How to pick a built-in lock in your garage without damaging it

The situation when you have to break into or open the lock on a garage door is known firsthand to many garage owners. We are primarily talking about non-electric systems. There are no eternal mechanical locks in nature. As dust accumulates, lubricant polymerizes, and rubbing surfaces wear out, the drive mechanism of the locking device may jam in the closed position, and then you have to solve a difficult problem - how to open a garage lock.

Cost of garage opening services

The inability to get into the garage when it is urgently needed leads to frustration, we begin to get angry and nervous.

However, don’t worry, you can call our company at any time, and an experienced specialist will help you quickly open the garage, because he always has the necessary tools with him to open locks of any configuration!

If the garage door won't open, the car owner should not panic or let out his anger. Checking, testing and contacting a specialist are so-called first aid measures. Forcibly, a door with a broken garage can be opened by force, but there is no gain here. Garage door maintenance work is important and necessary, but it may happen that a garage owner is rooted to the ground early in the morning in front of a locked garage door. However, experts are usually able to quickly detect damage and fix the problem immediately.

Cost, the price for opening a garage or shell is 2000 - 2500 rubles
The cost of opening a garage door includes a technician visiting the work site.
The cost of work at temperatures from 0 to -20 degrees (outdoors) plus 500 rubles to the base price

Opening an electromagnetic lock

To open an electromagnetic lock, you need to have a special magnetic master key. This is an ordinary coil on which copper wire is wound. Using a core, it must be connected to electricity. To protect yourself from electric shock, we insulate the core using ordinary electrical tape.

Using a master key.

1. Connect the coil to the network. 2. We bring it to the lock that needs to be opened. 3. We determine the positive and negative poles, after which we begin to move them in turn around the place where the key is applied. 4. When a characteristic click appears, quickly open the door.

Selecting the right tool

To open a garage lock, you need special tools that need to be used for any type of internal structure. You can hack using the following tools:

A versatile master key equipped with a retractable hook. From the outside, the instrument resembles a key with an oblong shaft and a complex bit on which is attached a hook for prying off the internal plates.
Pick with rounded tension. The device is suitable for breaking locks of the 2nd and 3rd degree of protection. If you need to open a mechanism with the most complex device, this type of master key will not work.
Roll with a hook. The device is more reliable to use, but it can only be used with certain skill and experience.

The listed tools are used for manipulative opening. The most common and fastest method is brute force hacking. In this case, the following tools may be required:

electric drill;
curved scrap;
Grinder;
Screwdriver Set;
hydraulic shears;
hammer;
pliers;
acetylene welding.

A specific list of tools depends on the type of lock and its serviceability. When resorting to a crude method of hacking, it is important to take into account that manipulation can cause powerful harm, and as a result, it will be necessary to change the mechanism.

Opening a lever lock

The lever lock is quite reliable, which is why it is most often installed on doors. The key part here is the levers (flat plates that have different configurations). They are the ones that block the bolt shank post. It is difficult to open such a lock without a key, but it is possible.

If you have a lot of time to open the lock, you can use the trace method (impression). To do this, you need to take a key blank. We insert it into the lock, turn it and look at the fingerprints that appear. Using a file, we gradually adjust the key until it fits. It will be quite difficult for a beginner to cope with such a task, since in addition to good vision, patience and enough time, skill is also required.

Secret mechanism device

It is quite simple, the only difference is in the number of crossbars, their shape and location; The more elements, the more reliable the constipation.

In the upper part of the metal plate associated with them (the “slider”) there is a cutting in the form of oblique grooves (in some models they are directly on the slats). The key has teeth with the same pitch and parameters corresponding to the recesses of the “secret”. Having inserted it into the hole, you can open the lock by simply turning it. In this case, it is recommended to press the door slightly to facilitate the movement of the fixing pins.

