- Storefront, lever, mortise or exit device
- An aluminium storefront cylinder, a cylindrical lever lockset, a full mortise lock and the trim of an exit device each take different tools and time to open, and the hardware on your door sets the starting point.
- Door, pivot and closer adjustment
- When the lockout was really a dropped door or a tired closer, lifting the door, adjusting pivots or a continuous hinge, moving the strike and resetting the closer are quoted as their own item beside the opening.
- Damage from earlier attempts
- A paddle bent by a pry bar, a stile scratched by a screwdriver or a cylinder wrenched by pliers may need repair as well as opening, and the locksmith points out what was already there before quoting it.