What the door will take, and what it refuses
The cylinder is the part the key goes into: one screw on the faceplate and it comes out without touching the mechanism. The lock is the whole assembly — case, bolts, connecting rods, faceplate. A lost key, a tenant moving out, copies in circulation: the cylinder is enough. A bolt that no longer throws, bent rods, a faceplate torn away: the mechanism has to be opened. In the old buildings around the place du Petit Puy the distinction matters: the second case means a part no longer sold in the sizes those leaves need.
In old town buildings the leaves are often narrower than anything now manufactured, and the frame is bedded straight into the stone masonry. We replace like for like where the part still exists, and adapt where it does not: centre distance, backset, cylinder length either side, thickness of the leaf. A cylinder left protruding gives an attacker something to grip.
The former perfumeries and workshops converted into homes pose the opposite problem: original metal doors, delivery entrances turned into front doors, wide frames. Their locking is rarely standard, and the answer often lies in a lock mounted on the face of the leaf rather than a mortise cut into steel.
When the key changes hands
A property in Plascassier or Magagnosc frequently includes several buildings: the house, an annexe, a store, sometimes a gate onto the track. Each has its own locking, and key rings end up carrying keys nobody can identify. A master key plan restores order: one key for the occupant, limited access for someone who only needs the store.
In the old town a large share of the housing is rented and changes hands regularly. After several tenancies, nothing tells you how many copies are still out there: replacing the cylinder when you move in is a simple precaution. If your key also opens the street door of the building, the replacement has to preserve that, which means going through the managing agent.
As a tenant you may replace a faulty lock, but tell the landlord in writing and plan on handing over a set of keys at the end of the lease. The level of protection is then judged on the weakest link: there is little point fitting a high-grade cylinder into a frame that successive autumn rains on the Grasse hillside have worked year after year.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our lock and cylinder replacement page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Grasse.