Unlocking...a lock through non traditional means...namely a Hammer....(UPDATED)

Thegreatcow

Ahoy hoy folks, I come with another quandary facing me in the dealings of being a new home owner. I have now more or less fully moved into my new condo, but I'm facing a bit of an odd issue with it. My condo unit is essentially a detatched duplex with my half sitting over the parking area. In the parking area there are, for lack of a better phrase, two storage "closets". One belongs to the other owner of the unit and the other belongs to me. They both use traditional "doorknob and key" setups.

The problem I'm facing is that the previous owner of my unit (this was a foreclosure sale) just up and left without leaving any of the unit's keys behind beyond the ones siezed by the Bank. (mailbox, door, etc). While I've taken care of everything else, I'm wondering what my options are to...well..."unlock" this storage unit so I can use it.

I've received the all clear to resolve the situation as I see fit by my co-habitor of my duplex, (she sits on the HOA board), but ideally I'd like to resolve this so I don't damage the door itself or have to call a locksmith to unlock it. I don't mind purchasing a new lock to replace this one, but as obvious, I need to get this old one off first.

So there you have it. Any thoughts? Any help is appreciated.

admanb

Picking locks isn't easy. You'll probably spend enough time practicing that in the end you'll wish you had paid a locksmith.

matt has a problem

If you don't care about destroying the lock, just drill it out. Unless it's some kind of high-security lock, a regular 1/2 inch carbide tipped bit should work just fine.

badpoet

I'm going to assume the hinge pins are on the inside? Otherwise, pop the pins out.

I would refrain from punching a screwdriver into the lock with a hammer or drilling it out, as once you do that you'll be making your life more difficult for the locksmith you're inevitably going to have to call.

See what I did there?

Seriously, unless there's an easy way to remove the door as a whole or you can use a small crowbar to get around the lock, you'll probably be better off hiring a locksmith. It's usually not that expensive. Get them to come over and unlock it. If you want to have them key it, they can do that or you can buy a new doorknob with the key.

blakfeld

if the lock is part of the door knob, in all honest you could probably get it open with a credit card

DirtyDirtyVagrant

Is it a new lock? If it's old, you might be able to bump it.

Thegreatcow

To answer that one, nope it's a pretty old lock, just a standard brass-keyed doorknob on a smaller than normal door. Hrm, so it's looking more and more like a locksmith then, bugger, well let me see what the rates are for them, hopefully none too ornery...

DirtyDirtyVagrant

Shouldn't be too bad. Your alternative is basically to find a pick (no easy task) and spend hours fiddling with the lock, or you can find a bump key and...you know what? Call a locksmith.

Metalbourne

Most locks aren't hard to pick, they just require patience. Get a small screwdriver that will fit into the keyhole. You'll use that to apply tension to the lock. A straight paperclip with a slight bend on the end will be used to push each tumbler in.

Start by applying tension with the screwdriver. Too much and the tumblers won't push down. Too little and they wont stay down. With slight movements of the screw driver and patiently pushing each tumbler down, you can get them all to fall into place and the lock will open.


Alternately, take off your shoelace and tie it around your paperclip. Bend the paperclip into a boomerang shape and loop around the bolt. Work the bolt inward with a sawing motion, and as soon as the shoelace reaches the tip of it, it should pop open. It's called the "easier than a credit card" method.

dlinfiniti

DirtyDirtyVagrant wrote: »

Is it a new lock? If it's old, you might be able to bump it.

depending on what state you're in, a bump key is illegal to own unless you're a locksmith

japan

Metalbourne wrote: »

Most locks aren't hard to pick, they just require patience. Get a small screwdriver that will fit into the keyhole. You'll use that to apply tension to the lock. A straight paperclip with a slight bend on the end will be used to push each tumbler in.

Start by applying tension with the screwdriver. Too much and the tumblers won't push down. Too little and they wont stay down. With slight movements of the screw driver and patiently pushing each tumbler down, you can get them all to fall into place and the lock will open.


Alternately, take off your shoelace and tie it around your paperclip. Bend the paperclip into a boomerang shape and loop around the bolt. Work the bolt inward with a sawing motion, and as soon as the shoelace reaches the tip of it, it should pop open. It's called the "easier than a credit card" method.

These only work on cylinder locks. If it's a lever lock neither of these methods will work and attempting to pick it stands a reasonable chance of jamming it locked.

Metalbourne

japan wrote: »

Metalbourne wrote: »

Most locks aren't hard to pick, they just require patience. Get a small screwdriver that will fit into the keyhole. You'll use that to apply tension to the lock. A straight paperclip with a slight bend on the end will be used to push each tumbler in.

Start by applying tension with the screwdriver. Too much and the tumblers won't push down. Too little and they wont stay down. With slight movements of the screw driver and patiently pushing each tumbler down, you can get them all to fall into place and the lock will open.


Alternately, take off your shoelace and tie it around your paperclip. Bend the paperclip into a boomerang shape and loop around the bolt. Work the bolt inward with a sawing motion, and as soon as the shoelace reaches the tip of it, it should pop open. It's called the "easier than a credit card" method.

These only work on cylinder locks. If it's a lever lock neither of these methods will work and attempting to pick it stands a reasonable chance of jamming it locked.

Well he didn't exactly post pictures now, did he?