Advantages:

Easy to install - the rack lock is attached to the canvas in an overhead manner.
Durability. The design is so primitive that there is nothing to break in such a locking device; Traditional pins, levers, and elements of electrical equipment are absent.
Possibility of making it yourself.
Low cost rack-and-pinion garage locks.

How to open a garage lock yourself

A massive set of garage door keys is not something that can be quietly dropped out of your pocket. However, garage keys are lost almost more often than apartment keys. According to experts, opening garage locks is a sought-after service that is often resorted to by unlucky motorists. Of course, turning to professionals is a good thing, but in some cases you can deal with the problem yourself.

Opening a garage door yourself - assessing the situation

Before deciding to open the garage door yourself, you need to assess the problem and consider all alternative options for entering non-residential premises. There can be quite a few such methods and, although they do not directly relate to the topic of our article, it would be nice to briefly consider them. Mainly because using one of them will save you time and money.

If you haven't properly reinforced your garage door or gate, you can try bending back the metal sheet and getting into the room.
You can negotiate with your garage neighbor to make a small hole in the wall separating the two boxes. The thickness of such walls is small, so punching a small hole will not be difficult. It will also be easy to seal it.
If part of the slab that forms the garage roof protrudes forward, forming a canopy, you can try to raise the roof. For this you will need a log of suitable length and a powerful hydraulic jack. We place the log vertically, rest its end on one side against the canopy, and install a jack on the other side.

Opening a garage door lock

As already noted, the heart of the level lock is the secret, consisting of several plates with intricate recesses. The working surface of the original key has grooves and teeth that precisely fit these plates. If even one tooth of the key is damaged, the lock will not open.

Opening a lever lock without a key involves two fundamentally different approaches: intellectual and rude. The intelligent method involves the use of master keys. We will describe it within the framework of this paragraph. We will not describe the specifics of using a specialized tool, since it is difficult to get it under normal household conditions. Let's consider a relatively simple method of opening using improvised means.

First of all, find a thin flat screwdriver and bend its tip (1 cm) at an angle of 90o.
Purchase a key blank designed for lever locks. The workpiece will have to be remade by sawing off part of its working surface. In the second part, you need to make a cut in such a way that a tooth 9 mm long remains on it.
We insert the bent screwdriver into the keyhole and catch the first lever with the bent tip, lifting it.
Holding the screwdriver handle securely and keeping the plate raised, insert our master key and turn, the bolt moves one turn.
Next, if everything went smoothly, we catch the next lever, repeating the previous operation and so on until the lock opens.

If there are no additional secret elements in the lock, and the lever gives way, then opening it will take no more than 5-7 minutes, depending on your accuracy and dexterity. It usually takes a long time to move the first lever. The subsequent ones are much easier.

To summarize, we note that the answer to the question of how to open a door lock, or rather the lock of a garage gate, lies on the surface, but not everyone will be able to implement this. Especially when you do it for the first time, finding yourself in a difficult situation. In our opinion, it is quite possible to try to open the lock yourself, but you should not make unnecessary efforts at the risk of damaging the secret mechanism. If your time and energy are valuable to you, it is better to turn to specialists.

What is a falling key locking device?

Drop key locking devices are unusual locks in design, most reminiscent of elaborate deadbolts. But the most remarkable thing is the design of their keys, which are an ordinary long rod, at one end of which there is a lamb, and at the other a clever drop-down iron bar with protrusions.

The lock itself consists of a massive bolt, the movable part of which is serrated; these serrations fit tightly to the gear, which is attached to the lock body. The gear can be placed either above the moving part of the bolt or below, the main thing is that during rotation it freely moves the bolt. In the very center of the gear there is a through hole that goes out through the garage door leaf. This hole acts as a keyhole.

In order for the lock to open, you need to place the hinged head of the key (the part with the notches that drops out) parallel to the rod. After that, you need to insert the rod into the keyhole all the way, so that the lamb rests against the door leaf of the gate. Now you need to pull the thumb towards you until it stops, so that the folding head straightens out and fits into the grooves of the gear. Then you need to turn the key until the gear moves the bolt and the gate opens.

