Make it safe, then make it stronger
Burglary repair in El Campello and a lock stronger than the last
A forced door, a snapped cylinder, marks round the lock from a failed attempt. The first visit leaves the door locking again. Then, once the police report is filed and the insurer has what it needs, the weak point is replaced with something that will not give way the same way twice.
Open 24 hours · 7 days
- Door secured on the first visit
- Itemised invoice for the insurer
- High-security upgrades
An old idea
El Campello has been securing its doors since 1554
The Torre de la Illeta, the stone tower above the port, was built between 1554 and 1557 to warn the people of El Campello of raids by Barbary pirates, who attacked this coast again and again. Restored in 1991, it is still the emblem of the town. Further north, on the Lloma de Reixes, stands a second old tower, the Torre de Reixes.
The threat is different now, and so are the defences, but the principle is the one the tower was built on: see the weak point before someone else does. On a front door, that is nearly always the cylinder.
First, today
The first visit: a door that locks tonight
- Evidence first: photographs before anything is touched. What to take is in photograph the forced door before anyone repairs it.
- The cylinder replaced if it was snapped, drilled or picked, so whoever tried it is not holding a way back in.
- The frame and keeps secured where they were levered, so the bolts have something solid to lock into.
- A temporary fix where a full repair needs parts, so the home is not left open while you wait.
A break-in at any hour is also an emergency: for a door that will not close at all, the quickest route is the emergency line.
Then, properly
The security upgrade: high-security locks and stronger doors
Once the report is filed and the insurer has seen the damage, the upgrade is planned with you. The usual options, from the simplest to the most thorough:
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High-security cylinder
Certified against snapping, drilling, picking and bumping, with protected keys that need a card to copy. The single most effective change on most doors.
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Guard plate and stronger keeps
An armoured escutcheon that covers the cylinder, and reinforced keeps in the frame, so the lock cannot be levered out or snapped off.
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Armoured lock
A heavier lock case with more bolts for an armoured door, or a second lock where the door allows it.
Terrace and balcony doors are often the real way in on a ground floor or first-floor flat; how those are secured is on the sliding doors page. Planned cylinder changes without a break-in behind them belong on the lock change page.
Step by step
From the call to the upgrade
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Call the police first
On 112, or 091 for the Policía Nacional and 062 for the Guardia Civil. Then ring us.
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Photographs and the report
Before anything is touched. The repair starts once the police have seen it or said they will not come.
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The door made to lock
On the first visit, at the price agreed at the door.
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The upgrade, with an invoice
Planned with you, itemised for the insurer.
If valuables were kept in a safe that was attacked, see safe opening and fitting. To arrange the upgrade, use the contact page.
Asked on the phone
After someone has tried your door
Should I touch anything before the police arrive?
As little as possible. Photograph the door, the lock and the frame from outside and inside, then wait. The repair can start as soon as the police have seen it, or once you have filed the report and they have said they will not be coming.
The door was forced but still closes. Can it wait until Monday?
If it closes but does not lock, no: the house is open, and whoever forced it knows that. The first visit makes it lock; the upgrade can wait for the insurer.
Will my insurance pay for the new lock?
Many home policies cover the repair of a forced door and lock, and some cover an upgrade. Check your policy, keep the police report number, and you will get an itemised invoice to send them.
What is a high-security cylinder, in plain terms?
One certified to resist snapping, drilling, picking and bumping for a set time, with keys that cannot be copied without the card that comes with them. On a door that has already been attacked, it is the sensible minimum.
They came in through the terrace slider, not the front door.
Then the slider is the priority: its lock and anti-lift protection are repaired or upgraded first, and the front door checked after.
Next along the line
Securing the rest of the home
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Lock repairs
New euro cylinders, snap-resistant and anti-bump upgrades, tired multipoint gearboxes: planned work on a day that suits you.
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Sliding door repairs
Terrace sliders whose hook no longer catches, PVC doors that have dropped, handles seized by salt: the doors that face the sea.
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Safe opening and fitting
Safes that refuse a code, run out of battery or came with a house and no instructions, and new safes anchored where they cannot be carried off.
Guides that deal with this
A door that was forced?
Photograph it, call the police, then ring us. The first visit leaves it locking again.
Open 24 hours · 7 days