Opening
Door opening Mutxamel, starting with the latch and leaving the drill in the van
Most doors in Mutxamel can be opened without a mark on them, as long as the right method is tried first. The latch, then the cylinder, and only then the drill, with your say-so. Here is what that means for a flat, a townhouse in the old streets, a chalet and its gate.
Open 24 hours · 7 days
- Flats, townhouses, chalets, gates
- Drill only with your yes
- Price agreed before work starts
Door by door
How each kind of door in the municipality usually opens
| Door | Where you find it | Usual way in |
|---|---|---|
| Flat door, often armoured | Blocks in the town and apartments in the urbanizations | Latch if it was only pulled shut; otherwise the cylinder, worked or extracted. |
| Timber street door | Townhouses round the church and in El Ravalet, opening straight onto the pavement | Often a mortice lock: picked or worked through the keyhole, never forced at the frame. |
| Chalet front door | Bonalba, Cotoveta, Valle del Sol, Monnegre | Usually a multipoint lock behind a euro cylinder: the cylinder is the way in. |
| Street gate | In front of most houses in the urbanizations and the partidas | Surface or gate lock, opened first so there is access to the house. |
| Garage, storeroom, pool hut | Behind or beside the house | Smaller locks, generally opened without any damage at all. |
The order
Latch, cylinder, drill: tried in that order
-
The latch
If the key was not turned, the latch can usually be slipped through the gap. No mark, and the lock works exactly as before.
-
The cylinder
If the bolts are out, the cylinder is manipulated, or extracted on its own. The door and frame are left alone.
-
The drill
Only if both fail, and only once you have said yes. The cylinder is replaced on the spot.
If the key turns and the door still will not open, the problem is often the lock rather than the door: this guide goes through the usual causes.
Getting there
Old streets, gates and partidas
In El Ravalet the streets keep their Moorish layout and are too tight for a van, so the tools are carried the last part of the way. In the Plaça Nova and round the church the houses sit wall to wall with their doors on the pavement: there is no garden to work from, and the job is done on the doorstep.
Out in the urbanizations, nearly every house has a gate before the front door. And in the partidas, where Mutxamel spreads its 28 population nuclei over 47.7 km², a house is better described by its partida and camino than by a number: how to give an address out there. Every place covered is on the areas page.
Before and after
Proof, price and what is left behind
- Before anything is opened: proof that you live there or have the owner’s permission.
- Once the door has been seen: the price, agreed with you before work starts.
- After: a door that locks. If a cylinder had to go, its replacement is already in.
If the lock was worn out anyway, or keys have gone missing, a planned lock change is the next step. If it is the middle of the night and you are outside, go straight to the any-hour page. Locked safes are a separate job: safes have their own page. For email and the other ways to reach us, see contact.
Questions
Questions about opening a door
The door was only pulled to, not locked with the key. Is that easier?
Much easier. A door held by the latch alone can usually be opened through the gap with thin tools, leaving no mark. Once the key has been turned and the bolts are out, the cylinder has to be worked instead.
Can an armoured flat door be opened without wrecking it?
In most cases, yes. Armoured doors are heavy, but they still lock through a cylinder, and a cylinder can be manipulated or extracted without touching the leaf, the frame or the hinges.
What happens if the cylinder has to be drilled?
It is only done with your agreement, after the other methods have failed. The old cylinder is destroyed in the process, so a new one is fitted straight away and you are handed its keys.
Our street gate and our front door are both locked. Which is opened first?
The gate, so there is a way in and out while the front door is worked on. They are priced together on the spot before anything is touched.
Next
What people look at next
From the guides
Not sure which door you have?
Send a photo of the lock on WhatsApp and you will be told how it is likely to open.
Open 24 hours · 7 days