how to open stuck locked door, non-violently?

March 18, 2025 6:48 AM

MacGyver call: please help me find a non-violent way to open my stuck locked shed door!

The shed door is locked with a key inserted, and the key has corroded stuck - the key doesn't turn and doesn't come out (BTW surprisingly the door handle does still turn). Here is a picture.

I assume that the most obvious solution is to saw the lock's bolt. My problem is that the wall and roof over this door are in bad condition, and use of a vibrating tool on the door might cause parts of the wall/roof to fall (ON ME. NOT GOOD :-((().

So I need a non-violent way to open the door. BTW I am open to suggestions that might take time (like apply something to the area daily for a month to unstick the key. but what, how and where?). Any ideas?

posted by mirileh to Home & Garden (23 answers total)

Are the hinges on the inside or outside of the shed? Could you tap those out to remove the door?
posted by nickggully at 7:04 AM on March 18 [4 favorites]

There are anti-corrosion sprays you could apply to the lock repeatedly, and in a week or so, they might penetrate enough to let it operate.
posted by nickggully at 7:06 AM on March 18 [8 favorites]

I'd start with spraying PB B'laster and trying to work that lock back and forth. It can take repeated attempts and a few hours to really get in there. Like trying four times a day for two or three days.
posted by advicepig at 7:10 AM on March 18 [8 favorites]

PB Blaster or other penetrating oils might help.
posted by pappy at 7:11 AM on March 18 [3 favorites]

As for where to try it, everywhere you can reach with the straw.
posted by advicepig at 7:12 AM on March 18 [2 favorites]

WD-40 might help, I recently used the spray version to unjam a stuck key.
posted by j810c at 7:15 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

For more off the wall ideas, you could very slowly try to drill a big hole with a hole saw and reach inside to unlock if there is a knob on the other side.

You could cut the door out around the lockset with hand tools.
posted by advicepig at 7:15 AM on March 18 [2 favorites]

WD40 and keep trying over the course of two or three days before you give up.

Percussive maintenance, as in gentle taps on the key with a hammer.
posted by Jane the Brown at 7:17 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

That gap looks wide enough that a thinnish cutting disc on an angle grinder should be able to reach the lock bolt without much difficulty.

That might start a fire by throwing sparks but it wouldn't shake the building down. Hopefully the door would come open in time to let you douse it.
posted by flabdablet at 7:49 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

Nthing repeated liberal applications of PB Blaster.
posted by so fucking future at 8:09 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

gentle taps on the key with a hammer

VERY gentle if you plan to do this. Keys can be brittle, and a snapped-off key is an even bigger problem.
posted by pipeski at 8:28 AM on March 18

I assume there's no window or anything that you could either sneak in through or sneak in a well-trained child through? (I agree that PB Blaster and using the key is your best first line of attack.)
posted by mskyle at 8:44 AM on March 18

Sharp chisel to bite into the lock cylinder and rotate with taps of a hammer.

Echoing nickggully, looks like door opens out, so hinges should be on outside. Tap out hinge pins, remove door.
posted by H21 at 8:46 AM on March 18

From the picture, it looks like, as nickggully points out in the first response, that the hinges are accessible. Tap out the hinge pins and take the door off that way then deal with the lock.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:47 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

Looks like you'd be able to get a hacksaw blade between the door and the frame. Get a good, short one for cutting metal, and you can work through that bolt in not too much time, and without the kind of violent shaking that a power tool would create. Something like this might work.
posted by Dr. Wu at 9:14 AM on March 18

What about getting a locksmith out to work on it? They probably have all the tools and oils you might otherwise buy to work on something like this, and might know some tricks for getting it done more quickly.
posted by limeonaire at 9:36 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

flabdablet: a thinnish cutting disc on an angle grinder

Definitely. Just keep a garden hose (oh right, that's in the shed), pump sprayer filled with water (likely in the shed too ...) or just a bucket of water at hand to douse any sparks. Throw a bucketfull against the door first as well.

An oscillating multitool (like this Makita cordless model with an appropriate blade won't spark, won't want to vibrate your shed to pieces but will be slower to cut through the lock bolt.
posted by Stoneshop at 10:01 AM on March 18

Before I got anywhere near an angle grinder, I'd give either WD40 or some other penetrant a shot. I hope this feeble pic works, my PS skills are bad.

Spray it where marked, it comes with that nozzle thing just for stuff like this. wait a day, spray it again and try to gingerly move it. If it doesn't open, repeat. It might take a while, but IMHO it's a skosh safer than grinding the lock bits out.

Good Luck.
posted by Sphinx at 11:01 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]

Note that standard WD-40 is not a penetrating oil like PB Blaster is, and not a long-term lubricant either. There is a penetrating rust-dissolver in the WD-40 lineup, which is the type of gunk you need to tackle a rusted-stuck lock or hinge.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:02 PM on March 18 [2 favorites]

Seeing as the bolt is visible .. after squirting WD40/556 around key and onto top of visible bolt (increasing likelihood it'll seep inward along bolt).

Does handle have its own bolt? If yes tie a weight to it or otherwise hold it open as that can frustrate entry methods.

Next get a thin strip of tempered steel - I always found a painter's spatula good for this, press the flat end of the blade on to the face of the bolt and twist the handle - does the bolt move? I've used this method a lot to gain entry by repeating this action.

More agressive is insert a thin pry bar (the type made from pressed temperered steel) where the bolt is and see if you can force a gap by pushing door to left and jamb to right. A wedge is useful for this to retain the gap before widening the gap. Two pry bars are better.

Is the bolt flat or does it have a curving face on the inside? as there may be another solution.
posted by unearthed at 12:10 PM on March 18

Since the key is inserted, we can assume the cylinder is not being mechanically being kept from turning by the pins. So the cylinder itself should be able to rotate and thus move the bolt out of the way. As others have noted, corrosion between the cylinder and cylinder walls needs to be broken free. There are various strong penetrating oils which can seep into that gap. I have found applying vibration and sometimes heat can speed up that process.

I have a very tiny battery "power carver" which gives 14,000 tiny strokes a min. I would apply some penetrating oil, then press the end of the carver to vibrate against the cylinder to help move the oil into the gaps. After a few seconds of vibration, I'd add some more oil and try again. Then I'd begin gently wiggling the key back and forth.

I suspect at some point the key would be able to be pulled free, allowing much more oil to reach deeper into the slot in the cylinder and around the cylinder walls.
Once the cylinder is free the key can be reinserted and turned.


Unearthed's ideas about prying against the bolt with a sharpened instrument are also excellent. It appears there is a gap and with the all-metal construction you have firm surfaces to pry against.



As noted above by pipeski, the metal of the key where it enters the cylinder is the weakest point, so use great care in twisting the key.
posted by tronec at 7:29 PM on March 18 [1 favorite]

I am convinced that the world would be a better place without WD-40. What you want is a penetrating oil, as others have said. There are a horde of good ones out there and they really help with old corroded stuff.

WD-40 also has the unfortunate property of eventually ending up drying into an immovable … gunk … and gumming everything up.

I’d be surprised if several days of penetrating oil don’t get things at least to the stage where the key comes out, if not to retracting the bolt. However, if you think the shed is rickety enough that sawing the bolt might bring it down, I’d think carefully about going in once you get the door open. Maybe demolishing it in-place is a safer option?

Good luck and let us know how it comes out.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 9:16 AM on March 19 [1 favorite]

I can't be the only one waiting for an update, right?
posted by advicepig at 11:07 AM on March 28