Locked out of Home? Here are Some Options!

As an retired locksmith I thought I might help server the Bournemouth community by providing a few tips and tricks to help in the lock out situation.

The reality is if you are locked out of home your have two options. You’ll be calling a glazing company or a locksmith. What does a glazing company have to do with locksmith? Well, you either know how to pick a lock and that’s unlikely, call a locksmith to get you back into your home or you’re going to smash a window to get back in and then call a glazing company in the morning to help you out.

So after you deal with the unpleasant situation of being locked out and a few days has passed here are my suggestions to protect yourself in the future.

Keep a Key Hidden Outside

Now I bet you’ve seen this in the movies. Someone lifts up a rock and there is special hole that has a key in it.

Well I can tell you this is not something just in the movies. Take a look on Amazon and you’ll find endless empty rocks you can buy. They go by many different names like hide a key rock, key hiding rocks, key hiding stone and so on. So if you don’t search Amazon it will be easy to find them.

If you go for this choice the best thing to do it look outside in your garden first of all and take note of the different rock colours that you have. Then go online and find rock that looks like it’s the same colour and would actually blend in.

Don’t buy anything novel that stands out. For example if you see a fancy purple rock it might look nice but if someone sees it they are likely pick it up and see it’s got a key inside. You goal here should be along the lines of hidden in plain sight.

The other option is to get an empty glass jur from some mayo or jam for example. Put the key in it and bury it. It will be free but when you’re locked out you’ll probably be in a bad mood or drunk so it might not be the best idea!

Install a Digital Lock

Digital locks are becoming the norm. Everyone has used them in the past even if you don’t think you have! Ever had a keycard for work? Or gone to a restaurant that needs to keep the homeless out so they give you a digital code on your receipt? That’s a digital lock!

So how does this help you? Well it’s quite simple really. Get one installed. And my advice being an ex-locksmith who services Bournemouth is to get it installed on the backdoor of your property or on a side door. Don’t just blatantly advertise to the world that you have a digital lock on your front door. If you just get it done on the backdoor it will be out of sight but when you come home and have lost your keys you won’t have to worry.

Digital locks come with keycards and codes. I’d recommend getting a coded one. That way no matter if you come home after a night out or just lost your keys during the day. You can still get back in. Set the code to something you will never forget even if you had a massive night on the town.

The last thing to mention if you get a digital lock is to keep a locksmiths number saved in your phone. As a local my recommendation is emergency locksmith, security advice and lock repair | Abacus Locksmiths. I used to farm out overflow work to them and they are one of the best in the whole county! The reason for this is that if the lock has a power failure how do you get back in? See, it’s not fool proof. It’s best to use a digital local and hidden key outside. Then you’re 100% covered.

That wraps up today’s thoughts! Stay tuned and make sure you bookmark our site. We are going to the the ‘go to’ sit for Bournemouth by the end of 2019!