Lobster coughed up some electrons that declared:

Tim S wrote:
Scabbydug coughed up some electrons that declared:

"George" wrote in message
om...
just locked meself out and didnt have the cash of £57 for a
locksmith,no windows open to get through but managed to get in...will
have to buy a new letterbox now though. :-( good job key was in the
lock inside.
Assuming it was a euro cyinder you might not have been able to open the
door even if you had a key, often a key left in the lock on the inside
stops a key inserted from the outside from unlocking the lock.

I've just come across this with the new doors the landlord's just had
fitted. Bloody annoying. Something to check when I buy new door locks for
the bungalow...

Same as an ordinary mortice lock, then?

David

Well... Except that a mortice lock has a good mechanical reason to be that
way, and if you're truely stuck, sometimes, just sometimes, you can use a
pokey think and wiggle the opposing key out.

You can't with the euro barrels and as they are actually two locks in one,
there isn't a fundamental mechanical reason for them to be that way - it's
a "feature" (in the Microsoft sense).

The overriding thing is, that you obviously can't lock yourself out with a
mortice lock as you'd have to have the lock clear inside in order to lock
it from the outside, then you have the key about your person. Your front
door with a euro barrel slams shut behind you and even if you have a key,
you're stuffed.

Having reasoned the above, I feel my statement of "bloody stupid" has moved
from emotive to logical reasoning.

Luckily, I am a pessimist, so I carry a back door key at all times too.
Handy on Tuesday, when our friend locked herself out thanks to Mr Euro...
Still had to leave work, come home, then go back.

Cheers

Tim