Love laughs at locks. Dragons take a more direct approach.

[draconis]

I had a very interesting thing happen when I came home Sunday night -- my doorknob wouldn't work.

I had my keys, and had unlocked the deadbolt (the only lock on the door), so I wasn't technically "locked out" -- I just couldn't get in. When I turned the doorknob, it simply spun freely in my hand.

I asked a neighbor to call Maintenance for me, and they said that the reply from the answering service was that they didn't handle that sort of thing, I'd have to call a locksmith.

Okay, completely ignoring the fact that the lock seemed to be in perfect condition, how did this person think I was supposed to get the number for a locksmith, since presumably my telephone directory was on the other side of the door I needed help opening? I guess I was supposed to borrow Neighbor's phone book, but that still seems a rather illogical practice on the part of the answering service.

I got the Maintenance number from Neighbor and called them myself, and persuaded them that the problem wasn't the lock, it was the doorknob itself. She said she would try to reach one of the two gentlemen who do maintenance work for the apartment complex, but didn't know when they'd be able to be there.

While waiting for them, I continued working on the doorknob, trying to get it to "catch" and open the door. I could see there was a gap in between the baseplate of the doorknob and the wood of the door, and using the light from my cell phone's display, I could see what I was pretty sure was the rod that was supposed to be turning when the doorknob was rotated. I managed to borrow a pair of needle-nosed pliers from another neighbor, slide them into the gap, hold the cell-phone in one hand for light, twist the center rod -- and voila! Le door, she is open!

Half an hour later, Maintenance finally arrives and replaces the entire doorknob assembly.

Oh, well... if all else had failed, I'd already decided I would kick the door in, and just use the deadbolt when I wanted the door to stay closed.

Comments

[irishkate.livejournal.com]

I got locked out with the keys when the door had swollen in the damp and wouldn't budge. A friend tried to shoulder it open and then we tried tools. But that door wasn't budging. Luckily it was mum's house, I had my keys and she wasn't coming home for another few days so I went home to my own house. But I had left my wallet in there so I was borrowing money for the week. The builder had to come around and shave the door. But let me tell you, no burgler was getting into that house that night!