Actually, I just got off the phone with a friend who is a locksmith, and wafer locks are only slightly harder to pick than pin locks, which are pretty easy.

japan

I was just pointing it out. I didn't want the OP to try wedging a screwdriver into a lever lock and thus ending up with a bigger bill from the locksmith when the tamper mechanism jams it.

cooljammer00

If you wanna feel like a badass, kick in the door.

Otherwise, if you want to keep the door intact, try a professional.

SmokeStacks

I wouldn't be too concerned about causing damage to the lock considering the first thing I would do when I bought a new condo would be to have all of the previous locks changed anyway.

Changing a lock is an easy way to feel like a handyman badass even if you aren't, but I'd still call a locksmith.

Robman

Yeah locksmiths make good money and have regular work for a reason. Call one.

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

If you're relatively handy and it's a cheap old door/lock, you could just cut out the lock and replace the door and probably get off cheaper than hiring a locksmith.

ed: especially relevant if you want to make sure the unit is more secure in the future

dispatch.o

Any way for you to take a pic of the offending door? Then a pic of the lock nice and close up?

I've broken into a lot of stuff for similar reasons.

edit: Especially important is the hinge line and the spot where the lock meets the jam. It may be as easy as using a hacksaw blade without the hacksaw if you can remove the molding.

Thegreatcow

Aighty, I'll try to snag my camera and take a pic of the offending door. Hopefully it'll help. If not, locksmith time then...

PolloDiablo

My dad was a locksmith and he would always bitch that people only ever called locksmiths after they had fucked up a lock trying to get it open themselves. He hated that. Do people like my dad a favor and call a locksmith first.

dispatch.o

PolloDiablo wrote: »

My dad was a locksmith and he would always bitch that people only ever called locksmiths after they had fucked up a lock trying to get it open themselves. He hated that. Do people like my dad a favor and call a locksmith first.

I'd say this is very true, before you try and drill out the lock or jam something in it, just call a locksmith. This is actually why I learned to pick locks, it's come in handy a few times and I know enough to know when to call someone before brute strength.

Whats the door made out of if you don't mind me asking?

dlinfiniti

if you call the locksmith make sure you're clear on the rate that he will be charging

cooljammer00

Don't forget to try a library card.

Thegreatcow

Okies here we go,

To answer the question earlier, the door is a standard wood door painted over with a terracota paint, as the following pictures show, the door is in pretty bad shape and the doorknob has definitely seen better days...

...also...I'm sort of not sure I want to open the door...

When I was taking pictures, I heard running water splashing behind it....like...lots of it...it wasn't leaking out from under it, but I could definitely hear it splashing down in there...I'm kinda curious and worried as to what I'm going to find behind it...

Anyhow, the pics. (Spoilered for H-Scroll Raep)

EskimoDave

just knock the knob off

or

just take the pins out

DeShadowC

EskimoDave wrote: »

just knock the knob off

or

just take the pins out

Since the hinge is on the outside you can easily take the pins out and pull the entire door off.

Thegreatcow

Huh, did not notice that! Alrighty then, well that makes things significantly easier. Thanks for the tips folks, hopefully I can figure out just what the heck is going on in that closet there.

DeShadowC

On a side note considering the hinges are on the outside of that door never store anything valuable, whether monetarily or irreplaceable, in there.

dlinfiniti

meh get your badass carpentry on and flip that shit around for the security of your belongings

dispatch.o

You can't really flip it around if the storage space is small, opening the door inwards will get you an unusable closet. Knock the pins out as others have said and you CAN get door hinges that wont let you pull the pin without a fairly specific set of tools.

Glad you provided the pics.

bowen

Yeah fast-riveted door hinges are pretty much irremovable without opening the door but there's also safety stud ones that the pin can be pulled but can't be pulled off until opened. Most criminals won't be investing time into something they can't get in and out of in less than a few minutes.

Once you get the door off it's like a $10 investment, it's worth it.

Beltaine

Other non-traditional methods of unlocking a door:

Shotgun
C4
Drive a car into it
Reciprocating saw
Winch
Sledgehammer/Axe

SmokeStacks

Since you mentioned hearing the sound of water splashing behind the door, I am very curious as to what it looks like in there. If you don't mind, please let us know what's inside when you do get it open.

I'm envisioning either Curly's Gold or a dead hooker.

bowen

Or a pipe. :P

Ohio

Thegreatcow wrote: »

Huh, did not notice that! Alrighty then, well that makes things significantly easier. Thanks for the tips folks, hopefully I can figure out just what the heck is going on in that closet there.

I hope you realize we're all now wondering what's behind the door...

Don't leave us hanging!

Jaded

The possibilities are nerve wracking!

Darkewolfe

Beltaine wrote: »

Other non-traditional methods of unlocking a door:

Shotgun
C4
Drive a car into it
Reciprocating saw
Winch
Sledgehammer/Axe

HONEY, I'M HOME!

Thegreatcow

Heheh, I'll be sure to update this once I get it popped off, I do believe I have free time this Friday so we'll see! And sledgehammers...ahh they do appeal to my inner lumberjack, but methinks t'would cause a fair amount of shenanigans amongst the nearby neighbors!

SmokeStacks

Darkewolfe wrote: »

HONEY, I'M HOME!

I think you mean HERE'S JOHNNIE!

It is likely some pipes though, especially since it's below the living area.

Darkewolfe

I did mean that, I'm shamed. Where was my confusion from? More coffee.

How do these "pins can't be taken out easily, but still outside the door" hinges work?

cooljammer00

HELLO DAVID!