After a forced entry
Burglary repair Novelda: the forced door shut tonight, upgraded after
Someone has forced the door, or tried to. The first job is a door that shuts and locks again before you go to sleep, and a written note of what was found for the insurer. Then, if you want it, high-security cylinders and plates that make the next attempt much harder.
Open 24 hours · 7 days
- Lockable on the first visit
- Written note for the insurer
- Price agreed before work starts
Straight away
In the first hour after a break-in
- If you think anyone might still be inside, do not go in. Ring 112 from outside.
- Report it to the police, and, if you can, let them see the door before anything is touched.
- Photograph the door, the lock and the frame, close up and from further back. Do the same with any window that was used.
- Then ring. The door is made to lock again on the first visit, so you are not left with a house you cannot close.
The repair
From a forced door to a door that holds
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Looking at what gave way
Whether the cylinder was snapped or bumped, the lock body wrenched, the frame split or a window used instead. It decides what has to be replaced.
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A written note for the insurer
What was found, what was replaced and why, with photos. Insurers usually ask for this.
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Lockable before the locksmith leaves
A new cylinder, a repaired lock or, where the frame needs a joiner, a secure temporary fix.
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The upgrade, if you want it
Once you have spoken to the insurer, the stronger cylinders and plates below, on a day that suits.
Making it harder next time
High-security cylinders, plates and the other doors
On a forced front door, the cylinder is very often the part that gave: snapped, bumped or levered out. The security upgrade starts there.
The cylinder
A certified high-security cylinder is tested against snapping, drilling, picking and bumping. A cheaper anti-snap cylinder is a real step up from the plain ones still found on many older doors.
The plate
A guard plate (escudo) covers the cylinder so it cannot be gripped or levered. On an armoured door it is the natural partner of a good cylinder.
Then the other ways in. A house with a strong front door and a weak back door, yard door or gate is only as strong as the weak one. Replacing a cylinder that is just old rather than forced is booked as a lock change.
In Novelda
Houses and premises that stand empty
Since the 1980s, a lot of the old farmland in Novelda’s partidas has turned into first and second homes, and many of those houses are shut for weeks at a time. A forced gate can go unnoticed until someone comes back. A high-security cylinder, a plate on the main door and a solid lock on the gate do more for such a house than anything inside it. If valuables are kept there, a safe bolted to the floor or a solid wall is the next step.
In the stone trade, works stop now and then for a holiday, a slow order book or a change of hands. A yard nobody visits is worth a round of its locks; see the note on locking up a yard that stands idle and the page for works and units.
Where
Forced doors seen to across the area
The whole of Novelda, and La Romana, Aspe and Monóvar; see every place covered. If the break-in has left you shut out at night, the emergency line is answered at any hour. Photos can be sent ahead through WhatsApp.
Questions
Questions once a door has been forced
Should I report it to the police before the door is repaired?
Yes, report it first, and if you can, wait until the police have seen the door before anything is touched. Take photos of the door, the lock and the frame from close up and from a step back. The insurer will ask for the report and the photos.
Can the door be made to lock tonight even if it needs proper repair later?
That is the point of the first visit. Whatever the damage, the aim is that you can lock the door when the locksmith leaves, with a new cylinder or a temporary fix. Lasting repairs or upgrades can follow once the insurer has spoken.
Is an anti-snap cylinder enough, or should it be a certified high-security one?
An anti-snap cylinder is built so that, if someone snaps the front off, the part that works the lock stays inside the door. A high-security cylinder adds resistance to drilling, picking and bumping, and is tested and certified for it. The second is the one to want on a house left empty for weeks.
Our country house in a partida was broken into while we were away. What should change?
First the door that was forced, then the others: the back door, the door to the yard and the gate are often the weakest. A high-security cylinder, a guard plate so the cylinder cannot be gripped, and a sound lock on the gate make a house that stands empty much harder to get into.
Often next
Often needed after a forced entry
Door notes that lead here
Somebody got through your door?
Report it, take the photos, then ring. The door will lock again before the locksmith leaves.
Open 24 hours · 7 days