The cylinder holds the secret, the lock holds the mechanism
The cylinder is the part the key goes into, and a single screw on the edge of the leaf releases it. A lost key, a departing occupant, a spare doing the rounds in a residence at Les Semailles where tenancies turn over: in all of those cases the cylinder on its own settles matters and the mechanism is left untouched.
The lock is the whole assembly: case, bolts, the linkage of a multipoint, the faceplate showing on the edge of the leaf. Its turn comes when the mechanism itself is at fault — a bolt that no longer throws, a bent linkage, a torn-out faceplate. On the thick leaves of Le Village it is often a complete rim lock that has to be taken on.
The hall door, the entryphone and the badge fall outside all this: they are shared parts. In Rillieux-la-Pape that equipment was renewed as the blocks were refurbished, and the key suite stays in the hands of the landlord or the managing agent. A hall key or a badge is not copied at an occupant's request, and a lost badge follows the residence's own procedure.
What the date of the works changes about the model
On the plateau, the hardware on a door tells you less about the address than about the year of refurbishment. A block taken in hand recently carries a new landing door, often a multipoint, with a short euro cylinder on the outside. A block still waiting has kept its original lock, its period dimensions and a key profile that is no longer stocked everywhere.
Down in Le Village and at Crépieux-la-Pape you meet locks fitted to oversized leaves, sometimes double doors, and old ironmongery that nobody replaces like for like off the shelf. Replacement is prepared from measurements taken on site: centre distance, thickness of the leaf, and how far the cylinder has to project on either face.
At Vancia the gate and the wicket gate matter as much as the house door. Their cylinders take the rain and the frost of the plateau all year round and wear out noticeably faster than one sheltered in a hall. That feeds into the model chosen, and nothing is ordered before the survey on site and the itemised quote.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our lock and cylinder replacement page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Rillieux-la-Pape.