Safes
Safe opening Mutxamel, and a new safe fixed where it will stay
A keypad that went dark while the house was empty, a code that nobody in the family can remember, an office safe at a unit whose manager has left. The safe is opened with the least damage it allows, and a new one can be fixed down where it will not be carried off.
Open 24 hours · 7 days
- Homes, shops and units
- Proof of ownership asked first
- Price agreed before work starts
In Mutxamel
The safes that come up most
In the chalets
Small electronic safes in wardrobes and under stairs, in the urbanizations of Bonalba, Cotoveta, Valle del Sol and Monnegre. The usual story: the batteries ran down while nobody was there, or the person who set the code is not the person standing in front of it.
In shops and at Riodel
Takings safes in the shops of the centre, and office safes in the units of the Riodel park, where more than 25 firms work. Here the code often left with a member of staff. The rest of the work on business premises is on its own page.
First
What has to be shown before a safe is touched
A safe holds exactly what someone else might want, so nothing is opened without proof that it is yours: the deeds or the rental contract of the house it is fixed in, the purchase invoice of the safe, or for a business, papers showing you can speak for it. If the proof is inside the safe, say so; the house documents usually settle it.
The method
From the gentlest attempt to the last one
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Power
Fresh batteries, through the external contacts if there are any. A dark keypad is often just that.
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The override key
Usually behind a badge or a small cover. If it is lost or locked inside, the next step follows.
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Working the lock
Mechanical and many electronic locks can be opened without a mark. It takes patience rather than force.
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One precise hole
Only if nothing else works, and only once you agree. The lock is then repaired or replaced so the safe can be used again.
New safes
Fitting a safe so it stays where it is put
A safe that can be lifted out goes with whoever lifts it. A new safe is bolted through its base or back into concrete or solid masonry, in a place that is not the first one anybody looks. If the house has been broken into already, the doors come first: a safe behind a door that gives in a minute buys very little.
If the safe is fine and it is the front door that is shut, see how doors are opened without damage; for a planned change of the house locks, booking a lock change. Places covered are on the areas page, and other ways to get in touch on the contact page.
If the whole household is sure somebody else knows the code, this guide is worth five minutes before you ring.
Questions
What owners of locked safes ask
The display is blank after the summer. Is the code lost too?
Rarely. Most electronic safes keep the code when the batteries die. Fresh batteries, fed through the outside contacts if the safe has them, open a lot of safes without anything else being done.
Can the office safe at our unit be opened without the manager who set the code?
Yes, as long as someone with authority over the business asks for it and can show it: company papers, or the owner or manager confirming by phone. The new code is then set by whoever you choose.
Will the safe still be usable once it has been opened?
Usually. Power, the override key or working the lock leave it as it was. If it has to be drilled, the hole is made at one precise point and the lock is repaired or replaced, which is cheaper than a new safe more often than not.
Where should a safe go in a chalet?
Bolted into solid concrete or masonry, out of sight from windows, and away from the obvious places: not the main bedroom wardrobe if you can help it. Hollow plasterboard is no good for fixing anything.
Next
Often needed alongside a safe
From the guides
Code gone, keypad dark, safe shut?
Send a photo of the front and the maker’s label on WhatsApp, and you will hear what is likely to work.
Open 24 hours · 7 days