Armoured door opening

Many people call any security door armoured, but they are not the same thing. Knowing what door you have helps us prepare the opening and helps you understand why this job is different from an ordinary door.

Armoured or security door: the difference

A security door is, in essence, a timber door with one or more steel sheets inside it and a security lock. It is the most common type in flats in Torrevieja.

An armoured door has a full steel structure: the leaf is a metal frame, the door frame is also steel and is anchored into the wall, and the locking is made up of several bolts that go into the frame on more than one side. Many also have protection on the hinge side. On the outside they may be clad in timber and look like an ordinary door, but they weigh much more and you notice it when you push them.

If your door is a security door, you have the specific information in security door opening.

Why it is harder to open

With an armoured door there are no shortcuts. There is no gap between the leaf and the frame to work through, the bolts cannot be pushed back and the cylinder is usually high security, with protection against manipulation and against drilling.

That means the opening depends almost entirely on the cylinder and the lock. We have to identify exactly what mechanism it is and choose the right technique for that model. That is why we ask you for photos before we go: we turn up with the tools your door needs, not the usual ones.

How we approach the opening

First, the approach that does no damage

We always try first to open by working on the cylinder without breaking anything. In many cases it works. When the door is only shut on the latch or locked with one turn, there are more options.

If the cylinder will not give

Some high security cylinders are designed precisely so that they cannot be opened without their key. If that is the case, the opening involves working on the cylinder in a controlled way to free the cam. The cylinder is left unusable, but the door and the lock are saved and only a new cylinder needs fitting.

We explain it before we start and you decide with the fixed quote in front of you, including the replacement cylinder if it turns out to be needed.

When the problem is mechanical

Sometimes you have the key and the door will not open. A stuck bolt, a lock with a part broken inside, a cylinder that spins freely. Here the opening consists of finding what has failed and reaching it with as little damage as possible. Once it is open, the part is repaired or replaced. If it happens to you with a security door, have a look at security door that will not open.

Before opening, the check

We only open a door when we have checked that the person asking is entitled to enter. With an armoured door, which is fitted precisely to protect what is inside, this step matters even more. We tell you how to prove it when you get in touch with us. It is your peace of mind: nobody else can ask us to open your door.

After opening

If the opening required sacrificing the cylinder, we fit a new one there and then so the door locks again with the same security. If the cause was a fault, we explain what happened and what is needed so it does not happen again.

It is also a good time to check the general condition. Armoured doors last many years, but their locks suffer if the leaf has dropped under its own weight or if the frame has given. On the coast, as well, the bolts and the strike plate suffer from the salty damp if they are not worked often.

If you have lost the keys, or you do not know who else has them, the sensible thing is a lock cylinder replacement even if the opening did not require one.

What we do not do

We do not sell or install armoured doors. We work on the ones you already have: opening, cylinder replacement, lock repair and adjustments. If the lock needs a repair beyond the opening, you have the information in lock repair.

How to ask for the opening

Send us a WhatsApp with a photo of the outside of the door and a close-up of the cylinder. If you do not speak Spanish, write to us in your own language. We work 24 hours a day, every day, in Torrevieja and the Vega Baja. We give you a fixed quote before we start and, if the job changes on site, we tell you before carrying on. You can pay by card, Bizum or cash.