Mobile Locksmith in Westdene

More people per block than its neighbours

The 2011 Census counted 7,815 people and 3,806 households in Westdene, on just over 2 km². That's more than twice Melville's population on a similar area. Wikipedia notes that, with two universities close by, student housing is in short supply. It follows that some houses here are shared between several tenants.

For locks, that means more keys in more hands. If you own a house that's let to several people, decide who holds which keys and change locks when someone leaves without handing theirs in. Our guide to key control for landlords covers this.

Starter homes with a history

Westdene was surveyed in 1902 and formally established in 1910, and for much of the twentieth century it was a working-class suburb. MyProperty describes "older character homes with pressed ceilings and wooden floors", and a Sotheby's Realty area note mentions "character starter homes for young families and professionals".

When you buy a house like that, you inherit every lock the previous owners fitted, and every key they handed out. A sensible first job is to walk round with the keys and list what each one opens: front door, kitchen door, security gates, burglar-bar sections, the garage, the outside room. Anything you can't account for is worth replacing. See lock replacement and, for gates, choosing padlocks for gates and burglar bars.

Which dam? Directions in Westdene

Westdene Dam sits inside the suburb. Wikipedia records that it began as clay pits for a brickfield and that two smaller dams were later joined into one. OpenStreetMap also shows the small Frog Dam (Padda-dam) to its north-east. Emmarentia Dam is a different dam, further north in Emmarentia. If you say "the dam", tell us which one.

Perth Road and Main Road are the main roads through Westdene, and most callers find it easiest to give us a cross street off one of them.

Car keys at the dam park

A walk round the dam is a common place to lose a car key or lock one in the boot. Tell us the make, model and year, where the car is parked and whether you still have a key at all. We'll ask for proof of ownership before opening it. See car locksmith help.

After a break-in

If a door or gate has been forced, report it to SAPS first and get a case number. Once that's done, the technician can make the door lockable again or fit a new lock. See break-in repairs.

What it costs

R250 call-out. The technician assesses the job on site and gives you the price before any work starts. Nothing is done until you agree. Pay by EFT, cash or card. We open a locked house only for someone who can show they live there, and we try to do it without damage.

Locksmith services available in Westdene

• Residential locksmith

  Door locks, gate locks and home safes at houses, flats, townhouses and cluster homes, sorted at your front door.

• Emergency lockouts

  Keys inside, a lock that refuses to turn, or someone stuck behind a deadlocked door. Phone any hour and we drive out to you.

• Lock replacement

  New cylinders, deadlocks, nightlatches, multipoint gearboxes and gate locks, supplied and fitted at your door.

• Break-in lock repairs

  After a burglary or an attempt: damaged locks replaced, doors made lockable again, and keys that may be compromised taken out of use.

• Broken-key extraction

  Half a key left in the door, gate or padlock? We remove the broken piece and check whether the lock still works.

• Car keys & lockouts

  Locked car with keys inside, a sheared-off car key or a lost one: we meet you wherever the vehicle is.

All of these are part of our mobile locksmith service in Johannesburg.

Useful guides

• Choosing Padlocks for Security Gates and Burglar Bars
• Key Control for Landlords and Short-Let Hosts
• Older Doors, Older Locks: Lock Care in Established Suburbs

Nearby areas we cover

• Melville
• Montgomery Park
• Auckland Park

All Johannesburg areas