This morning as I was leaving for work, I went to the front door, unlocked the deadbolt, and as I was unlocking the knob, the handle came off in in my hand. Not having a back door and living on the 3rd floor, I stood there, holding the knob and wondering how I was going to get out.
Part of knob that came off. Hoping that I had happened to unlock the door, I started messing with the parts still in the door to see if the door would open, but to no avail. I began pondering what I should do. The office to the apartment complex did not open until 10am and I felt too foolish to call the emergency apartment number. I then decided to call my work. A friend there knows where I live. Through a few chuckles on her part, she agrees to come and save me, but she has to finish something first. So what else can I do but wait.
Well, if you know me, you know that I wouldn't let an opportunity to hone my MacGyver skills pass by. I begin looking carefully at the workings of the knob and trying to put the thing back together. This proves useless as it only pushes the outside knob away from the door. Hmmm, what to do? I grab my tweezers to see if there is something that I can grab on and hold while I try refitting the knob. I can get the knob on a bit, but not enough to unlock the door, which is essential in opening the door. ;)
As I continued to study the inside workings of the knob, I decided to turn a piece with my tweezers and see if I could unlock the door with it.
Locking mechanism (it is inside a barrel of sorts, so it wasn't super easy to turn, trust me)
Once turned, I again attempted to put the handle together. It didn't go on super well, but well enough, that with a twist of the knob, the door opened and I was free!
I quickly put the whole thing back together, (and tightened the screws that were the culprits in the first place!) and went on my merry way.
Just another day in my exciting life. On the bright side, I now have a better understanding of how a door knob works!
Side note, I once knew a girl that lived alone and this same experience happened to her, only it was a bathroom knob. She tried calling several people, all of which did not answer their phones and she ended up being locked in the bathroom for quite awhile. Scary huh?
Moral of the story, if you've noticed that your door handles are a bit loose, for say the past 2 weeks! Be sure to tighten them up so you don't get locked in! Dun, dun, dun!!
(pictures courtesy of google images, I don't have a digital camera, or you would have gotten real shots of the story!)
Well, if you know me, you know that I wouldn't let an opportunity to hone my MacGyver skills pass by. I begin looking carefully at the workings of the knob and trying to put the thing back together. This proves useless as it only pushes the outside knob away from the door. Hmmm, what to do? I grab my tweezers to see if there is something that I can grab on and hold while I try refitting the knob. I can get the knob on a bit, but not enough to unlock the door, which is essential in opening the door. ;)
As I continued to study the inside workings of the knob, I decided to turn a piece with my tweezers and see if I could unlock the door with it.
Locking mechanism (it is inside a barrel of sorts, so it wasn't super easy to turn, trust me)
Once turned, I again attempted to put the handle together. It didn't go on super well, but well enough, that with a twist of the knob, the door opened and I was free!
I quickly put the whole thing back together, (and tightened the screws that were the culprits in the first place!) and went on my merry way.
Just another day in my exciting life. On the bright side, I now have a better understanding of how a door knob works!
Side note, I once knew a girl that lived alone and this same experience happened to her, only it was a bathroom knob. She tried calling several people, all of which did not answer their phones and she ended up being locked in the bathroom for quite awhile. Scary huh?
Moral of the story, if you've noticed that your door handles are a bit loose, for say the past 2 weeks! Be sure to tighten them up so you don't get locked in! Dun, dun, dun!!
(pictures courtesy of google images, I don't have a digital camera, or you would have gotten real shots of the story!)
7 comments:
Go get 'em Emily!!! I'm so impressed with your skills (and with your thoughfulness at having keys everywhere...very smart!)
You crack me up Marb! I'm glad you are smart and figured out how to get out. I'll know who to call if I ever get locked in! Oh wait, I don't even have your phone number. Umm, I better get that from you!
I am totally not like you. I have no spare keys, which has caused me much sadness and hassle in my life. (But do I ever learn my lesson - no.) Thanks for the lesson on the anatomy of a door knob and I loved the McGyver reference, way to go!
Great story! I too have been locked IN before. When we were first married and lived in that little cottage on Evergreen Ave, there was a bit of moisture in the air inside the house all the time. This was because of a hot water leak in the tub that we eventually discovered to be the problem. Anyway, I went to leave one morning and the door was totally stuck - the moisture had gotten worse and caused the door to swell and it was really stuck!! Freeman had to come home from work to get me out and then sand down the door to make it fit in the door frame again. What a morning!! So glad that we don't live in that little dive anymore. Thanks for the great story!
Yes...many "chuckles" on my part.
hahaha! I love it! If I ever get locked in my apartment I'm going to have to refer back to this post:)
Sounds like an exciting morning. Great pictures too, I would never have thought about adding those.
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