Having a screen door gives your home a warmer feel. Since sunlight and air can pass through the door, you can enjoy the environment outside your house without having pests, bugs, and insects getting inside your living room.
However, getting locked out due to a screen door from inside or outside the home is something of an inconvenience. This might be caused by losing the keys to the entrance or a broken lock.
Fortunately for you, I will show you how to open a locked screen door in this article.
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Ways to Unlock a Screen Door
Depending on the model or make of the sliding screen door locking mechanism, there are multiple ways to open it.
Before diving into the ways to unlock a metal screen door, you have to prepare the following materials:
- A piece of soda can
- A claw hammer
- A pick and tension tool
After you have prepared the necessary materials, choose among the following ways to unlock screen door or storm door lock:
To open a locked screen door from outside, you can always use a hammer. Specifically, you need to have a claw hammer, since the claw is needed to pry open the lock without having to remove security screen door.
To open a stuck screen door with a hammer, follow these steps:
- Pull the door to its full extent.
This will make it easier for you to insert your claw hammer for the next step.
- Insert your claw hammer.
Find the gap between the door jamb and your screen door. Insert the claw of your claw hammer into the gap.
- Pull the hammer.
Pull the claw hammer towards you until the screen door unlocks by itself.
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- Note: If you do not have an available claw hammer, you can use a metal rod or anything that is thin enough to go between the gap and sturdy enough to force the door open, such as a credit card.
A piece of can is malleable enough to form into a picking tool and thin enough to slide between narrow gaps. Simply follow these steps:
- Form an arm with a piece of soda can.
Take a scissor and cut the soda’s top and bottom. Bend and mold it until it looks like an arm.
- Open the bottom part of the screen door.
Since the screen door’s stopper is in the middle of the door jamb, you can make a little gap at the bottom part for your makeshift opener.
- Insert the makeshift opener.
Make sure the opener sits between the door jamb and the screen door. Insert the can piece into the space.
- Slide the makeshift opener.
From the bottom, slide the opener up until where the lock is.
- Rock the screen door.
Slide the screen door back and forth while maintaining the opener on the site where the lock is. The lock should disengage automatically.
If you are locked out from the inside and your screen door has a pin-tumbler lock, you can open your screen door without a key. If you have lockpicking experiences, you can try to pick a screen door lock by following these steps:
- Insert the pick.
The pick should be thin enough to insert the keyway of the lock. Make sure the tip of the pick is pointed towards where the pins are.
- Insert the tension tool.
After inserting the tension tool into the keyway, apply force in a clockwise manner. The tension tool will keep the pins in place after they are set.
- Set the pins.
One by one, push the pins with your pick and set them in place. The tension tool should always be putting pressure so that the pins will not reset.
- Unlock the screen door lock.
If all of the pins are set, the lock should automatically disengage. If not, set the pins again one by one.
How to Unlock the Screen Door Stopper?
Remove the fasteners of the stopper with a screwdriver. After you loosen their screws, the lock should be open.
For security chains, wrap one end of a rubber band or sturdy hair tie around the chain stopper, the other end around the door handle. Stretch the band a few times to bypass the stopper.
How to Unlock Andersen Storm Door?
Remove the screw cover on the storm door frame and then the mounting screws of the frame itself.
Force the door panel open to disengage the dead bolt and open the door.
Conclusion
Knowing how to open a locked screen door gives you the leverage to enter your home in case you lose your keys. Just know that these tips and tricks should only be done for temporary reasons, and fixing or replacing your screen door is necessary to improve the security of your home.
Design your residence with the safety and welfare of you and your family in mind. Use effective sliding screen door locking mechanisms to prevent theft and unauthorized access.
I am the last member to join Revolar and might be just the luckiest to work with dedicated people like Teddy and John. Our team has established a process where my only job is writing the best content to deliver incredible ideas and guides.
