I was upstairs when I heard my mom and my daughter getting anxious. When I went down to check them out, I saw my daughter apparently at war with our main door's knob. No matter how much or how often she turned the knob, the door just wouldn't open.
I took over the door knob turning to find out what the problem was. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the locking mechanism which bolts the door was no longer moving in sync with the turning of the knob. No amount of door knob turning was making the locking mechanism budge. I attempted to reach the "tongue" of the locking mechanism - that component which inserts itself into the adjacent hole on the side of the wall - with a butter knife in the hope of prying it back into the main body of the door knob, but the knife could barely make it through the very narrow space between the door side and the wall.
So after around 15 minutes of frustrating myself with my thousand-and-one attempts at trying to open our door to no avail, it finally dawned on me that my whole family and I were locked in our own home with only the second-floor window as our means of "escape."
I took over the door knob turning to find out what the problem was. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the locking mechanism which bolts the door was no longer moving in sync with the turning of the knob. No amount of door knob turning was making the locking mechanism budge. I attempted to reach the "tongue" of the locking mechanism - that component which inserts itself into the adjacent hole on the side of the wall - with a butter knife in the hope of prying it back into the main body of the door knob, but the knife could barely make it through the very narrow space between the door side and the wall.
So after around 15 minutes of frustrating myself with my thousand-and-one attempts at trying to open our door to no avail, it finally dawned on me that my whole family and I were locked in our own home with only the second-floor window as our means of "escape."
Since I can't go out, I figured that someone from outside may be able to help us with our predicament. Thus, I called Cyrus, my former office mate who lives relatively nearby, for help. When he arrived, the first hurdle was to enter our gate which my daughter clamped shut with our combination padlock. We were already masters at just feeling through the small bumps of that padlock even in the dark so we had no trouble opening it. However, for a combination lock newbie like Cyrus, it took a while for him to get it right - but he did get it right and managed to open the gate.
The next hurdle was the door itself. I was thinking that if someone from outside turned the door handle, the door would just open smoothly. But noooo - it still didn't budge.
Next, I gave Cyrus the key to our main door in the hope that in turning the key, something may just click and the door will open. Nope, still no success.
Cyrus was getting just as desperate as I was, so he tried something a little more physical - he kicked on the door knob. Nope. Still nada.
Knowing that all our efforts were going to waste, Cyrus then left momentarily, first, to look for a locksmith. However, it was already around 10 PM and the locksmith at the corner has already left for home. He did the next best thing - to call the local barangay tanods (community security officers) for help. They did come to assess the issue. However, since it was already very late and very dark, we all decided to just let things be until morning the next day.
One of the tanods did return by morning, this time, with a ladder, a screwdriver, and a hammer. He had to climb the ladder to enter our house via our second floor patio, then he gave our door knob the death blow with several jabs of his screwdriver and some pummeling with his hammer.
By the time he was done with his task, this is what remained of our door. Thank God, we still have some remaining bolts left to fasten it shut from the inside.
And this was the culprit of all our troubles.
I remember some wise sage saying that everything happens for a reason, I guess that apart from pissing me off with that door knob fiasco, that incident led me to reflect on some realizations about life:
The next hurdle was the door itself. I was thinking that if someone from outside turned the door handle, the door would just open smoothly. But noooo - it still didn't budge.
Next, I gave Cyrus the key to our main door in the hope that in turning the key, something may just click and the door will open. Nope, still no success.
Cyrus was getting just as desperate as I was, so he tried something a little more physical - he kicked on the door knob. Nope. Still nada.
Knowing that all our efforts were going to waste, Cyrus then left momentarily, first, to look for a locksmith. However, it was already around 10 PM and the locksmith at the corner has already left for home. He did the next best thing - to call the local barangay tanods (community security officers) for help. They did come to assess the issue. However, since it was already very late and very dark, we all decided to just let things be until morning the next day.
One of the tanods did return by morning, this time, with a ladder, a screwdriver, and a hammer. He had to climb the ladder to enter our house via our second floor patio, then he gave our door knob the death blow with several jabs of his screwdriver and some pummeling with his hammer.
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| Manong Barangay Tanod just took off the handle and was unscrewing some screws. (Photo from personal archive) |
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| Our knobless door. (Photo from personal archive) |
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| How could such a contraption be such a bother? (Photo from personal archive) |
- No matter how sturdy some things look, they can turn out to be big duds in the end.
- It could've turned out worse. The daughter could've been locked out, especially since she was the last one to use the main door. We may have been locked in but at least, everyone was already inside when it happened. We could've also been locked in without any supplies. The steamed rice supply which the daughter was supposed to replenish turned out to be enough for everyone including the cats, after all.
- I don't rue the fact that there's no male in our house. I still have male friends and neighbors who can help me out with the more brawny stuff at home.
- Thank God for good friends. (Yo, Cyrus!)
- Security should be of prime importance in every home.
- When a builder cuts corners in the construction of anything, sooner or later (probably sooner), the repercussions of this false economy will make themselves felt - like locking people in.
Several days ago, I bought a replacement door knob, this time, with the locking thingie that you turn instead of the push-button type. The sales lady said that this one has lesser chances of committing the problem we encountered with the push button one. She gave me this explanation about a spring letting go and stuff, but anyway, this basically summarizes what she recommended, especially for a main door:
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| (From HappyHerald.com and Buzzle.com) |
The new door knob has just been installed yesterday, virtually ending our domestic drama featuring our main door. It's much easier to sleep at night now, content with the thought that no outsider could just trespass with a crowbar and industrial-strength wire cutters.
To my paranoid self, once again, you have been shushed.
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