Jamieson Locksmiths
17th DEcember 2010
Locksmith Blog
Well, another busy month. This last week I've done 15 hour days every day except Tuesday, when I only did 12! Hopefully this weekend might be a bit quieter, but I'm already booked up until lunchtime tomorrow (Saturday) so probably not!
I've been doing all the usual locksmith work , such as fitting yale locks, chubb locks, locks on upvc doors, extra security on upvc doors, rebated locks on french doors (always a pain those), upvc mechanisms, fitting digilocks, replacement euro cylinders etc. I haven't had too many lockouts though. I've had a few, but not loads. I'm expecting those to pick up over the xmas holidays though. People always get themselves locked out either when on holiday from work, or over the weekend. I don't know why that is, but it always seems to be true. I'm also expecting a few "the cat's locked in the house and we need to feed it" jobs, from neighbours who are looking after someones cat!
As always I've been covering the usual areas; Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud, Tewksbury, Cirencester etc. I also do "warrants" all over the Gloucestershire. I don't think I've ever mentioned these before, but what we do is get utility companies into properties where they haven't paid the bills, so they can fit pre-payment meters. Not too many locksmiths can do this kind of work, because the work has to be 100% Non-Destructive. What I mean by that is that all locks have to picked open, not drilled. This is so that when the occupier comes home, they can still use their key. You also have to be able to pick locks very quickly. To give you an idea, I would expect to be in a house with a pvc door in under 2 minutes (normally under a minute to be honest) and through a mortice lock (chubb type lock) in about 5 minutes. All good fun this. Especially when someone turns up and wants to know what the hell you're doing!
As I say, there are not many locksmiths who can do this kind of work, as most locksmiths drill locks open so they an charge customers for new locks. This means I end up covering all of the Gloucestershire area with warrants, which certainly adds on the mileage. It must be said though, it's the best experience you can get in lock opening.
Anyway, it just remains for me to say "Have a very happy xmas and try not to get locked out!"