Fundamentally! The more revolutions you need to create in order to open the lock, the better, so install locks with long bolts.

Methods for opening a garage lock

There may be several reasons why the lock mechanism cannot be opened:

The secret or blocking part of the locking device does not open due to the ingress of frozen water;
The mechanism is jammed due to wear of parts or secretion elements;
The lock device is damaged when trying to open or break into the mechanism, including as a result of the actions of intruders;
Lost keys.

The first and last cases are the most common, so you should not try to immediately break the lock, as in the video:

There are many ways to warm up the mechanism, look for keys and open a garage lock without a key.

Factory locks - overview

We are unlikely to help you in finding craftsmen who could make a custom-made lock for you. Well, it is wrong to describe the process of producing a locking device in the context of this article. It’s better to create a review of industrial locking devices with a falling key, especially since these are all very worthy locks and deserve your attention.

Locking device with falling key POLTAVA. A Ukrainian-made lock with a massive 20x20 mm bolt, controlled by a gear. The gear has special holes for the protrusions of the folding head. The lock body has dimensions of 150x90 mm.
Garage locking device with a falling key "Neptune" made in Russia. The lock has a double deadbolt controlled by a gear located in the center. The lock body is covered with an iron plate, so the villain will not see its internal structure. The lock is attached to 4 hardened, drill-resistant fasteners.

To summarize, we note that locking devices with a falling key are a beautiful additional protection for your garage door from attacks by intruders. Experts do not recommend relying only on such a device, but if you install it along with a reliable lever lock, you can thus create a reliable barrier between your property and offenders.

Alternative ways to get into the garage

Each of us may encounter a situation where it is not possible to use the unlocking key - it was left at home/at work, lost, etc. If you need to get into the garage urgently, there are several ways to bypass the protection.

To open swing gates, remove the electric drive arms from the gates. This can be done by unscrewing the four bolts holding the electric drive and disconnecting it from the doors and support posts.

It will take longer to tinker with sliding gates. For emergency unlocking, you will need to dismantle the electric drive itself or the rack. We advise you to inspect the mechanism in advance or consult with a specialist to understand which option will be easier in your particular case.

The most difficult situation is with sectional structures. Experts advise even at the design stage, when calling a surveyor or using the gate cost calculator on the website, to think about organizing a second entrance to the garage. An alternative would be to install a deadbolt lock with an unlocking mechanism, which will allow you to open and close them manually even in the absence of electricity.

In the case where there are no alternative ways to get into the garage and there is also no lock, the only way will be to violate the integrity of the canvas. In the place where the rack drive bracket is attached to it, you will need to make a hole from the outside (for example, using a cutter). Our goal is to ensure that the drive bracket falls off the blade. Once this has happened, the gate can be raised manually. The situation is somewhat simpler with models with a bulk drive: the garage owner can try to get to the release cords by unscrewing the square handle from the bottom blade.

Unfortunately, in most cases, the appearance of sectional doors will still suffer and you will have to put a patch in place of the hole. Many garage owners, once faced with the problem of a power outage and the difficulty of “breaking” a sectional structure, decide to install a deadbolt lock with unlocking: the procedure for lifting and restoring the door leaf is so labor-intensive.

In order not to make a mistake in choosing the optimal design, we advise you to look at the photo of the gate and consult with the craftsmen. VSV-Group specialists will be happy to answer all your questions and advise which automation is best to install and what alternative methods of opening the doors to provide.

How to lubricate correctly

The frequency of product maintenance directly depends on how many times a day you use the lock and in what conditions it is installed. Thus, apartment locks on entrance doors require attention at least once a year, but devices installed outside - for example, at the entrance to a house or entrance - require lubrication every three months.

