Internal door lock piece broken

by **Julian33** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:04 pm

Hi all, I've just moved into my very own flat and have just started to venture into the world of having to do DIY. I've done practically no DIY so far in my life so hopefully I'm not going to embarass myself with stupid questions :)

Anyway, one of the first problems I've got is with the internal door lock on the main door to my flat. Basically, one side (the external side) takes the key to lock / unlock the door, whilst on the internal side, there is no keyhole, instead there is a lever you turn to lock /unlock the door.

More accurately, there *was* a lever. Somehow it seems to have snapped off, so I have no leverage to actually lock / unlock the door. Hopefully the pictures below will make things clearer:

This is the door handle from the inside as it is now:

And the piece that has snapped off:

(And another here that doesn't seem to want to link properly): http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/8227/cimg0339u.jpg

Now, I don't know anything about door handles, but it almost seems as though the screw bit protruding from the side was meant to go all the way through and has snapped off. If this is the case, does anyone know anywhere where I can get a replacement screw of the right size?

Thanks in advance :)

by **Julian33** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:33 pm

Here's the third image (link above was a duplicate):

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/856/cimg0338e.jpg/

by **alavapint** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:56 am

You have what is described as a..Brass..Oval ..Cylinder..

If the grub screw has snapped off in the spindle you would need to get a screw extractor to remove the remains of it from the spindle. By the time you buy an extractor, you may as well have bought a new cylinder. Depending on what level of security you require, expect to pay £20 upwards.

They are easily fitted in a couple of minutes or less... just one screw on the edge of the door to undo.
You need to identify the cylinder ... it may be something like 45-40 or 50-45. To identify it you must remove it and measure it. ( measure from either end of the cylinder to the centre of the lever in the middle) The length of the cylinder is important , as you dont want any of it protruding out beyond the face of the lock plate.
There are loads of videos on you tube showing you how to ''change cylinder on UPVC door''.. whether you are changing a euro or an oval, they are much the same thing.

Personally I would do away with the thumbturn/key and replace it with a key/key... as they are much more secure. Because in theory .. the thumbturn side of the lock is always open.

http://www.upvcwindow-doorparts.co.uk/S ... 20cylinder

by **Julian33** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:15 pm

Great, thanks for the advice. I'll look into that :)

by **themoffster** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:12 pm

The second picture you posted - see that wee screw that's poking out it at the top right? That's what holds the part you turn onto the metal bar.
Just place the part you hold onto the metal bar and grab an Allen key, stick it in the wee screw and turn to tighten.

It's a really, really easy job - you just need to have the right size of Allen key