Rochdale · OL10-OL12, OL15, OL16, M24
Half of Rochdale is being done up. That's a lock problem.
Get a price in 2 minutes
Renovating? Tell us how many properties. Otherwise just the postcode.
- 25-45 min from Salford
- From £25
- Builders' cylinders
- Invoiced accounts
- £1m public liability
Rochdale has more Victorian housing being renovated at any one time than almost anywhere in Greater Manchester: terraces bought cheap and done up, long-term empties brought back, landlords turning over stock. Every one of those properties spends months in a state nobody plans for, where the lock is either missing, broken, or known to eleven trades.
OL11, OL12, OL16 for Rochdale, OL10 Heywood, M24 Middleton, OL15 Littleborough, plus Milnrow, Norden, Bamford, Castleton and Wardle.
The builder's cylinder
This is the thing almost nobody does and everybody should.
During a renovation, a dozen people need access: sparky, plumber, plasterer, joiner, the skip man, your brother-in-law. So one key gets cut a dozen times, or worse, a key safe goes on with a code everybody learns.
Fit a cheap cylinder for the build. Swap it at handover. £35-60 for the swap and every single key from the build is dead the moment the new tenant or owner walks in. Do not do this and you have handed somebody a house that a dozen trades can still open.
- Cheap cylinder during works: £25-40
- Cut as many keys as the site needs
- Swap at handover: £35-60
- Every build key dead, instantly
Empty properties
An empty house in OL11 with no lock and a skip outside is an advertisement. What actually happens to them is boilers, copper, radiators and cable, and it happens the week before you fit the kitchen.
Front and back, day one
Before the skip arrives, not after. A cheap cylinder is £25-40 and it is the cheapest insurance on the job.
Key safe, bolted into brick
Not the £15 one screwed into mortar. Police-rated, into brick, and change the code when a trade leaves. £70-140.
Rear access
The back gate and the yard are how they get in. Closed shackle padlock, coach-bolted hasp. £45-90.
The handover swap
The one that matters. New cylinder the day it is finished. £35-60.
What you are renovating
Mostly Victorian terrace, and the front door usually still has its original lever mortice lock. Do not skip it. A seized one is a century of dirt, not a broken lock, and £40-70 to service beats £140 to replace with something worse in a door that was cut for the original.
The exception is BS3621: if it is going to be let or insured and the wording asks for it, a pre-war lock cannot comply however good it is. £85-140 fitted.
Middleton is not really Rochdale
M24 is Rochdale borough and it is closer to Manchester than to Rochdale town. It catches people out constantly, including when they are working out who to ring. It is 20 to 35 minutes from us, quicker than Rochdale itself.
Littleborough out in OL15 is the other end: 30 to 45, and the Pennine edge starts there.
What it costs
| Job | Price |
|---|---|
| Builder's cylinder, during works | £25-40 |
| Handover cylinder swap | £35-60 |
| Front and back keyed alike | £70-110 |
| Police-rated key safe, into brick | £70-140 |
| Rear gate, closed shackle padlock and hasp | £45-90 |
| Original mortice, strip and service | £40-70 |
| BS3621 5-lever, fitted | £85-140 |
| Lockout, non-destructive | £65-110 |
Multiple properties invoiced together. Same price at 3am.
Around here
Questions people actually ask
What's a builder's cylinder and why would I want one?
It is a cheap euro cylinder you fit for the duration of a renovation and throw away at the end. During a build a dozen people need access: sparky, plumber, plasterer, joiner, the skip man. So either one key gets cut a dozen times or a key safe goes on with a code everybody learns. A cheap cylinder costs £25 to £40, you cut as many keys as the site needs, and then you swap it at handover for £35 to £60. Every key from the build dies the moment the new cylinder goes in. Skip that step and you have handed somebody a house that a dozen trades can still open.
How do I secure an empty property in Rochdale during works?
Front and back cylinders on day one, before the skip arrives rather than after, because an empty house with a skip outside is an advertisement. A police-rated key safe bolted into brick rather than mortar, £70 to £140, with the code changed whenever a trade finishes. And a closed shackle padlock on a coach-bolted hasp on the rear gate, £45 to £90, because the back yard is how they get in. What actually goes is boilers, copper, radiators and cable, and it goes the week before you fit the kitchen.
Should I replace the original mortice lock in a Victorian terrace I'm doing up?
Usually not, and the trade throws away thousands of perfectly good locks every year. A seized lever mortice is nearly always a century of dust and dried oil, not a broken mechanism, and stripping and servicing it is £40 to £70 against £140 to replace it with something built worse, in a door that was cut for the original. The one genuine exception is BS3621: if the property is going to be let or insured and the wording asks for it, a pre-war lock cannot comply however good it is, and that is £85 to £140 fitted.
How long does it take you to reach Rochdale?
25 to 45 minutes to Rochdale town from Salford. Middleton in M24 is quicker at 20 to 35, because despite being Rochdale borough it is genuinely closer to Manchester than to Rochdale, which catches people out constantly. Heywood is 25 to 40. Littleborough out in OL15 is 30 to 45 and that is where the Pennine edge starts. Overnight everything tightens because the M60 is empty. Same price everywhere in the borough.