In order to significantly increase the service life of the locking mechanism and maintain its protective properties, you need to know how to lubricate it. Leading manufacturers produce their own brands of lubricants. For example, the ASSA company, a fairly well-known brand, produces Lock Cleaner and Lock Spray products for cleaning and lubricating locks. The first helps remove dirt from the mechanism and can even melt the ice quickly and without harming the product itself and its secret part.

Homemade deadbolt with locking mechanism

Craftsmen, solving the problem of how to make reliable deadbolts for their garage doors, improve them by providing locking mechanisms. For example, there are designs of vertical bolts that not only lock the gate, but also ensure that the shutters close tightly, and if rubber seals are installed, they press the shutter into the seal.

Mounting such a bolt occurs as follows.

The gate is closed and a mark is made on the top of the gate frame corresponding to the corner of the closed leaf. A piece of pipe is welded onto the sash itself so that if an anchor is pushed into it, its upper end will rest against the marked place. 5 centimeters are retreated from this place and a vertical finger made of reinforcement is welded. Next, the bolt itself is made. A piece of anchor is cut to a length equal to 2/3 of the height of the gate. From a pipe with a diameter sufficient to insert an anchor, a 5-centimeter long part is cut off and a plug is welded. A small ball from the bearing is placed inside. In the anchor, in the lower third, a cut is made with a grinder. The upper part of the anchor is inserted into the upper pipe. A tube with a plug is put on the lower end and welded to the collar. A horizontal curved one is inserted behind the upper vertical finger and welded to the anchor. Opposite the cut in the anchor, a hook is welded to the opposite gate leaf.

A trim blade is inserted into the cut, holes are drilled in the anchor and blade, and the structure is fastened so that the blade can rotate in the vertical direction. When the blade rotates horizontally, the anchor attached to it rotates and the curved finger, catching on the vertical one, presses the gate leaf into the seal, then the blade lowers horizontally and enters the hook, fixing the closure of the gate.

Structurally, the bolts are so simple that their manufacture and installation requires the simplest tools:

Hammer.
Wrenches (in case of bolted installation).
Screwdriver.
Hacksaw for metal.
If you decide to make your own deadbolt with a locking mechanism, you will need a welding machine and a vice.

Sometimes springs are used in deadbolt designs, the compression of which when opened ensures an automatic return to the “Closed” position.

Brick and concrete garages are the undoubted leader in reliability issues

The most important disadvantage of such a garage is the high cost of its construction, as well as very significant time costs. True, there are mentions that the attackers knocked out one of the brick walls without even touching the doors. The easiest way to destroy a wall is made of white sand-lime brick. You can protect yourself from this situation by using your own resourcefulness and ingenuity. Another weak point of such a garage is the roof. You can open it using a nail puller. Attackers do not even hesitate to use powerful railway tools for these purposes.

A brick garage is the most reliable

Another way to get through the roof is to raise the roof using a jack. If the roof protrudes slightly above the walls of the garage, a log or pole is installed under it. All this, together with the roof, is lifted using a jack. A small opening is enough and the attacker is already operating inside the garage. It is not at all necessary to steal a car. But it is quite possible to remove any devices or spare parts from the car.

Even if you have prudently made a reinforcement grid for the roof from the inside and it’s not so easy to get into your garage, if behind a wall half a brick wide there is an unreinforced garage of your neighbor, then all your efforts may be in vain. And often brick garages are built in garage cooperatives. Perhaps some joint methods should be taken to resolve this issue, most often resorting to the services of watchmen or systems of security companies.

What are the recommendations for using deadbolts and locks?

Today you can buy locks (bolts) anywhere, it’s a typical thing, but we’ll use two examples (real-life devices) to look at how you can use simple methods to repeatedly increase the security of a gate against burglary.

Example one, horizontal deadbolt

From the inside, pieces of 15 cm square pipe, 50x50 mm long, are welded onto the doors. A steel bar with a square section of 45x45 mm moves along them, as if along guides. (all this is constantly lubricated, the bolt moves very easily). On one leaf, the guide is welded at the end (protection against the lock popping out). There are several bolts outside in the lock area, one of which secures the bar in the locked position. The remaining bolts are the same, but do not hold anything, the structure is welded.

