It’s been a quieter week on here — and that’s simply because I’ve taken a bit of time away to enjoy some proper quality time with my family. With the boys off school and the weather behaving itself for once, it’s been great to switch off, recharge, and make some memories. A huge thank you to everyone who has messaged, called, or checked in with me while I’ve been off. I really appreciate your patience and the kindness you’ve shown. Even when I’m taking a short break, it means

It’s been another full week with a real mix of jobs — the kind that keeps things interesting and reminds me why I love what I do. We started with a couple of door alignment issues, both caused by doors drifting out of position over time. A proper service and adjustment made a huge difference, leaving customers with smooth, easy‑to‑use doors again. Mid‑week included a job for a landlord after a new tenant moved in. I carried out a mortice lock change and rim cylinder replaceme

With the summer holidays in full swing, today was a little different — my eldest joined me on the road, taking everything in as we worked through a busy morning of jobs. First stop was in Bromsgrove, replacing a 5‑lever mortice lock, fitting two new handle sets, and completing two cylinder changes to bring the door’s security up to scratch. Next, we headed over to King’s Norton to swap a standard key cylinder for a thumbturn. The door had a slight alignment issue too — nothin

🚗 Quick Update for Tomorrow – Vehicle in the Garage I hope everyone’s having a good week so far. Just a quick heads‑up that I’ll be closed tomorrow as my vehicle is in the garage for repairs. This means I’ll be unavailable for call‑outs and appointments throughout the day. However, I will still be available on the phone to take bookings for later in the week. Friday is already filling up, so if you’d like to secure a slot, feel free to get in touch and I’ll get you booked in

It’s been a full and varied week with plenty of jobs that kept me on my toes. We started with a couple of door alignment issues, both caused by doors slowly drifting out of position over time. A proper service and adjustment made a huge difference, leaving both customers with smooth, easy‑to‑use doors again. Mid‑week brought a more challenging job: a broken gearbox on a locked door. After careful work and a non‑destructive approach, we got the door open safely and replaced th

🔐 Fresh 5‑Lever Deadlock Fitted to Strengthen Front‑Door Security A couple of weeks ago I visited a customer to sort out some alignment issues on their back doors. While I was there, we also chatted about improving the security on their front door, and I talked them through a few solid upgrade options. After looking at what would suit their home best, they decided to go ahead with a new 5‑lever British Standard deadlock — a proper secondary locking point that adds real stren

🔧 Composite Door Alignment Fix, Window Handle Replacement & Patio Lock Upgrade Last week I visited a property to look at a composite door with alignment issues. The door had started to drop slightly, putting pressure on the mechanism, so we corrected the alignment on the day to get everything running smoothly again. While there, the customer also mentioned they had broken window handles. The original style was no longer in production, so we talked through a few window handle

🔧 A Very Eventful Week at Oliver’s Locks – From Alignment Fixes to Emergency Callouts It’s been one of those weeks with a bit of everything. We started off with a couple of door alignment issues, both caused by doors slowly drifting out of position over time. A few careful adjustments and servicing later, and they were running smoothly again. Mid‑week took an unexpected turn when I injured my wrist, meaning a couple of jobs had to be postponed. Massive thank you to the custo

🔧 Door Alignment Fix in Catshill Today This morning I visited a local job for a Catshill customer who’d seen my recent post about door alignment issues and realised her two back doors were starting to show the same signs — stiff to close, difficult to lock, and getting progressively worse. A quick check confirmed both doors were out of alignment. After making the correct adjustments, they’re now closing and locking smoothly again, with no strain on the mechanism. While I was

🔧 Returning Customer – French Patio Doors Back to Smooth Operation It was great to be back helping a returning customer this week. I first visited them in October for a front door issue, and this time their French patio doors had completely stopped opening — not ideal in the heat we’ve had lately, especially with more warm weather on the way. After carefully getting the doors open, it became clear they’d never been serviced, and the root cause was alignment issues. With the

