Closing up a house whose weak point is at the back
The plots in Beutre, Chemin Long or Les Eyquems are often bordered by hedges and low walls that protect privacy, and that at the same time hide the back of the house from the street. When entry was made through a sliding patio door or the service door, making the place secure does not mean fitting a new lock on the front door. The forced opening has to be secured, its ability to close restored, broken glazing boarded up, and then the rest of the perimeter checked to see whether it really holds.
The order of things matters as much as the repair itself. Leave the marks in place for the police examination, photograph the door, the door frame and the splinters, and only start permanent work afterwards; temporary securing lets you wait without leaving the house open. Finally, think about the keys. In a house, the same set usually operates the garage, the garden shed and the pedestrian gate. If it disappeared during the break-in, those access points need dealing with just as much as the door of the home itself.
In a co-owned building, the incident does not stop at your landing
In Beaudésert as in the newer residences, cellars and basement lock-up garages are closed by lightweight doors whose strength depends above all on the surround and the fixings. When one of them is forced, the immediate neighbours are concerned too, and access to the basement was sometimes gained through a communal door left open or badly locked. Telling the building managing agent (syndic) is not an administrative formality: it is what makes it possible to deal with the shared weak link instead of everyone reinforcing their own door in isolation.
On the flat door itself, one point deserves attention in the area's older buildings: it is not always the lock that gives way, but the timber around the strike plate, torn out by leverage. Refitting a new mechanism onto a split door frame does not restore the original resistance. The repair therefore covers the whole assembly: door frame, strike plate and locking points. Everything removed is kept for your insurer, together with a detailed invoice setting out each item of the job.
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 Mérignac.