The internal lock locks the doors in a standard way, the difference is that the bolts are long, the lock is a safe lock and cannot be easily opened. Above the hole of this castle there is another hole - a keyhole, but fake. Although a part of the lock is welded from the inside, which willingly demonstrates the sounds of opening if a key is given. In fact, it is through, and there are cuts made on the bolt rod underneath it, 4x4 mm.

How does this structure open?

The owner unscrews the correct bolt a little (he does the same quite often with other bolts, so all the bolts look the same), freeing the bolt to move.
A “key” is inserted into the fake keyhole. This is a screwdriver, part of which rotates on a hinge (analogous to a multi-arm spark plug wrench). Several turns of the screwdriver, the second part of which hits the cuts, set the bolt in motion, moving it towards opening. The stroke of the screwdriver-key is designed so that several turns move the bolt by 25-30 cm, freeing the doors.
Opens the real lock and then opens the first door. The second is fixed with vertical locks.

A few words about strength. The stroke of the bolt rod is 30 cm on the receiving sash and 90 cm on the opening sash. The large length of the rod (180 cm) caused difficulties (heavy), so it was cut to a size that allowed it to be opened by a woman. With such constipation (total length 120 cm), the doors cannot be opened by force, unless of course you use jacks or special tools.

Example two, vertical deadbolt

The general design is similar, everything is also welded, there is a lock, an internal deadbolt, with a similar secret, but in addition, the opening sash has a lower vertical mounting lock, which is raised by a cable and lowered into the socket.

There is a hidden hole in the gate, camouflaged (in the area of the keyhole, so from the outside it seems that a person is simply opening the lock), in which a small gear rotates with a figured screwdriver (in this case, a hexagon). It activates a cable that lifts the lock.

No one was able to open this gate either, although there were attempts. But, to be honest, there are a few more problems with operation. Firstly, you have to make an effort to lock the second door, and secondly, there was a situation - the cable got stuck, the lock did not open. After this, the owner secured himself by making an emergency rope, which can be used to manually lift the lock in the event of an accident. It’s difficult to find where it’s hidden, you can’t pull it out without a tool, and it’s completely impossible to guess what it’s there for.

We told this so that you understand that standard bolts and locks are good, reliable, strong, but without using ingenuity, inventing secrets, or applying your own hands, not all locks will be able to withstand attempts to invade your garage.

Drilling options

To drill out a lock, you need to follow a certain algorithm. First you need to examine it and find out what it is made of. Some have anti-drill protection or may be made of hardened steel.

If you are not sure what the device is made of and what its structure is, it is better to contact a specialist.

You need to make sure that a regular lock without a secret can be opened, and one whose cylinder can be removed without problems. Before you start drilling, you need to turn off the alarm. Stock up on tools, namely a powerful drill with adjustable speed (it is not recommended to take a hand drill), and drills suitable for the size of the mechanism. The drill must be inserted into the drill, the diameter should be 3 mm.

Above the hole, you need to mark a point that serves as a guide for drilling; it should be located above the cut line. If you cannot find this point, you need to find a drilling template for a similar device, which are sold in stores. This method is intended for picking locks in your house, apartment, or garage. Trespassing on someone else's property is a criminal offense and is punishable by law. Having completed the entire algorithm on your own door, installing the drill on the guide, you need to drill out the lock cylinder. Destroyed pins will allow you to open it.

What difficulties may occur during drilling:

The appearance of resistance due to the fact that pin 6 or more.
Resistance when the drill comes into contact with each individual pin.
If you get stuck, you need to turn on the reverse and pull out the drill, remove the sawdust from the metal.

There is no need for haste in such a matter. You should not work at high speed and press on the drill, otherwise it may break. The drill must be held level so as not to damage the device further. After you have a hole with a diameter of 3 mm, you can drill a new one with a diameter of 6 mm, then the pins will certainly be destroyed. You need to insert the end of a screwdriver into the lock cylinder and turn the mechanism like a key. If everything is done correctly, it will open.

