Nancy another great article. I am sorry you experienced this situation with us, In a way it is comical and still sad. We certainly learned a lot that day. Besides the pain of what to do, we are now 190€ poorer, but we’ll never get locked out again. A key has now been hidden.
I locked myself out of my apartment so many times when I first moved to VRSA that I got to know the Police (now some are friends...a good byproduct of rushing out the door and not forming good habits, or just being stupid). I even had the locksmith from the next town over (none in VRSA) in my favorites in my iphone contacts.
Here is a fun twist...even if you have a spare key you can NOT unlock the door if the key is in the other side!
I had a friend visiting (they come in droves when you first move here) and I gave her a spare key and told her to always keep it on her....and she did. Also, I had the rule if you open the door you must take the key from the inside and put it in the outside so there is no chance of getting locked out.
BUT, one morning when she was in a rush to get out to see everything and I was taking my time she stood at the door with the door open trying to shoo me out the door and so we rushed outside.
As soon as the door slammed I said "oh no, did you take the key out of the inside of the door"? She said, "don't worry, I have the spare on me like you told me to do". Good Girl!!!
So we went off on our merry way...and when we returned...aw man...THE KEY WOULDN'T OPEN THE DOOR!
WHAT? This was the spare key and I had tested it myself to make sure it worked (and it had when I tested it) but for some reason it wouldn't open the door today! WHAT???
So scratching my head I called the locksmith, who was happy to pop over for 5 minutes, yet again, to earn another 50 euros from the dumb blonde! No need to explain who I was or how to get to my house, I'm sure I was in his iphone "favorites" also.
It's easy for the locksmith to open the door when you haven't bolted it (he always made me turn away so I couldn't see his trick to open the door...now I know it is an x-ray...I'm adding that to my car emergency bag, thanks Nancy). Anywhoo, he had it opened in less than a minute and explained that...
IF THE KEY IS IN THE LOCK ON THE INSIDE OF THE DOOR YOU STILL CAN'T UNLOCK THE DOOR.
Apparently, it's a safety measure (one that many of my other friends have learned the hard way like me).
So the next time I called out the locksmith for a quick 50 euro visit I asked him to PLEASE bring an American style lock so my friends and I would stop this crazy exercise. He didn't have one that would work with the bank vault bolts, but he DID have one which allowed me to leave a key on the inside and still be able to use a key on the outside. He let me know this wasn't safe (someone will have my spare that I don't know or can get through the bank vault)?
Whoo hoo, problem solved and now my neighbor has a spare key as well as another couple of friends...and thanks to Nancy I'm adding the xray to my car!
Cheers and thanks for another fun post...and very important for those of us who live here!
There is more....Funny story...two sisters live together in town (more CA people...from San Diego) and one left to get groceries and locked the door from the outside out of habit. Somehow her sister who was now "locked in" the house (by the bank vault style bolts) didn't have her key, so she couldn't leave the apartment...another important note...have spare keys inside the house! Well, unless you plan to lock your friends and family inside the house (could that be the reason).
And...as Nancy and Denise have learned...there is always the window.
Yes, we have a similar story. Last October on Sunday of the Ironman we left our keys IN the lock inside our house in the Old Town of Cascais. We went on our merry way to watch the race and on our return home we're baffled because we couldn't unlock the door. We called a locksmith who was less than thrilled to drive to our house because all the streets were blocked due to the race. We, too, had to have our lock drilled out and a new one installed. The cost of 75 euro should have been three times that IMO, but he took pity on us.
We ALWAYS remove the key from the interior lock and take it with us now. This seems to be a rite of passage for many of us!
We learned this lesson vicariously. through our neighbor who accidentally locked herself out. Our door has something like 9 bolts and we live on the top floor. So breaking a window--also all tempered glass--would be a less attractive solution. we are thinking of hiding a key somewhere...
We have a key hidden. It has severed us well on at least one occasion and our lovely dog sitter as well. It used to take me forever to figure out how to open our door in Porto. Our door in Parede is much easier. Thanks for a fun (for us) post.
The door pictured is not common in Portuguese housing. It is a steel frame door and very expensive. These are found only in modern, high-end/luxury housing.
More common locks have a steel rod that extend floor to ceiling with each keyturn, along with each bolt extension. Those doors are normally wood and some are quite flimsy.
Your housing, as high-end, is subject to a higher risk of a break-in. Portugal’s safety record is based on violent crime, not petty theft, which can be common in certain areas in Portugal, and has increased with the now high rates of tourism. Car break-ins are on the rise again, too. Note to those in PT: NEVER leave anything visible inside your car when parked on the street. It’s highly likely you’ll return to a broken window and possible car damage due a frustrated burglar finding your muddy shoes in that plastic Worten bag.
