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SJH Locksmith & SecuritySheffield · Stuart Haywood

Emergency call-out · Sheffield and surrounding towns

Door and window realignment

No call-out fee · Non-destructive entry where possible · Price agreed before I start

You will speak to Stuart Haywood, who will be the person who turns up.

Doors move. The building settles, the weather swells and shrinks the frame, hinges wear, and a door that closed perfectly five years ago starts catching on the frame or needing a shoulder to lock.

That is not a broken lock, and replacing the lock will not fix it. The lock is being asked to engage with a keep that is no longer where it used to be, and the mechanism takes the strain every single time you use the door. Which is why alignment problems turn into mechanism failures if you leave them.

Realignment is adjusting hinges, keeps and packing so the door sits where it should. It is quick, it is cheap compared with a new mechanism, and it usually solves the thing you thought was a lock fault.

You probably need this if

  • The door catches on the frame as it closes
  • You have to lift or pull the door to get the key to turn
  • There is a visible gap at the top or bottom that was not there before
  • A window will not lock without being pushed
  • The door has started letting a draught through one corner

What happens

  1. I check where the door actually sits against the frame
  2. I adjust the hinges, and the keeps on the frame where needed
  3. I check the mechanism has not already been damaged by the strain
  4. I test it repeatedly, from both sides, before I leave

Common questions

Is this not just a lock problem?
It is very often mistaken for one. If your key will only turn when you lift the handle hard, the usual cause is alignment rather than the lock itself. Replacing a working lock will not fix a door that has dropped.
Will it stay fixed?
For a long time, usually. Buildings keep moving slowly, so a door may need adjusting again after some years. That is normal and it is a far smaller job than a replacement.

Where I cover

I am based in Sheffield and cover the towns around it.

Tell me what has happened

I will tell you what it will cost before I set off. My prices are published here.