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ctggzg
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join:2005-02-11
USA

ctggzg

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Emergency release hole on interior door

Interior door knobs with locks have a hole where you can insert a flat-head screwdriver to unlock it from the other side. We have some tiny screwdrivers made for working on watches and eyeglasses, but even those don't quite fit because the shaft isn't a uniform size (the end is small enough, but part of the handle is larger and blocks it from getting all the way in, if that makes any sense). Do hardware stores sell special screwdrivers just for this purpose? And what might they be called?

P.S. Insert "that's what she said" above where appropriate.

Thespis
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.
Premium Member
join:2004-08-03
Keller, TX

Thespis

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Coat hanger...

dcurrey
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join:2004-06-29
Mason, OH

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Click for full size
Not sure what they are called but the previous owner left these little keys above the door frames.

tmpchaos
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join:2000-04-28
Hoboken, NJ

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Usually the locks come with the tool- I'm not sure they're sold separately. I think a hanger might work.

Ken
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Markle, IN

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I have doors in my house like that, and I use my small screwdriver set from Harbor Freight on them.

»www.harborfreight.com/cp ··· er=47823
ctggzg
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join:2005-02-11
USA

ctggzg

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What what I read, there are two different kinds -- one with a button that you push, and another that you need to turn with a flat-head screwdriver or other tool. Ours is the latter. I don't think we even have any metal hangers, but if we do, how would I turn it into something like a flat-head? It seems like that would only help with the button-type mechanism.

The Pig
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I have like that all I need to do is get a butter knife or screwdriver and turn the outside ring of the lock, there actually isn't anyway to stick anything all the way in.
I can lock and unlock the knob from the outside of the door.



davidg
Good Bye My Friend
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join:2002-06-15
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if you have a grinder and a metal rod such as a coat hanger, you are all set. just grind the end flat like a screw driver and cut the rod to the desired length.

i use teh small screwdriver on my Leatherman to do it.

Ken
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join:2003-06-16
Markle, IN

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said by The Pig:

I have like that all I need to do is get a butter knife or screwdriver and turn the outside ring of the lock, there actually isn't anyway to stick anything all the way in.
I can lock and unlock the knob from the outside of the door.

[att=1]
Those are the newer style locks that you can use a quarter/fingernail/butter knife to operate. I guess they are suppose to be safer so they stopped making the old kind and went with those.

The Pig
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I would be helpful if you can post a picture of the lock.
ctggzg
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join:2005-02-11
USA

1 edit

ctggzg

Premium Member

Sorry, I've had the same kind in every apartment or house I've ever lived in, so I thought everyone would know. It looks like the picture below, though in finding that I mostly answered my own question (yes, I'm proficient with Google and had already looked some before posting). You need to stick a flat-head tool inside the hole to turn a hidden mechanism.

»i.ehow.com/images/Global ··· Full.jpg

»www.ehow.com/how_5308557 ··· oor.html

"Some door knobs come with a special key that can be inserted into a small hole in the middle of the knob and turned to unlock it. If you do not have this key, you may be able to order it from the door knob manufacturer but you can probably just use a very narrow flathead screwdriver instead. Just insert the tool (or the screwdriver) into the hole and turn it. This should unlock the door."

ptrowski
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join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

1 edit

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said by ctggzg:

What what I read, there are two different kinds -- one with a button that you push, and another that you need to turn with a flat-head screwdriver or other tool. Ours is the latter. I don't think we even have any metal hangers, but if we do, how would I turn it into something like a flat-head? It seems like that would only help with the button-type mechanism.
When I was young, I would use the part of a belt buckle that you put through the holes in the belt. Small, flat, worked like a charm.
If nothing else I have quite a few of these things running around, I can send one out to you.

CoxTech1
join:2002-04-25
Chesapeake, VA

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That looks like a new Schlage interior door knob. I just installed one of those in a new bathroom door I installed recently. It came with a simple tool as in the picture you provided. Being that it's a push button lock you simply insert the tool and push to release the lock, no turning/twisting required.
jay_rm
join:2002-04-12
Netville

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per the above post, all my Schlage interior locks (all new in the last few years) have a simple tiny round hole in the outside knob. A small stiff wire (included with every lockset) or tool can be used to pop the internal lock.

Interior doors are never truly locked.
ctggzg
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join:2005-02-11
USA

ctggzg

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Yeah, that's not exactly the kind of thing previous homeowners would dig up and turn over to new owners.
K Patterson
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join:2006-03-12
Columbus, OH

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said by jay_rm:

Interior doors are never truly locked.
They don't need to be. Just have to hold long enough to get your zipper up and/or jump out the window.

ptrowski
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said by ctggzg:

Yeah, that's not exactly the kind of thing previous homeowners would dig up and turn over to new owners.
Sure it is. We bought a house that the prior people had flipped and they had the tools on the doorjams.

Link8
join:2001-12-16
Davis, CA

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I never could figure out where the "on top of the doorway" thing came from, except every house we've lived in, they suggest looking up there for those stupid things.

My interior doors with locks have keys on them.

i1me2ao
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join:2001-03-03
TEXAS

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my six year old uses a qtip stick or toothpick. SURPRISE WHAT YOU DOING..

Jodokast96
Stupid people piss me off.
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join:2005-11-23
NJ

Jodokast96

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said by i1me2ao:

my six year old uses a qtip stick or toothpick. SURPRISE WHAT YOU DOING..
Nice to know I'm not the only one who has a young one picking locks.

Storm97
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join:2003-04-14
Manteca, CA

Storm97

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Yeah, we had to institute a Hook and Eye latch on the inside of our door for the same reason!
ctggzg
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join:2005-02-11
USA

ctggzg

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Nope, no sign of the emergency release keys near any of the doors. Our house was one of the original model homes for the development, and I doubt the builders cared.

fruhead
join:2002-01-29
Mosquito,NJ

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Use either the nail file from a fingernail clipper...

»www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catal ··· vCount=3

or one end of a pair of tweezers.

ptrowski
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If you don't have the door open by now you should just leave it locked. It's not that complicated.

Sweet Witch
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Gallifrey

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When I was little my father taught me how to unlock the bathroom door from the outside for just-in-case (but mainly because older sister kept locking herself in somehow). It didn't take long for me to figure out how to get the knob off and two particular members of the family often found themselves locked in a room because I'd turned the knob around to lock from the outside (they were bugging me).
ctggzg
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said by ptrowski:

If you don't have the door open by now you should just leave it locked. It's not that complicated.
Someone has been here installing laminate flooring since Tuesday. I wanted to lock certain doors while they were working upstairs. It took five minutes to get one unlocked with a screwdriver, hammer, and pliers, but I'm thinking about the future.
Expand your moderator at work

dandelion
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Germantown, TN

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Re: Emergency release hole on interior door

said by Storm97:

Yeah, we had to institute a Hook and Eye latch on the inside of our door for the same reason!
Having had to take off the hinges to get in a door that was locked, I actually think I prefer that to one easily opened from the outside. :/