Features of protecting a metal garage

When deciding how to protect a garage from being opened, you need to take into account the characteristics of the garage itself, which are determined by its design features. Let's take metal garages, for example. They also differ in the type of metal and assembly features. The simplest option is a garage made of corrugated sheets. This is more protection from weather events than from intruders. Such a garage can be made if your area is completely quiet, and the contents of this garage are not of interest to intruders, even for a couple of liters of fuel. It's like leaving your car on the street.

A garage requires the same protection from thieves as your car.

Don’t even try to calm your own vigilance with thoughts that he will stop someone. You can open such a structure with a can knife, then use metal scissors and the goal is achieved. This option may even be easier than sawing the lock shackle or cutting off the hinges. And if the corrugated sheets are secured with self-tapping screws, then unscrewing them is no more difficult than screwing them in. But there is a way out; this garage should be placed in a fenced, possibly guarded area or right under your windows. You can also strengthen this structure with a reinforcement grid from the inside around the entire perimeter, including the floor, or with thick boards. By the way, in the first case it would be more correct to say that the garage is made of reinforcing mesh, and the sheets of corrugated sheets are just a finish that protects from weather conditions and prying eyes - it is a garage after all.

Garage intrusion protection is more serious in sectional garages. They are very common because they are easily assembled right on site. The iron used here is thick, you can’t take it with any metal scissors. Its weak point is the floor and locks. The floor is a weak point if the garage is installed directly on the ground - this ensures ease of digging. Ease here, of course, is very conditional, because this requires time and some additional devices if the soil is hard. That is, such a garage will save you from spontaneous thieves, but if the theft is planned and carefully worked out, and the attacker devotes several days to it, masterfully masking the traces of his activities, then trouble will not be avoided.

Garages with corrugated sheets are the easiest prey for a thief

In this case, protecting the garage from thieves can be done by pouring the foundation to a sufficient depth. You can also fill only the rectangular base exactly in the place where the garage will rest. In this case, the floor will need to be reinforced with the same reinforcement or boards. We will consider the protection of doors and locks a little below.

Pros of a falling key locking device

Locks of this type have many advantages. No wonder they just appeared, they quickly spread and now you can meet them in almost any 5th garage. So, the advantages of falling key locking devices.

The lock is very ordinary, there is nothing to break in it, thanks to this it can serve not only for decades, but for centuries. The main thing is to clean it from dirt and lubricate it from time to time.
A similar lock is unremarkable; an ordinary key hole hints at an ordinary homemade locking device, although thieves will not find out anything about its type, nor about the surprises that this lock stores.
This device does not have a hidden part, which means it is not possible to pick up a master key to it. At a theoretical level, you can try to open it with a roll, but for this you need to create a special tool for a specific lock, because the distance from the gear teeth to the keyhole is unclear to thieves. Only a special master key with a drop-out head can help, and then with a lot of convention.
The lock is perfectly protected from rough hacking, as evidenced by the powerful iron case, a bolt made of an iron rod no less than 20 mm wide and an iron alloy gear no less than 8 mm wide. If you wish, you can further strengthen the body with an armor plate. In this case, it will be easier to cut a hole in the garage gate using an autogen than to open the lock itself.
The lock can be made with your own hands, this, on the one hand, will make it even more reliable, because you will determine the dimensions of the parts without the help of others, which means that attackers will not know anything about them. On the other hand, this will significantly reduce your costs of protecting your own garage, because the cost of such a lock is very low.

Fundamentally! When making a lock with their own hands, craftsmen, instead of an ordinary round keyhole, make holes of unusual shape, additionally embedding them into pins. These measures make mental hacking virtually impossible.

