uPVC door almost impossible to unlock

[DI-Guy]

My uPVC door has become very hard to unlock. The key rotates fine intially but then feels "blocked" when it gets to the point of actually unlocking. I can still unlock it if I keep on turning, but I have to turn hard enough that I'm worried I will break off the key soon. Locking the door again once it's unlocked works fine.

The same issue happens if the door is open, so I don't think it's anything to do with the frame or the alignment.

I have also already taken out and cleaned the lock cylinder but that didn't make any difference. The cylinder also rotates completely fine if it's out of the door.

So I think it must be the locking mechanism in the door itself.

Is this a common issue? Is this something I can DIY or do I need to get a pro to come in? I suppose my next step should be to take off and clean the locking mechanism on the side of the door, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to put it back together again afterwards.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Have you tried pulling the handle upwards quite hard whilst you turn the key? That might help until it's fixed.

 

[ronniecabers]

Sounds like the gearbox but could be as simple as one of the many locking points is sticking.

 

[DI-Guy]

Thanks for the suggestions, I managed to sort it!

In case anyone comes across this later, once I had taken the metal brackets out of the door and opened up the locking mechanism it was very easy to see the issue: a ball bearing in the locking mechanism had fallen off its holder and was blocking one of the other springs.

So it was a very easy fix in the end, although removing and then reattaching the brackets took quite a while. It wasn't easy to make sure all the locking points were in exactly the right place. Took me about 2-3h total.

 

[ronniecabers]

Well done on fixing it ... hopefully it won't reoccur , as the ball bearings moved once on its own already....