{"id":8147,"date":"2026-08-21T16:10:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lockrite.org\/blog\/?p=8147"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:13:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:13:34","slug":"lockrite-featured-in-the-guardian-on-uk-heatwave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lockrite.org\/blog\/lockrite-featured-in-the-guardian-on-uk-heatwave\/","title":{"rendered":"LockRite Featured in The Guardian on the UK&#8217;s Heatwave Door Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>LockRite were recently approached by The Guardian for an article looking at the sharp rise in doors sticking, warping and refusing to lock properly during the UK&#8217;s hot weather.<\/p>\n<p>The Guardian spoke with LockRite locksmith Alan Hickman, who has covered Bournemouth and the surrounding areas with LockRite for 14 years.<\/p>\n<p>Alan described a recent run of jobs involving swollen uPVC and composite doors that won&#8217;t lock, as well as patio doors affected by the heat. Speaking to the Guardian, he explained:<\/p><div style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; gap:24px; padding:24px; margin:30px 0; background:#f5f5f5; border-left:4px solid #c8102e; border-radius:6px; flex-wrap:wrap;\">\n\n  <div style=\"flex:0 0 110px;\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\"\n      src=\"https:\/\/www.lockrite.org\/locksmith-image\/Alan-Hickman-Locksmith.jpg\"\n      alt=\"LockRite locksmith Alan Hickman\"\n      style=\"display:block; width:110px; height:110px; object-fit:cover; border-radius:50%;\"\n    >\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div style=\"flex:1; min-width:220px;\">\n\n    <blockquote style=\"margin:0 0 14px; padding:0; border:0; font-size:20px; line-height:1.5; font-style:italic; color:#222;\">\n      \u201cWe\u2019re getting what feels like double the amount of calls a day because customers\u2019 doors just aren\u2019t able to open, or they can\u2019t close them at the end of a hot day until they\u2019ve cooled down again.\u201d\n    <\/blockquote>\n\n    <p style=\"margin:0; line-height:1.5; color:#555;\">\n      <strong style=\"color:#222;\">Alan Hickman<\/strong>\n    <\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<p>Extreme summer temperatures cause materials like uPVC, composite, and timber to expand, sometimes just enough to throw a well-fitted door out of alignment.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve noticed your own door sticking, dragging, or refusing to lock properly in the hot weather, we explain why it happens and what to do about it in our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lockrite.org\/common-door-lock-problems.php\">Common Door Lock Problems<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We&rsquo;ve also covered the wider home security risks a heatwave can bring, including how a door that won&#8217;t lock properly is as much a security issue as it is an inconvenience, in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lockrite.org\/heatwave-home-security.php\">Heatwave Home Security<\/a> page.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re proud to have LockRite&#8217;s experience recognised in a national news story and to see one of our locksmiths contributing his first-hand knowledge of the problems affecting homeowners across the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Read Alan&#8217;s full interview in The Guardian here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/aug\/21\/why-dodgy-doors-are-the-latest-casualty-of-the-uk-heatwaves\">Why dodgy doors are the latest casualty of the UK heatwaves<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LockRite were recently approached by The Guardian for an article looking at the sharp rise in doors sticking, warping and refusing to lock properly during the UK&#8217;s hot weather. The Guardian spoke with LockRite locksmith Alan Hickman, who has covered Bournemouth and the surrounding areas with LockRite for 14 years. Alan described a recent run [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,423,2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>LockRite Featured in The Guardian on the UK&#039;s Heatwave Door Problem | LockRite Locksmiths Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LockRite were approached by The Guardian for an article about the sharp rise in doors sticking, warping &amp; refusing to lock during the UK\u2019s hot weather.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lockrite.org\/blog\/lockrite-featured-in-the-guardian-on-uk-heatwave\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" 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