Lock change Jávea, booked for a morning that suits you
A new cylinder on the front door after buying a house, after too many people have had keys, or because the old one sticks and grinds. Booked for a day and time you choose, and done in one visit.
Planned work, in normal hours. A lock that has just failed is an emergency call instead.
Lock change in Jávea: when it is worth doing
- You have bought a house. Builders, previous owners, cleaners, agents and neighbours may all still have a key. In Xàbia, where houses change hands between owners from many countries, nobody can tell you how many keys are out there.
- Somebody who held a key has gone. A key holder who has moved away, a tenant who left, a cleaner you no longer use. When the key holder moves back to the UK.
- The key sticks or turns twice. A worn cylinder fails at the worst moment: better replaced on a quiet morning than at midnight.
- The cylinder sticks out of the door. A cylinder that stands proud of the handle can be snapped. That is the moment for an anti-snap one.
Second homes
The 2021 census counted 14,997 homes in Xàbia that are nobody’s main residence, out of 26,817. If yours is one of them, the lock change can be arranged while you are away, with whoever holds your keys letting the locksmith in and receiving the new set.
Cylinders, anti-snap, anti-bump and multipoint
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Euro cylinders
The standard on most modern front doors in town and on the urbanisations. Replaced like for like, or with a better grade in the same size.
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Anti-snap
Designed to break at a sacrificial line and still lock if someone tries to snap it. Worth it on any door where the cylinder can be gripped from outside.
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Anti-bump and anti-pick
Pins built to resist the quiet methods that leave no mark. Often combined with anti-snap in one cylinder.
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Multipoint locks
Several bolts thrown by one key, on many villa doors. When the handle has to be lifted hard, the gearbox is worn; it is repaired or replaced.
One visit, booked ahead
Old town doors with mortice locks are handled the same way: repaired where the lock is sound, replaced where it is not. Port houses whose doors open straight onto the street are the ones where an anti-snap cylinder matters most: a ground-floor door in Duanes de la Mar.
Gates, sliders, shutters and the pool room are on the villa locksmith page. Owners of a let who change cylinders between seasons will find that on the holiday rental page.
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A photo on WhatsApp
The cylinder from outside and the edge of the open door, so the size and type are known.
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A price and a day
The price for the cylinder and the work, and a time that suits you.
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The change
The old cylinder out, the new one in, the door tested from both sides.
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New keys in your hand
The maker’s sealed set, counted in front of you.
When a new cylinder is not enough
If the reason for the change is a break-in, or a door that was slipped or forced, the first visit makes it lock and the second can strengthen it: a latch that cannot be slipped, a guard plate, a stronger cylinder. That is on the burglary repair page. And if the door is shut and the key is not working at all, the first job is getting the door open.
Cylinders and keys, answered
Is it the whole lock that needs changing, or only the cylinder?
Usually only the cylinder: the part the key goes into. It comes out with one screw on the edge of the door, and a new one goes in its place. The whole lock is replaced only when its mechanism is worn or broken.
How do I know which size of cylinder my door takes?
You do not need to. Send a photo of the cylinder from the outside and from the edge of the open door on WhatsApp, and the size is worked out from that, or measured at the door.
We have just bought the house. Do all the doors need new locks?
Every door that opens with a key the previous owners, their family, their cleaner or their agent may still hold. That usually means the front door and any side or garage door; the garden gate and the slider are covered on the villa page.
How many keys come with a new cylinder?
The keys the maker supplies with that cylinder, in their sealed pack; the number depends on the model and you are told it before you choose. No keys are cut here. You pay at the end, by cash, card or Bizum.
Often booked at the same time
Guides on this
Thinking of new locks for a house in Xàbia?
Send a photo of the cylinder on WhatsApp, or email the details if you want the quote in writing.