After a break-in
Burglary repair Guardamar: the forced door closing and locking again
Finding a door forced is bad enough without a night with it hanging open. The first visit makes it close and lock again. You get a written note of the damage for the insurer, and then, when you are ready, the choice of making it much harder to force next time.
Open 24 hours · 7 days
- Secured on the first visit
- Written note for the insurer
- High-security cylinders on request
The first hour
If you have just found the door forced
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Do not go in
Someone may still be inside. Step away and wait somewhere safe.
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Ring 112
The emergency number in Spain, in English if you need it. They send the police and tell you what they need.
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Photograph everything
The door, the lock, the frame, any marks, before anything is touched. Your insurer will ask.
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Then ring the locksmith
Once the police have seen it, the door is made to close and lock the same day.
Today
Getting it to close and lock tonight
The first visit is about the house being secure by nightfall. A snapped cylinder is replaced; a lock body bent by a bar is changed or repaired; a split frame round the keep is reinforced so the bolt has something to bite on. If a full repair needs parts that have to be ordered, the door is made secure in the meantime, not left on a wedge.
Before you leave, you have a written description of what was found and what was done, with photos. That is what the insurer asks for, and it is sent by email if the house is not your main home.
Next time
High-security cylinders, plates and the doors around them
| Upgrade | What it stops | Worth it for |
|---|---|---|
| High-security cylinder | Snapping, bumping and picking of the cylinder | Every front door, first of all |
| Guard plate over the cylinder | Gripping or levering the cylinder face | Armoured flat doors and bungalow doors |
| Reinforced keep and frame | The door being sprung out of its frame | Older timber doors, doors already forced once |
| Cylinder lock and anti-lift block on a slider | Lifting the terrace door off its track | Ground floors and bungalows; see sliding doors |
| Surface lock on a gate | A gate being sprung with a screwdriver | Houses with a garden wall |
The plain cylinder options, for doors that have not been attacked, are on the lock change page.
Houses left shut
A security upgrade for a house that is empty most of the year
Guardamar has the lowest share of main homes of any Spanish municipality over 10,000 people: 26.7% in the INE’s Census 2021. A house that is empty for months is one where a forced door can go unnoticed for weeks. A stronger front door matters, but so do the quieter ways in: the terrace slider, the garden gate, the door from the garage.
Just as important is knowing who has keys; read who else can open your door and the page on looking after a second home. A safe bolted to solid masonry keeps documents and small valuables out of easy reach: see safes. If the door still will not close at all and it is late, ring the line for being shut out or left open.
Asked often
After a break-in, people want to know
Should the lock be repaired before the police have seen the door?
No. Report it first and let the police see the door as it was found, unless they tell you otherwise. The repair comes after, and it can be booked while you wait for them.
The door was forced while we were in our own country. Can it be dealt with from there?
Yes. Someone you trust, or your agency, lets the work happen; the door is secured, photographed and described in writing, and the note is sent to you and, if you wish, to your insurer.
If I fit only a high-security cylinder, have I done enough?
It is the most important part, but it works best with a guard plate that covers its face and a door that closes square in its frame. A strong cylinder in a loose door is still a weak door.
They got in through the terrace door, not the front door. Can that be made stronger too?
Yes. A sliding terrace door can take a lock with a proper cylinder and an anti-lift block in its top track. The details are on the sliding door page.
Often needed next
What usually follows a repair
Guides that lead here
Door forced? Get it locking again today
Ring once the police have seen it. Photos on WhatsApp help bring the right parts.
Open 24 hours · 7 days