Emergency locksmith in Ottawa for house, apartment and office lockouts
Locked out, key snapped in the lock, or a door that will not lock after a break-in. Call any time, day or night, say what happened, and you get the price before a locksmith drives over.
At a glance
- Hours
- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- For
- Houses, condos, apartments, offices and garages
- First choice
- Pick or bypass, not drill
- Price
- Given on the phone
- Have ready
- ID with your address, or a lease
- Car locked?
- See car locksmith
- Experience
- 10 years in the trade, Fully insured
What counts as a locksmith emergency
Some lock problems can wait for a booked visit. These cannot, because you are stuck outside, or your home or business cannot be secured.
What to do in the first ten minutes
A few minutes of checking can save the cost of a call, and the rest makes the visit faster when you do need an emergency locksmith.
Check every door
Try the back door, the patio door and the door from the garage. People often lock the front and forget the rest.
Think of a spare key
A partner, a neighbour, a family member or a property manager may be closer than any locksmith.
Call 911 if someone is at risk
A child or a pet alone inside, a stove or a bath left running, or someone inside who needs medical help. Firefighters and police can force entry when life or safety is at stake.
Call and describe the lock
Say what kind of door it is, whether the deadbolt is locked or only the handle, and the brand if you can see it. You will get a price based on that.
Find your ID
A good locksmith will ask for ID with the address, a lease or a utility bill before opening a home. It is there to protect you.
On the phone with a locksmith? Check what they said
Tick everything you heard. The Better Business Bureau and CTV have both warned about low phone quotes that grow once the locksmith arrives.
Ask for the full price, the company name, and whether they will pick or drill.
How a locked door is opened without damage
Most house and apartment doors in Ottawa have a pin tumbler deadbolt and a handle set with a spring latch. A latch that has only clicked shut can often be slipped or bypassed in minutes, without touching the lock at all.
A locked deadbolt takes more skill. A locksmith picks it by lifting each pin to the shear line in turn, or uses a bypass tool made for that kind of lock. The door opens, the lock still works and your keys still fit.
For an emergency locksmith, drilling is the last resort. It is kept for high-security locks built to resist picking, for locks that have failed inside, and for the rare lock that cannot be opened any other way. If drilling is needed, you should be told why and what the new lock will cost before it starts. A locksmith who reaches for the drill first, on an ordinary deadbolt, is a warning sign.
If the lockout happened because a key broke in the lock, the broken piece is extracted with thin hooked tools, then a new key is cut from the two halves, so the lock keeps working with a fresh key.
Pick the lock yourself
A real lock opens one pin at a time. Turning tension makes one pin bind before the others. Find it, lift it to the shear line, and it sets with a click. Wrong pin, and it just springs back.
Tension on. Tap a pin to lift it.
- Pins set
- 0 / 5
- Wrong tries
- 0
- Time
- 0.0 s
This is why a good locksmith picks before drilling. A worn pin, a frozen cylinder or a high-security lock makes it harder. If your door will not open, call 613-820-5648.
Calling a 24 hour locksmith in Ottawa: what to ask first
Lockouts do not keep office hours, and the worst ones happen at night, on long weekends and in the middle of a cold snap. That is also when people are most likely to call the first number they find and accept whatever price they are told.
The Better Business Bureau and CTV have both reported on the same pattern: a phone quote of $15 to $40, then a bill several times higher once the locksmith has arrived, often after a lock was drilled that could have been picked. A night call genuinely costs more than a booked daytime visit, but you should know how much more before anyone drives over.
The Ottawa Locksmith answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and gives you the after-hours price on the phone before anyone drives over. Whoever you call, the questions on the right take about a minute and sort out most of it.
Ask these on the phone
- What is the full price?
- Including the call-out, any after-hours charge and tax. If they can only give a range, ask what would put you at the top of it.
- Will you pick it or drill it?
- For an ordinary deadbolt the answer should be pick or bypass.
- What is the company name?
- And will the locksmith arrive in a marked vehicle with identification?
- How long until you get here?
- So you can decide whether to wait somewhere warm.
The Better Business Bureau and CTV warnings refer to quotes reported in Canada. Prices on this site are not quoted, because every lock and door is different.
After a break-in: making the door secure
A forced door is a crime scene first and a repair second. Once the police have been called, this is the usual order of work.
What an emergency locksmith call costs
There is no single price for a lockout in Ottawa, which is why the price should come on the phone after you describe the door. These are the things that move it.
Questions people ask
Is The Ottawa Locksmith really a 24 hour locksmith?
Yes. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and holidays. Night calls may be priced differently from daytime work, and you hear the price on the phone first.
Will opening my door damage the lock?
Usually not. Most lockouts are opened by slipping the latch, picking the deadbolt or using a bypass tool, and the lock keeps working with your existing keys. Drilling is kept for high-security or failed locks, and you should be told before it happens.
Do I need ID for a lockout?
Yes. Expect to be asked for ID showing the address, or a lease, a utility bill or a neighbour or building manager who can vouch for you. A locksmith who opens any door for anyone is not protecting your home either.
My landlord changed the locks. Can a locksmith let me in?
In Ontario, a landlord may not change the locks of a rental unit during a tenancy without giving the tenant replacement keys, under section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Act. Contact your landlord first, and the Landlord and Tenant Board if it is not resolved. A locksmith will not override a lock that the person paying for the call has no right to open.
Can you open a door with a keypad or smart lock?
Yes, in most cases. Many smart deadbolts have a key cylinder hidden behind a cover, and a dead battery can often be bridged from outside. The residential locksmith page covers fitting and fixing them.
Other work The Ottawa Locksmith does
For everything else, from a sticking deadbolt to a safe, see the main page for a locksmith in Ottawa.
Tell us what is locked
613-820-5648Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
If you are locked out right now, call, day or night. For anything that can wait, send the form and you will get a call back with a price.