A local business in Ashford got in touch because the front-door lock could no longer be operated properly from outside, even though the door could still be locked from inside.
The cause was obvious once I inspected it. The external cylinder had shifted out of its correct position and was no longer engaging with the rest of the locking system.
This particular setup used two separate operating sections, with the outside cylinder working independently from the internal thumb turn. That explained why the inside could still secure the door while the outside key had stopped doing its job.
The cylinder itself did not need replacing.
I repositioned it correctly, applied thread-locking compound to the retaining screws and secured everything back in place.
After reassembly, I tested both the external key and the internal thumb turn. The lock was engaging correctly from both sides again without replacing any unnecessary parts.
