleanly with the door closed.
Will I need a whole new lock?
Usually not. Most jammed locks are saved by cleaning the cylinder, fitting a small part such as a tailpiece or spring, or adjusting the door so the bolt has room. A new cylinder is fitted when the plug or shell is corroded through or twisted by forcing, matched to your finish and, where possible, pinned to your current key. A complete new lockset is usually a choice you make rather than a requirement, though some internal failures cannot be serviced in place and call for a full replacement.
Lockout Services
- Business Lockout ServiceThe heavy glass door has been scraping the threshold for weeks.
- Broken Key ExtractionThat key had been bending a little for years, and you kept straightening it.
- Break-In Damage Lock RepairYou came home to find the front door standing open.
- Lost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyThe renovation wrapped up in the spring.
Applewood Heightsinformation
PeelOntario
Seized & Jammed Lock Opening · Mississauga, Applewood Hills, Markland Woods, Orchard Heights
- Town
- Applewood Heights, Peel
- In business
- 26 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7
- Nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 805-2539
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
2021 census: what it means at the door
Every square is one home in a hundred.
- 38 in 100 homes · mixed ages
- 37 in 100 homes · mostly attached
- About 38% of homes in Mississauga were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.Where homes of different generations sit together, additions and renovations are common. A house may have an original front door and a much newer side entry, and bringing both onto the same key and the same standard is a regular job.
- Single-detached houses make up about 37% of homes in Mississauga (2021 Census).Townhouses share walls but usually have their own front door and often a back door or garage. Keying both alike, and checking the strike on the less-used door, is the everyday work in a neighbourhood of attached homes.
On-site assessment
Request a visit.
The old mortise lock on the front door of the house turns the key halfway and stops with a dull clunk.
(289) 805-2539, open 24/7.