Disadvantages of a falling key locking device

Locks of this type also have disadvantages, as in general, and any mechanism made by human hands. True, these disadvantages are of a relative nature; one might even think that we are “being picky.” But for the sake of objectivity, they should be mentioned.

Locks of this type have extremely long keys. In homemade versions of such locking devices, the keys are deliberately made even longer in order to increase the reliability of the locks. In this regard, it is necessary to figure out where to put the key, because an ordinary pocket will not be suitable for this matter.
The second disadvantage is that it is difficult to return the falling head, which can lead to difficulties associated with removing the key from the keyhole after opening the lock. But the craftsmen solved this problem with the help of an ordinary narrow wire, which is tied to the edge of the falling head on one side, and to the lamb on the other. To refill the falling head, you just need to press harder on the thumb and then pull the wire, the key will just come out.

Interesting read: Is it possible to paint a laminated door?

Opening the deadbolt lock

This type of lock does not have much protection, so you can open it even without professional master keys, crowbars, grinders, etc.

What do we need:

- fishing line or thin string; - screwdriver.

The first thing you need to do is try to “squeeze” the door as hard as possible. To do this, take a screwdriver and insert it into the gap between the door and the jamb.

Next, you need to make a small loop from the fishing line and insert it into the hole, grabbing the handle. When you have secured the fishing line well, we begin to pull it towards you in a smooth motion, imitating the movement of the key. All deadbolt locks have a standard design, so no matter how many locking elements there are, the hacking scheme remains the same.

How to remove a broken key

If a key gets stuck in the hole during the opening test, it can be removed using several methods. Holding the visible part of the key with pliers, try to turn it in the opposite direction. To simplify the task, it is worth spraying the well with anti-corrosion liquid or machine oil, which will make sliding easier. You can also gently tap the key to swing it.

If the key breaks and a fragment remains inside, you need to pry it off using a brass tube. It is enough to heat the base of the tube with a soldering lamp and put it on the fragment. After waiting for the tube to cool, all that remains is to turn it to open the door and remove the key.

Opening garage systems

It is useless to struggle and try to open a jammed lock using standard methods, for example, selecting keys and master keys. If the key blank for your garage lock is “dead”, and there is not even a play or a hint of movement of the mechanism, it means that the parts are “soldered” by frozen water and jammed.

Advice! You should not try to warm up the lock by dousing it with alcohol, vodka or gasoline. In the most exceptional cases, you can try to warm up the padlock with a homemade torch made of paper or rags.

You can warm the lock with a hairdryer or a bottle torch, periodically tapping it with a hammer on the steel surface of the garage door in the area where the housing is installed. If the internal lock is jammed, you will have to open it and cut out the locking elements.

Methods for opening a lock

Most often, you can open a garage lock in one of the following ways:

Mechanical cutting of the lock fastening. In this case, you have to drill out the welding points of the fastening or body, trim the edge of the garage door and locking cylinders, or drill out the secret;
A master key or similar device. Opening the secrets of garage locks with such tools is much easier than opening apartment doors. Therefore, even with minimal practice, knowing the principle and procedure, revealing the secret is not particularly difficult;
Opening with destruction of the lock's secret. This is the least traumatic and fastest way to open a jammed lock. After removing the secret, as a rule, it is possible to unlock the mechanism and open the door. Changing the secret is cheaper and faster than buying a new mechanism.

Very often, the cause of the mechanism jamming is the use of inappropriate types of lubricant or problems with the installation of garage doors. For example, if instead of graphite lubricant or lithol the mechanism is lubricated with solid oil or waste oil, in about a month to a month and a half the process of corrosion and chemical welding of parts will begin. The surest way to damage the garage door lock is to lubricate it with sunflower oil or any kind of edible fat. It is almost impossible to open garage lock mechanisms in such cases.

How to open a jammed garage deadbolt lock

Until recently, this was the main garage lock. Thanks to the simple device, almost every machining enterprise in the USSR was engaged in the manufacture of such structures. The locking system was based on a slide with oblique grooves, the slope and shape of which corresponded to the cutting on the key. It was enough to insert the key into the key hole and press down firmly. The force was transmitted to the slide, and the locking tongue was retracted to the side, compressing the return spring.

