Garage and storeroom opening

The storeroom is one of those places you open twice a year. When you finally go down for the parasol or the boxes from the move, the key is nowhere to be found, or it turns up and will not turn because the lock has spent months untouched in a damp basement. Garages are much the same: the pedestrian door of the communal garage, the manual lock on a villa’s up and over door, the padlock on an enclosed parking space.

That is what we are there for. We open it and leave the lock in good order.

What we open

• Storeroom doors in residential communities, with a rim lock, a mortice lock in a metal door or a padlock.
• Pedestrian garage doors, the ones that give access on foot to the community’s basement.
• Locks on up and over garage doors, in detached houses, bungalows and townhouses.
• Padlocks on enclosed parking spaces, storeroom cages or back patio doors leading to the garage.
• Doors to communal rooms in the community, such as the bike room or the meter room, when the request comes from someone who is authorised.

What we do not do

It is worth making this clear from the start. We do not install or repair garage doors, whether up and over, sectional or roller doors, nor their motors. If the problem is that the motor does not respond, that the spring on the up and over door has broken or that the door has come off its runners, that needs a garage door technician.

Our job is the lock: opening when the key is missing, freeing a seized lock and changing the cylinder or the lock when needed.

Why they seize up so often

Damp basements

In Torrevieja and along the coast many garages and storerooms are below ground level. The air is damp and, close to the sea, it carries salt. Locks that go months without moving corrode inside, the cylinder pins stick and the key stops turning.

Basic locks

Storeroom locks are usually basic models, fitted in bulk when the building went up. They are not designed to last decades in a damp environment, much less if someone has tried to open them with another key.

Keys lost between moves

This is very common in homes that have changed owner or tenant several times. The storeroom key ends up in a drawer nobody remembers. If you have just moved in, have a look at moving into or buying a home as well.

Before opening, we check it is yours

In a corridor of storerooms all the doors look the same. That is why, before opening, we check that the person calling us is entitled to enter that storeroom or that garage. We explain how to prove it when you get in touch. It is your protection: nobody can ask us to open your storeroom if it is not theirs.

How we open it

It depends on the lock. A cylinder lock can often be opened without damage by working on the cylinder itself. If it is badly corroded or the model does not allow it, the cylinder is sacrificed and replaced. A padlock normally has to be cut, in which case we leave you a new one. On an up and over door lock, the method depends on the model.

If it is an emergency, for example because you have gone down to the garage and cannot get the car out or cannot get out to the street through the pedestrian door, you have the first steps in garage or storeroom without a key.

After opening

If the lock was fine and only the key was missing, the sensible thing is to change the cylinder, because the lost key could be in anyone’s hands. We explain it in lock cylinder replacement. If the lock was corroded, we clean and lubricate it or replace it, whichever suits you.

One more thing: if the storeroom has a padlock, choose one with a protected shackle and a solid body, and make sure the hasp it hangs from is just as strong. A good padlock on a loose staple protects nothing. And if you keep valuable things there, think about replacing the padlock with a rim lock with a security cylinder, which copes better with damp and with attempts to force it.

For doors leading to communal areas, such as the pedestrian garage door, any change has to be agreed with the community. If you are the president or the administrator, you will find useful information under residents’ communities.

Ask on WhatsApp

Take a photo of the lock and another of the door and send them on WhatsApp, in your own language if you prefer. We give you a fixed quote before we start and, if the job changes once we are there, we let you know before carrying on. We work 24 hours in Torrevieja and the Vega Baja and accept card, Bizum or cash.