During the financial crisis, theft and home break-ins rose dramatically. (I was married to a PT police officer during these years.) Wealthy/foreigner areas were targets. Security was added.
Petty theft is already on the rise again due to inflation and lack of affordable housing. It is projected to rise this quarter and next year as energy costs and more inflation make living difficult for many in Portugal.
I’m surprised you went with option 2. Option 1 is easy, if not a little embarrassing. I suppose it depends on the cost to repair the window vs the cost to the locksmith. And you’ll have to pay a police charge, too, (circa €50 in 2016) for their inconvenience to show up, check your ID and sign a paper verifying that it’s your place. If you call the bombeiros, there’s a charge, too. I know as I locked myself out not once, but twice! 🤓
We had the same thing happened but live on the first floor and had left a balcony open but needed to access our only French speaking neighbor's patio. Long story short it involved a restaurant with ladder, a cross country friend who spoke French! The restaurant owner told us if it happened again to call the bomberos, who will only charge around 30€ to get in.
Oddly enough, we, too, have a weird lock situation, however, it's a bit different. In our place, you need a key in order to lock and unlock the door from INSIDE the house. And our patio door also has a lock which must be operated with a key from the inside. If you don't have the keys, you can't get out of the house or the patio. It's one gigantic fire hazard.
Great (but unfortunate) story! We had the same thing happen to us at our Cascais Air B&B on our first trip to Portugal last December (where we met you). The day we were leaving for Caldais we decided to get breakfast at the cafe in our building. Yep, we walked out of the apartment without the keys, but we had our phone. Luckily, the Air B&B host was able to contact the housekeeper who came to our rescue.
While traveling to Seattle in August we landed in Houston on a layover and immediately saw 5 phone messages (three from our dog/house sitter, and two from a neighbor) alerting us that we failed to leave a key for the sitter to get in! YIKES!!! Thankfully, we had a long layover that gave Scott time to contact a locksmith to drill out the lock. $350.00 later the sitter was in the house and Rizzo was outside relieving himself!
Been there, done that….however 2nd floor location prohibited window break in 🪟…..waited on property manager with a backup plan to check into a hotel until he could be located😍😍😍
Nancy another great article. I am sorry you experienced this situation with us, In a way it is comical and still sad. We certainly learned a lot that day. Besides the pain of what to do, we are now 190€ poorer, but we’ll never get locked out again. A key has now been hidden.
All I can do is laugh and agree!
I locked myself out of my apartment so many times when I first moved to VRSA that I got to know the Police (now some are friends...a good byproduct of rushing out the door and not forming good habits, or just being stupid). I even had the locksmith from the next town over (none in VRSA) in my favorites in my iphone contacts.
Here is a fun twist...even if you have a spare key you can NOT unlock the door if the key is in the other side!
I had a friend visiting (they come in droves when you first move here) and I gave her a spare key and told her to always keep it on her....and she did. Also, I had the rule if you open the door you must take the key from the inside and put it in the outside so there is no chance of getting locked out.
BUT, one morning when she was in a rush to get out to see everything and I was taking my time she stood at the door with the door open trying to shoo me out the door and so we rushed outside.
As soon as the door slammed I said "oh no, did you take the key out of the inside of the door"? She said, "don't worry, I have the spare on me like you told me to do". Good Girl!!!
So we went off on our merry way...and when we returned...aw man...THE KEY WOULDN'T OPEN THE DOOR!
WHAT? This was the spare key and I had tested it myself to make sure it worked (and it had when I tested it) but for some reason it wouldn't open the door today! WHAT???
So scratching my head I called the locksmith, who was happy to pop over for 5 minutes, yet again, to earn another 50 euros from the dumb blonde! No need to explain who I was or how to get to my house, I'm sure I was in his iphone "favorites" also.
It's easy for the locksmith to open the door when you haven't bolted it (he always made me turn away so I couldn't see his trick to open the door...now I know it is an x-ray...I'm adding that to my car emergency bag, thanks Nancy). Anywhoo, he had it opened in less than a minute and explained that...
IF THE KEY IS IN THE LOCK ON THE INSIDE OF THE DOOR YOU STILL CAN'T UNLOCK THE DOOR.
Apparently, it's a safety measure (one that many of my other friends have learned the hard way like me).
So the next time I called out the locksmith for a quick 50 euro visit I asked him to PLEASE bring an American style lock so my friends and I would stop this crazy exercise. He didn't have one that would work with the bank vault bolts, but he DID have one which allowed me to leave a key on the inside and still be able to use a key on the outside. He let me know this wasn't safe (someone will have my spare that I don't know or can get through the bank vault)?
Whoo hoo, problem solved and now my neighbor has a spare key as well as another couple of friends...and thanks to Nancy I'm adding the xray to my car!
Cheers and thanks for another fun post...and very important for those of us who live here!