It is very easy to open a working lock mechanism with a regular slotted screwdriver. The tip of the screwdriver is inserted into the keyhole and forcefully presses the slide towards the opening, while it is necessary to simultaneously press the garage door leaf to block the action of the return spring. It takes 10-15 minutes to open.

The disadvantages of deadbolt locks include the high probability of the mechanism jamming, as in the video:

Opening garage door locks

It is possible to open more complex level systems even faster than rack or crossbar structures. In 90 cases out of 100, a garage lock of this type is opened with two L-shaped master keys in the following order:

The first master key is inserted into the keyhole, and on the opposite side from the exit point of the locking cylinders, you need to grope and lock the bolt plate in a stationary state;
Using the second master key, feel in the central part of the lock and lower each lever plate down until it clicks, thereby releasing the protrusion of the bolt blocking the movement;
All that remains is to release and move the cylinders to their extreme position to unlock the garage door.

The opening technique is very accurately described in the video:

How to open a lock with a cross-shaped key

If a cross-shaped key is used in the lock design, opening the secret is possible using three methods. The simplest is the usual drilling with a carbide drill or turning the secretion body with a thieves' device - a twist wrench. In this case, the pins are destroyed and the sockets in which they are installed break off. Such an opening is equivalent to the destruction of the castle itself.

If the lock is blocked from the specified method, opening the lock on the garage door can be done with three L-shaped pins or a master key, as in the video:

How to repair and replace the larva

After opening the locking device, it is necessary to restore its functioning. The main element of any type of lock is the cylinder, which can be repaired or replaced. In case of breakage of the larva, the following steps must be performed sequentially:

Remove the broken part by unscrewing the device or using a drill.
Inspect the cylinder for serviceability and damage. If the cylinder is dismountable, it can be repaired. Otherwise, replacement is required.
After repairing or replacing the cylinder, it is installed in its original place, after which the end plate is fixed.

Core removal

If the larvae core is faulty, it can only be removed by drilling with a drill with a tip with a diameter of 10 mm. After drilling, the element will fall out on its own, without using a key. The jammed part can be removed in another way by following these steps:

insert the key into the hole and turn it all the way in the direction of opening;
Without removing the key, carefully unscrew the screws holding the end plate;
Unscrew the screw located in the center of the tongue and locking device;
turn the key so that the core falls out of the lock.

When it is necessary to pull out the pins when removing the core, you must not mix them up during further assembly. Otherwise, it will be impossible to open the garage doors with the same key.

Cylinder repair

To repair the cylinder, you must carefully bend the clamps holding the metal plate. The part is located on one side of the collapsible core. After sliding the plate, access to the pins and springs becomes available. After inspecting the elements, you need to clean the sockets, stretch the springs and press the pins securely.

Replacing the larva

When purchasing a new replacement cylinder, it is recommended to compare it with a broken one so that it fits in size. It is better to choose parts made of durable materials, since brass cylinders without protective linings are easily knocked out and do not provide a sufficient degree of safety. The replacement process is performed as follows:

the key is inserted into the cylinder;
the key is turned so that the protruding elements of the cylinder do not prevent it from freely fitting into its final location;
the fixing bolts are tightened;
the cylinder is connected to the lock;
the outer plate is installed.

Opening a cylinder lock

The simplest method is “bumping”. To open the lock in this way, we will need:

— key blank; - small hammer; - file.

Since there are different types of cylinder locks, you need to determine in advance the type of lock that needs to be broken. In accordance with this, we select the required workpiece.

We take the workpiece in our hands and, using a file, make equal gaps in it. Their depth should correspond to the depth of the largest tooth.

When all the teeth have been cut, take the key and use a hammer to tap it into the lock opening. When the key is completely inside, you can try to unlock the door.