When they come in at the back, out of sight of the street
On the plots on the outskirts of Langon, the street façade is the best kept and best lit part of the property. Everything happens behind: a living-room French window onto the garden, a side door, an attached garage that connects to the living space, a utility room whose door has not been changed since the house was built. The hedges and low walls that make the place pleasant also offer welcome privacy to anyone who wants to take their time. That precise point of entry is what needs correcting, not the front door out of reflex.
So the inventory does not stop at the house. A padlock cut off a shed, a shed door lifted, a side gate forced, a cellar vent opened from the inside: every access that was attacked should be photographed and mentioned in the police report, even if nothing was taken there. If a set of keys vanished during the visit, the cylinders concerned need changing, including those of the garage, the cellar and the outbuildings when everything hung on the same ring. The quote clearly separates immediate securing from permanent work.
Shop below, home above: two files to handle at once
In the centre, many buildings combine a ground-floor shop and a home upstairs, linked by a street door and a shared staircase. When that door gives way, the break-in involves two occupants at once, two insurance policies and sometimes two different owners. The urge to close everything up quickly is understandable, especially for a business that has to reopen, but the official findings come first: photograph the leaf from the street, the lock area, the frame and the splintering, report the break-in to the police, then have a temporary closure fitted that will genuinely hold.
On old doors like these it is almost never the lock that fails: it is the timber around the strike plate, torn out by leverage, or the rebate splitting on a frame set into the masonry. Refitting a new mechanism into a split frame restores nothing at all. Keep the parts that were removed, cylinder and pieces of timber included: your insurer may ask to see them. Tell the building managing agent (syndic) or the owner of the commercial unit as well, because a shared street door concerns everyone who uses it.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our securing your home after a break-in page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Langon.