Cylinder, lock, and what an old-town door imposes
The cylinder is the part the key goes into; it carries the coding and comes out with a single screw on the edge of the leaf. The lock is everything else: the case, the bolts, the linkage of a multipoint, the faceplate visible on the edge. A key lost on the plage des Marinières, or copied once too often between lets, concerns the cylinder alone; a bolt that will not come out on an old-village leaf concerns the mechanism.
In the old town this gets more complicated. The leaves along the rue du Poilu and the lanes around it are thick, frequently outside any standard size, and many still carry a rim lock fitted at a time when nothing was standardised. Centres, spindle and keyhole position are measured on site: ordering a part from a photograph ends with a door drilled for nothing.
On the corniches and in the Vallon de la Roche the buildings are newer and the sizes more ordinary. Mortice multipoint locks dominate there, with the linkage and rollers that go with them. Replacing the cylinder alone settles the great majority of requests, without touching the rest of the mechanism or the adjustment of the door.
Keys that change hands every season
Villefranche runs on short stays. A flat let by the week sees dozens of key sets pass through in a year, between guests, cleaners and the concierge service. After three seasons nobody truly knows how many copies exist. Changing the cylinder between two letting periods is the simplest way of taking back control of what opens your home.
Salt plays its part. Doors facing due south above the bay take the spray all year, and homes closed for months on end are never aired. A cylinder that starts catching at the end of the season is not always worn out: more often it is fouled. The difference shows up when the mechanism is stripped, not over the telephone.
When several locks hang on the same ring — flat, vaulted cellar, store on the Darse, gate up on the corniche — it is worth thinking about a master-key plan before ordering anything at all. The itemised quote is presented before the work starts, and the detailed invoice handed over at the end, parts and labour set out separately.
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 Villefranche-sur-Mer.