When you are locked out of your house, it’s an inconvenience. When you are locked out of your infant or toddler’s bedroom and they are inside, it’s an emergency!
Grandpa TJ: My next-door neighbor’s elderly aunt came to my door one day, highly agitated. She was babysitting her infant niece and had accidently locked the bedroom door where the baby was napping. She was frantic to get the door open and needed help right now – waiting for the parents or a locksmith was out of the question. I grabbed my tools and, hoping for a simple interior door lock, found instead a keyed lock. Now it became a trade-off between speed and possible damage to the door. Good news, we got the door open quickly with no damage. See how we got in and didn’t even wake the baby at this link. Defeat the Latch
Table of Contents
- Ways to avoid being locked out
- Ways to hide a key (video)
- No Emergency Key - Things to try first
- What are your choices? Pros and Cons
- Locksmith
- Interior Doors - Unlock Tools & Tricks
- Interior Doors - Defeat the Latch
- Keyed Doors - Lucky Key Method
- Keyed Doors - Shim the Latch
- Keyed Doors - Drill the Lock
- Keyed Doors - Break Through the Door
- Keyed Doors - Pick the Lock
Click the links to jump to that section of the Locator page or feel free to browse down the page…
Ways to avoid being locked out
The best way to avoid being locked out is to have an emergency house key! The classic key under the flowerpot cliché became a cliché because it works! But don’t put the key somewhere as obvious as that. You have a lot of options…
There are options like Fake Rocks ($10) in which you can hide a key and then lay in the garden among other rocks.
Getting a Key Lockbox ($20) like those that real estate agents use and instead of locking it on the doorknob, secure it inside your backyard shed or other sheltered area.
For those of you who always have a cell phone with you, get a Stick-On Pocket ($9) for the back of the phone and put a spare house key (and a spare car key) in it.
Grandpa TJ: I carry a small, wallet-sized pouch called an EDC ($16). It is always in a pocket or in immediate reach where ever I go – even more so than my phone! Besides emergency gear, I have both house and car keys in it. So if the front door blows shut behind me as I take out the trash or if I walk back to the car only to discover that my keys are locked inside, it’s only a minor annoyance to grab my EDC and get back in with the spare.
This video shows you some other places you can hide a spare key around your house.
Thanks to Specific Love Creations for the YouTube video
Finding a good place to stash a key isn’t hard and can save a lot of money and grief later…
No Emergency Key? Things to try first!
Trying to get through the locked door may not be the best answer. Always look for other ways to get into your locked house or room. Often you will find an alternate access point and save a lot of time and trouble. Here are some examples of other ways to gain access.
- Is there someone else who also has a key? Maybe a neighbor who waters the plants while you are on vacation has a key and is available to get you in.
- Walk around the house – maybe the sliding glass door or window to the backyard is unlocked.
- Do you have a dog door? Someone skinny enough might be able to crawl through.
- Does the back door have a window nearby that can be slipped out of it’s window track so you can reach the door lock?
- Do you really need to get inside right away? Maybe read a book or visit friends until someone else gets home.
Avoid risky options such as breaking a window or a sliding glass door or by climbing up to a second-floor window. The chances of getting hurt – especially cuts (and the large medical bills that go with those injuries) can far outweigh the cost of other ways to get in.
Grandpa TJ: Besides broken glass, you have now added the cost of the broken window or sliding glass door… and getting those replaced may not be cheap! It’s also a security issue unless you can board it up until the repairs are complete.
What are your choices? Pros and Cons
No luck finding an alternate way inside? Click on the green buttons below for detailed descriptions of ways to handle different types of lockouts along with Pros & Cons for each method.
Pros: Easy to do. A professional locksmith will be able to handle almost all lockout situations. They will often recommend the quickest solution to your problem because they make the most money on the initial call, not by spending lots of time finding the least expensive way to get in.
Cons: The initial call may cost $20 to $50 or more just to get the locksmith out to your house. Another factor is how long will it take for the locksmith to arrive, especially if it is late at night – which might also trigger an emergency service surcharge! Usually entails the replacement of the door entry knob set and new keys. Not a good choice if you are on a tight budget.
Locked Interior Doors
Privacy Locks for Interior Doors
Pros: Easy and quick solution.
Cons: It requires having (or making) the right tool for the door lock and some know how to get it open.
Pros: Easy and quick solution in some cases. Other times it may take some time, effort and some tools to get through but usually isn’t very difficult.
Cons: It will take some training and skill to slip the door latch. If you are forced to cut the latch itself, it may also cause minor damage (usually just cosmetic) to the door frame. You may have to replace the door latch itself but the rest of the door entry knob set and keys can stay the same. Leaves door unprotected until new latch is installed.
Keyed Door Locks
Exterior and Some Interior Doors
Pros: Easy and quick solution if you get lucky.
Cons: It requires having other keys of a similar type to the door lock and some skill in how to try them out.
Pros: Easy and quick solution if possible. Worth spending a few minutes trying if there are no other options.
Cons: It requires something to be used as a shim to slip the door latch. The door latch, especially the deadlock plunger, has to be either not working correctly or improperly installed.
Pros: Depending on the tools available to you, it is a quick solution. Drilling the lock is the method most often used by locksmiths.
Cons: You will have to replace the entire keyed door entry knob set and you will have new keys to swap out with everyone. Leaves door unprotected until entire entry knob set is replaced.
Pros: There are several methods to break through a door. Can be a very quick (and noisy) method of entry.
Cons: Usually very expensive and most likely will require professional repairs by a carpenter/handyman. You will have significant damage to the door itself and possibly the door frame also. Leaves door unprotected until all repairs are complete.
Pros: Usually no damage to the door or lock.
Cons: This method requires the right tools, skills and sometimes a lot of patience.