My uPVC door won't lock — is it the cylinder or the mechanism?

If the key turns but the door won't lock fully, it's almost always the multipoint mechanism — usually the gearbox. If the key won't turn at all, it can be the cylinder or the mechanism. Either way, don't force it: forcing a sticking uPVC lock is the most common way people turn a £200 repair into a £400 one.

How much does it cost to repair a uPVC door?

Replacing the multipoint gearbox typically runs £140–£280 fitted. A full multipoint mechanism (whole strip down the door) is £180–£380. Re-aligning the door and adjusting the hinges/keeps is usually £80–£140. Cylinder replacement on top, if needed, is £80–£180. You get a fixed price before we start.

Why has my uPVC door suddenly become hard to lock?

Three usual causes. One: the door has dropped or shifted on its hinges and the hooks aren't lining up with the keeps. Two: the gearbox inside the mechanism is wearing out — common after about 8–12 years of use. Three: a cold snap has tightened everything and the door is binding. We diagnose which one in five minutes.

Can you fit a new uPVC door, or only repair?

We repair and replace mechanisms, cylinders and handles on uPVC and composite doors — that's the great majority of 'my door's not working' calls and it's almost always cheaper than a new door. Full door replacement is a glazing/joinery job, not a locksmith job; we can recommend a fitter if that's what you actually need.

uPVC Door Repair Manchester | Multipoint & Locks

uPVC door problems: usually the mechanism, not the lock

Almost every uPVC door in Manchester eventually develops the same problem: at some point, the door stops locking properly. The key turns most of the way and then sticks. You have to lift the handle three times to get it to engage. Or the door just won't pull closed without slamming. None of that is the cylinder. It's the multipoint mechanism inside the door — the long metal strip with hooks and bolts that runs the full height of the door and locks at multiple points when you lift the handle.

Mechanisms wear out, gearboxes seize, doors drop on their hinges. The good news: almost all of it is repairable, and almost always cheaper than replacing the door. We do uPVC door repair in Manchester with the parts that actually fit — gearboxes, full multipoint strips, hinges, handles, keeps — and most repairs are done on the first visit.

The three problems we see most

After thousands of uPVC repairs across Manchester, it's nearly always one of these:

1. The gearbox has gone

The gearbox is the part of the multipoint mechanism that the handle turns. It's the highest-stress component and the most common failure point — usually around year 8–12 of normal use, faster if the door has been forced or slammed.

Symptoms: the handle goes up but the locking hooks barely move. The key turns but the door won't lock. You have to wiggle the handle to get the mechanism to engage. Or worst case, the handle spins freely and nothing happens.

Fix: gearbox replacement, typically £140–£280 fitted. You don't usually need a whole new mechanism — the gearbox is replaceable on most uPVC doors as long as the rest of the strip is sound.

2. The door has dropped

uPVC doors are heavy. Hinges shift over the years, especially after warm summers. When the door drops even 2-3mm, the locking hooks stop lining up with the keeps in the frame, and the lock won't engage properly.

Symptoms: door scrapes the threshold, you have to lift the handle harder than you used to, the door catches on the frame at one corner.

Fix: alignment and hinge adjustment, typically £80–£140. Cheapest fix on this list and prevents the gearbox dying early (which is what happens when you force a misaligned door for months).

3. Cold snap stiffness

uPVC contracts in the cold. Manchester winters aren't extreme but a few sub-zero nights are enough to make a marginal door fully stop working. Often the door was already on the edge and the cold pushed it over.

Symptoms: works fine in summer, stops working below about 5°C, comes back when it warms up.

Fix: usually it's a combination — alignment + a worn gearbox that's just on the edge. We sort both.

Don't force it

The single most common way a £150 repair becomes a £400 repair is forcing a uPVC door that's already struggling. The mechanism is full of small steel components running in a long strip; forcing the handle when something is binding shears or bends one of them, and now you need a full mechanism replacement instead of a gearbox.

If your door is sticking, stop using force and book a repair. The mechanism is almost always saveable if we get to it before it's been forced for weeks.

What we replace

The full range of uPVC and composite door work:

Gearbox replacement — most common job.
Full multipoint mechanism replacement — when the strip itself is too worn, snapped or no longer made.
Handle replacement — both sides, with new fixings to the spindle.
Cylinder replacement — including upgrading to 3-star anti-snap (see lock replacement for the full story on why this matters).
Hinge adjustment — when the door has dropped.
Keep alignment — when the strike plates in the frame don't line up with the hooks.
Letterbox and threshold replacement — sealing, weather strips, brush draught excluders.

If your door has been damaged in a break-in attempt, that's a different conversation — same-day work, often with the door boarded up before the engineer leaves. See burglary repairs.

Across Manchester

The uPVC doors we work on every week are spread across the metro: 1990s-2000s builds in West Manchester / Old Trafford and Salford; newer composite doors on extensions and conversions in Didsbury and Chorlton; landlord lets across the city centre and student areas around Withington. Different brands of mechanism — Yale, Maco, Avocet, Fuhr, GU, Roto — each with their own quirks. We carry the most common replacement parts so the job's done on the first visit, not over three.

Pricing in Manchester

Honest ranges:

Gearbox replacement: £140–£280 fitted.
Full multipoint mechanism replacement: £180–£380 fitted.
Door alignment / hinge adjustment: £80–£140.
Handle replacement (both sides): £70–£140 fitted.
Cylinder + anti-snap upgrade: £140–£250 fitted.

Where you fall depends on the mechanism brand (some are more expensive than others), the door height, and whether multiple things need doing at once. Fixed price before we start, no surprise add-ons.

When to call us

Call when the handle isn't engaging properly, when the door won't lock first time, when you're lifting harder than you used to, when the door catches on the frame, or when the key just won't turn. The earlier in the failure curve we see it, the cheaper the repair. Waiting until the door is fully unusable usually means a full mechanism replacement instead of a gearbox swap.

uPVC Door Repair in Manchester