How to Lock a Door from Outside without a Key (3-Way Guide)

You can close any door in your house without a key. This is convenient if you need to go out for a while or are in another room working.

To lock any door without using a key, you can use a wedge, a chair, or a belt. Place your wedge in-between the door and the floor. If you decide to use your chair, you should tilt it at a sharp angle and place the top section right below the door handle. As for the belt, you can push your door closed and tie a belt to the doorknob, then hook it somewhere it’s well secured.

In this guide, I will go into detail on how to easily shut your door without using a key.

What do you need to have to lock a door without a key?

You will need any of the following tools to shut your door(s) without using a key (note these are specific to different methods so make sure they align with the method you choose):

wood being cut

  • A chair
  • A wedge: wooden, plastic, a hammer, or a door shaped wedge from any store
  • A belt or a rope
  • A piece of cardboard
  • String, tape, pen, and pencil

Locking a door with a wedge

Locking a door with a wedge is convenient. You may find a variety of wedges for locking doors from any store to use as a stopper. Alternatively, you can create your wedge (as per your specific requirements) from either cardboard or a piece of wood. Plastic wedge-like objects will also do just fine.

How to make a door wedge from cardboard in a minute:

  1. Get a piece of cardboard either from a store or look for it in your house.
  2. Fold it into a wedge-shaped object and insert it below your door.

How to use a wedge to lock the door, steps:

man putting wedge on the door

  1. After getting your preferred wedge, check the floor below the door. If the floor is slippery, make sure you clean it. It will prevent the door from sliding open.
  2. Now grab your wedge and insert it between the door floor and the bottom frame of the door. Then close the door by pulling the wedge along with it. This is done because you are on the outer part of the door.
  3. Now try to open the door. Apply some pressure for a while, then gradually increase the pushing force (push because you are on the outer part). If the door slides open easily, you might switch your wedge to something larger. Repeat the insertion steps. In most cases, door wedges work immediately.

There are some advantages of using wedge-shaped objects to lock your door. They include cheap cost, easy application, and easy removal of the wedge.

Using wedges as door stoppers have some disadvantages too. They cannot withstand forced entry and can also slip out of the door.

Position your chair under the doorknob or handle

You can also use a chair to lock a door. You need not use a key at all. To lock the door, you need to set the char below the door handle at a suitable angle. This will hold the doorknob firmly, making it difficult to open.

That is a powerful way to shut and barricade your door. But you have to do it correctly otherwise it will flip open due to a little push or pull.

Below are the steps to guide you to barricade your door with a chair correctly:

  1. First, get a chair that’s strong enough to withstand some force.
  2. Then position the back of the chair tightly under the handle of the doorknob.
  3. You can test if it has locked by pushing or pulling the door. If the door opens easily, do it again carefully.
  4. Placing the chair below the handle keeps the deadbolt of the door lock in place. The door lock opening mechanism involves tilting the handle downwards. When the handle moves clockwise or downward, the deadbolt slides back and opens the door. You need to place the chair right under the door handle. It prevents the deadbolt from leaving the plate.

The safest bet is to use an office chair for this. It’s just because the height is adjustable. If you don’t have an office chair, use objects to raise the elevation level of your chair. The chair needs to meet the loftiness of the handle to fit well. That will ensure the deadbolt stays in place firmly.

How to lock your door from outside using a belt

There are two ways you can use to lock your door with a belt. If your door has a hook (most bathroom doors have hooks), follow these steps:

  1. Loop the belt in the handle and then stretch it into the hook on your door.
  2. Fasten the belt to make it tight. Do not let it dangle because that won’t do any good.
  3. Test if the door is locked by pushing or pulling it. The only problem that can cause your door to open is a loose belt loop connection. Tighten the belt against the hook and the door handle.

How to use a belt to lock a door that has an auto door closer

The doors, that we use in schools, offices, and other commercial structures, have an auto door closer. To lock such doors without a key, fasten your belt on the door hinge. Take necessary cautions not to damage the hinge. (1)

Other Tips

You can also easily lock your door from the outside by using a string, tape, and pencil. You need to follow the below-mentioned steps as specified:

string or rope on the doorknob

  1. Lock the deadbolt from the inside.
  2. Secure a pencil or pen on top of the deadbolt’s lever using a string and twist it to unlock the deadbolt. (2)
  3. Take the string tied to the pencil through the top of the door to the outside.
  4. Now pull the string to lock the door.

Take a look at some of our related articles below.





References
(1) commercial structures – https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-commercial-building
(2) pencil – https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/question465.htm

Video References

100 DEADLY SKILLS

How helpful was this article?

Were Sorry This Was Not Helpful!

Let Us Improve This Article!

Please Tell Us How We Can Improve This Article.