There is more....Funny story...two sisters live together in town (more CA people...from San Diego) and one left to get groceries and locked the door from the outside out of habit. Somehow her sister who was now "locked in" the house (by the bank vault style bolts) didn't have her key, so she couldn't leave the apartment...another important note...have spare keys inside the house! Well, unless you plan to lock your friends and family inside the house (could that be the reason).
And...as Nancy and Denise have learned...there is always the window.
Great advice and the story, as always. Thank you, Nancy. Will be easier to remember , as I get my own place in Algarve.
Yes, we have a similar story. Last October on Sunday of the Ironman we left our keys IN the lock inside our house in the Old Town of Cascais. We went on our merry way to watch the race and on our return home we're baffled because we couldn't unlock the door. We called a locksmith who was less than thrilled to drive to our house because all the streets were blocked due to the race. We, too, had to have our lock drilled out and a new one installed. The cost of 75 euro should have been three times that IMO, but he took pity on us.
We ALWAYS remove the key from the interior lock and take it with us now. This seems to be a rite of passage for many of us!
We learned this lesson vicariously. through our neighbor who accidentally locked herself out. Our door has something like 9 bolts and we live on the top floor. So breaking a window--also all tempered glass--would be a less attractive solution. we are thinking of hiding a key somewhere...
Wow! Who knew?!! I found this quite fascinating! Thank you!
Great advice!
When we ordered new doors to our house we needed to make sure that we got a lock that we needed key to, always. And that it opens out, not inwards.
We have a key hidden. It has severed us well on at least one occasion and our lovely dog sitter as well. It used to take me forever to figure out how to open our door in Porto. Our door in Parede is much easier. Thanks for a fun (for us) post.
I’ve encountered these types of locks in most of my travels in Europe, so must be a European thing.
The door pictured is not common in Portuguese housing. It is a steel frame door and very expensive. These are found only in modern, high-end/luxury housing.
More common locks have a steel rod that extend floor to ceiling with each keyturn, along with each bolt extension. Those doors are normally wood and some are quite flimsy.
Your housing, as high-end, is subject to a higher risk of a break-in. Portugal’s safety record is based on violent crime, not petty theft, which can be common in certain areas in Portugal, and has increased with the now high rates of tourism. Car break-ins are on the rise again, too. Note to those in PT: NEVER leave anything visible inside your car when parked on the street. It’s highly likely you’ll return to a broken window and possible car damage due a frustrated burglar finding your muddy shoes in that plastic Worten bag.
During the financial crisis, theft and home break-ins rose dramatically. (I was married to a PT police officer during these years.) Wealthy/foreigner areas were targets. Security was added.
Petty theft is already on the rise again due to inflation and lack of affordable housing. It is projected to rise this quarter and next year as energy costs and more inflation make living difficult for many in Portugal.
I’m surprised you went with option 2. Option 1 is easy, if not a little embarrassing. I suppose it depends on the cost to repair the window vs the cost to the locksmith. And you’ll have to pay a police charge, too, (circa €50 in 2016) for their inconvenience to show up, check your ID and sign a paper verifying that it’s your place. If you call the bombeiros, there’s a charge, too. I know as I locked myself out not once, but twice! 🤓
Our first short term rental in Estoril (a more typical Portuguese place) had the type of lock you reference…
We had the same thing happened but live on the first floor and had left a balcony open but needed to access our only French speaking neighbor's patio. Long story short it involved a restaurant with ladder, a cross country friend who spoke French! The restaurant owner told us if it happened again to call the bomberos, who will only charge around 30€ to get in.
And a great story…
Oddly enough, we, too, have a weird lock situation, however, it's a bit different. In our place, you need a key in order to lock and unlock the door from INSIDE the house. And our patio door also has a lock which must be operated with a key from the inside. If you don't have the keys, you can't get out of the house or the patio. It's one gigantic fire hazard.
Great (but unfortunate) story! We had the same thing happen to us at our Cascais Air B&B on our first trip to Portugal last December (where we met you). The day we were leaving for Caldais we decided to get breakfast at the cafe in our building. Yep, we walked out of the apartment without the keys, but we had our phone. Luckily, the Air B&B host was able to contact the housekeeper who came to our rescue.
While traveling to Seattle in August we landed in Houston on a layover and immediately saw 5 phone messages (three from our dog/house sitter, and two from a neighbor) alerting us that we failed to leave a key for the sitter to get in! YIKES!!! Thankfully, we had a long layover that gave Scott time to contact a locksmith to drill out the lock. $350.00 later the sitter was in the house and Rizzo was outside relieving himself!
Been there, done that….however 2nd floor location prohibited window break in 🪟…..waited on property manager with a backup plan to check into a hotel until he could be located😍😍😍
Oops