Called out today to a property where the door handles had gone floppy. Thankfully, after inspecting the door, it turned out to be worn springs behind the handles rather than an issue with the gearbox — a nice relief for the customer. We talked through the options and they chose a new set of handles, as the originals were starting to fade. While there, I also walked them through the difference between their standard cylinder and the British Standard 1★ cylinder I fit as sta

Another great upgrade completed this afternoon in Bromsgrove. I was back at a property where I recently replaced the gearbox, and while I was there the customer mentioned they wanted to upgrade to a 3‑star high‑security cylinder.Today we returned to finish the job properly. We fitted a lovely brass 3★ cylinder, refreshed the door with new matching handles, and carried out a full service to make sure everything runs smoothly.The result:A smooth, easy‑running doorA properly fit

A customer in Barnt Green had been struggling for a while with a stiff door and a lock that was getting harder to operate. When the door was first fitted, the keeps weren’t positioned quite right, meaning the door was constantly under pressure. To lock it, the customer had to pull the door in with one hand and turn the key with the other — a classic sign of alignment issues slowly putting strain on the mechanism and cylinder. Today we: • Adjusted the keeps to remove the press

Yesterday I was called out to a customer whose back door wouldn’t unlock at all. She’s lived in the property for over 20 years, and the door was fitted before she moved in — so we already suspected age might be a factor. Once on site, I managed to get the door open safely and found the culprit: a failed gearbox. So I carried out a temporary repair to keep the home secure while we ordered in the correct replacement. Fast‑forward to today — the new gearbox arrived, and I headed

Two 5‑star reviews landing just before the weekend — one from a key issue I sorted last week and another from a door service yesterday — is such a lovely way to finish a Friday. It genuinely means a lot seeing these come in. Every review is a reminder of why I take the extra time to work neatly, communicate clearly, and make sure every customer feels looked after. As I wrap up this week and get ready for the next, it’s a great time to remind anyone with stiff locks, door alig

🏡🔐 New Home Lock Changes Just moved into a new home in Bromsgrove or the surrounding areas? One of the simplest and most important things you can do is make sure you’re the only one with keys to your property. You never truly know how many keys are out there — previous owners, tenants, tradespeople, cleaners, neighbours, even old estate agent copies. Changing the locks gives you complete peace of mind from day one. Today I upgraded a customer’s front and back doors afte

A customer in Bromsgrove found themselves in a frustrating spot this morning — the door would lock, but the key wouldn’t turn far enough to retract and remove it. This turned out to be an issue with the cam inside the cylinder, which had worn and stopped aligning correctly. When this happens, the key can feel “stuck” even though the door itself is locked. A new cylinder was fitted, everything aligned perfectly, and the door is now running smoothly again with the key operating

Last week I was called out to a home where the front door wouldn’t lock at all. Once I opened up the gearbox, the problem became obvious — several internal parts had completely snapped. It was one of those jobs with a few ups and downs. The priority was keeping the property secure, so I carried out a temporary repair, removing the failed components and getting the door lockable and safe before leaving. The challenge? The original parts haven’t been made since the early 90s 😒

A customer called this morning needing their home office door upgraded from a simple latch to a proper lockable lock. With important documents inside, they wanted it sorted quickly — ideally today. I headed over this afternoon, removed the old latch, and fitted a new 3‑lever lock. This gives them: • Improved security for equipment and paperwork • A much more solid, reliable locking point compared to a standard latch If your home office needs a security upgrade or you’re unsur

🔐 New Home, New Locks — Full Security Upgrade Completed in Bromsgrove Today we carried out a full lock change for a customer who has just moved into their new home. We replaced the locks on three external doors plus the garage door, ensuring every entry point is now secure and keyed to the new owners only. All locks were upgraded to modern, high‑security cylinders, offering far better protection than the original fittings. If you’ve recently moved home, updating your locks