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The lock cylinder, also known as a barrel, is the part of the lock that the key goes into. When you turn the key, the cylinder moves the mechanism that throws or draws back the bolts. It is small, it can be changed without touching the lock and yet it is where almost every attempted break-in on a front door begins.
When it is time to change it
There are moments when it is worth changing the cylinder without thinking twice: when you buy a home, when you move into a rented property, when you lose your keys or they are stolen, or when the key starts to be stiff to turn. On the coast there is another reason: salty sea air. In homes near the sea, cylinders rust inside, the key goes in stiffly and one day it stops turning. If that happens to you, do not force it.
Everything worth knowing is in lock cylinder replacement.
Security cylinders
A basic cylinder can be opened or broken with well-known techniques, such as bumping, picking, drilling or snapping the cylinder at the part that sticks out of the door. Security cylinders are designed to resist those techniques and usually come with an ownership card for ordering copies of the key. We explain what each one protects against and help you choose for your door, without selling you more than you need.
One key for several doors
If you have several doors and carry a bunch of keys around, the cylinders can be keyed alike so that they all open with the same key. In communities of owners, businesses and holiday lets, a master key system is used: everyone opens their own doors and a master key opens them all. It is all in master key systems.
Old lever locks
Many doors in older homes still have a lever lock, the kind with the big key and flat bit. They offer little security. In many cases they can be converted to a euro cylinder without changing the door.
How to ask for it
Send us on WhatsApp a photo of the cylinder from outside and another of the edge of the door with the lock. With that we can see the type and the approximate size, and we give you a fixed quote before we come. If you want to measure it yourself, there is the cylinder size calculator.