The benefits of hiding a key outside are many. You can be gone and know that the cleaning people will get in. You can be out to lunch and know that the contractor can let himself in and keep working on the house. AND the biggest benefit is when you get locked out you can get in and not have to break down a door.
My story...
Monday night I was tired. I decided I was not going to cook and ordered out. Going to pick it up seemed a lot easier. I fed our 3 cats and 1 dog in the garage, Lara, Fivel, Abe and Wilbur. But what I did not know was that I must have hit the button on the door from the kitchen into the garage.
Every other door was locked and only the very small window in my son's old room was open. If I did go in that way I would have had to gone head first and with nothing to break my fall I thought better of trying that.
So the only thing I could do was break the lock on the door. WELL let me tell you it was one strong lock. I did try to get the door off the hinges but with it so close to the garage wall I could not pry it off. So I drilled, hit the knob with a hammer and wedged a screwdriver under the flange but nothing worked. I began to drilling at the wood around the knob. Blasted thing. I was using the crow bar and hammer and things would not budge. By the way, Sears' screwdrivers are in-destructible. I used a large one and the shaft of it was bending but it held. After 45 mins. I poked through to the inter workings of the lock part and then broke it out of the wood with the mighty screwdriver. PHEW!
I was hungry and more tired and needed a drink of water. Or something stronger.
But I forgot that I had taken the pins out of the hinges and the door, yes very heavy as it is a fire door, fell on me and I caught it. But I was in. I had royally freaked the cats out and as soon as the door was free Fivel and Abe were hiding in the loft of the garage. My husband came home from work to put the door back up at 9 pm. Hubby just chuckled and told me I was a force to be reckoned with. He said that he was glad that I hadn't found the axe!
Yes I'm sore and my wrists and neck hurt. Oh boy do they. I could not sleep so was a bit out if it the following day. I start next week working for Dan, our contractor, on his demolition crew. I have to wait until my wrists are back to normal. Not really, I would not want to work like that every day.
Our good friend David, from Dan's crew came and put a new door in with the same kind of lock. Today I will hide a key outside. {:>)
Lesson learned.
p.s. Yes I did get my dinner. After I ate I had an upset stomach. Guess all that adrenaline and spicy pasta don't mix.
