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My neighbours across the road have had the lock on their upvc front door replaced as the gearbox failed. A locksmith did it for them. The new door locks on the Yale style door latch all the time and needs a key to open it either from the inside or outside. They keep accidentally locking themselves out. I am very competent at DIY but have never owned a upvc door so have no experience. The locksmith refuses to admit that the new lock operates in a different way to the one he replaced.
From a very quick look I can see that a full lock set is between £60 & 75.
Did they have the handle/mechanism replaced as well? Normally, the locking action is carried out by the door lever and the euro cylinder lock just locks the secured door or performs the final open.
I replaced all the upvc door lock cylinder barrels in my house with the sort that have a thumblock on the inside and all operate off the same key.
Individually they're cheap and easy to fit yourself. Measuring and speccing the correct length is the only hard bit.
If the door locks on its own when it closes they need to learn not to let it happen or get a keysafe fixed to the wall outside.
If the door wont open from the outside without a key they need to change the offset door handle spindle set up to a straight through version. Never heard of needing a key to open the door from the inside though.
They are both in their 80s so mistakes will happen. Key safe wouldn't have worked for the last incident as a key was in the inside lock so no key could be put in the outside lock to get back in.
[quote=lambchop said]If the door wont open from the outside without a key they need to change the offset door handle spindle set up to a straight through version. Never heard of needing a key to open the door from the inside though.
This, the locksmith has probably fitted a split spindle which means that from the outside the lever won't operate the unlocking mechanism. A straight through spindle will.
I'd put it to the locksmith that before his job, the door could be opened from the outside and now it can't.
(I actually prefer the mechanism as they have it now so the default position it that the door can't be opened from the outside when shut. But for an elderly couple used to the alternative operation then that's no good)
The locksmith sounds like a shark and my neighbours want nothing todo with him again. I will go and check if the door handles are offset.
[quote=bigsurfer said]The locksmith sounds like a shark and my neighbours want nothing todo with him again. I will go and check if the door handles are offset.
Even if they're not, check the spindle connecting the levers to see if it's a solid rod (missus) or split in two with a link (so each end can turn independently)
Oh, and if the lock cylinder is a cheapo Eurocyclinder lock then consider binning it and putting a secure lock in place. Basic eurocylinders are so easy to defeat (my house burglary earlier this year showed me this).
http://www.abs-secure.co.uk/ are good, this is what I have in all my doors now. A straight, easy replacement for the noddy lock cyclinder.