Broken Key Extraction · Birmingham
Broken key extraction in Birmingham
Part of the key is still in the cylinder. Leave it. Pliers, glue and “one more turn” are how a cheap extraction becomes a full lock change. Cornel extracts snapped keys on uPVC, composite and wooden doors across Birmingham, often without replacing the lock.
No call-out fee · Price agreed before work starts · 1-year guarantee on any parts fitted
What to do right now
- Stop turning the key. If a stub is still proud of the face, leave it. Forcing it drives the broken piece deeper into the cam.
- Do not spray oil “to loosen it”. Lubricant makes extraction messier and can swell cheap wafers.
- Do not glue the two halves back together and try again. That is a reliable way to destroy the cylinder.
- If the door is still unlocked from inside, keep it that way until Cornel arrives — a snapped key often means the door will not lock.
Extraction first, replacement only if needed
Most snapped keys come out. The cylinder can then be used as it was, with a new key cut, or you can choose a lock change if the keys were already suspect or you have just moved in.
Replacement is the right call when the key has sheared because the cylinder itself has failed, or when the broken piece has wrecked the cam. Cornel tells you which it is before he starts drilling anything.
Common Birmingham cases
uPVC euro cylinder
The usual one — key snaps flush in a tired cylinder on a uPVC front door. uPVC locksmith →
Nightlatch / Yale
Older wooden doors. The key snaps in the rim cylinder. Often extractable; sometimes the nightlatch is due a change anyway.
Key snapped and you are locked out
Two jobs in one visit: get you in, then extract or replace. Emergency locksmith →
Locksmith cover across Birmingham
Typical arrival from the Yardley Road base:
Key snapped in the lock?
Call before you force it. A photo of the face of the lock is enough to start.