--- title: "A 2000s Bungalow and the Builder’s Twenty-Year-Old Cylinders" description: "A third of the properties in Santa Pola date from 2000 to 2009, and the cylinder fitted then may still be in the door. How to tell, and when it is worth changing." url: "https://locksmithsantapola.es/blog/builders-cylinders-in-a-2000s-bungalow/" business: "Locksmith Santa Pola" --- # A bungalow built in the 2000s, and the builder’s cylinders still in it A third of the properties in Santa Pola date from 2000 to 2009. If yours is one of them and nobody has changed the locks since, here is how to tell, and when it is worth doing. 5 October 2026 · 5 min read Santa Pola grew fast at the start of the century. According to the Generalitat’s municipal fact sheet, **34.4 % of all urban properties in the municipality were built between 2000 and 2009**, the largest share of any decade. Many of them are the bungalows, terraced houses and apartments of Gran Alacant and Santa Pola del Este. If you own one, there is a fair chance that the cylinders in the doors are the ones the builder put in. That matters for two reasons. ## Twenty years of salt A cylinder that has lived through up to twenty summers by the sea has had its pins and springs exposed to salt air the whole time. It may still work, but more stiffly every year, until one day it does not. [What salt does inside a cylinder](https://locksmithsantapola.es/blog/salt-pans-on-one-side-sea-on-the-other/) explains the mechanics. ## Standards have moved on Since then, cylinders that resist the common attacks (**snapping** the cylinder at its weak point, **bumping** it with a special key, **drilling** it) have become widely available. A basic cylinder from the 2000s was not designed against those. ## Three ways to judge the cylinder you have - **Look at the face of the cylinder.** A brand name and a row of stars or a certification mark suggest a rated cylinder. Nothing at all suggests a basic one. - **Check how far it sticks out.** A cylinder that protrudes several millimetres beyond the handle plate can be gripped. Flush or protected by a guard plate is better. - **Count the keys.** Do you know how many keys were made, and who has them? With a resale property, the honest answer is usually no. ## When it is worth changing - When you have just bought the property, resale or not. - When a tenant or a long-term guest has moved out. - When the key has become stiff, whatever the age. - After a break-in nearby, or when the property will stand empty for months. A like-for-like change is [an ordinary lock change](https://locksmithsantapola.es/lock-change-santa-pola/). If you want the stronger options, high-security cylinders and guard plates are on the [burglary repair page](https://locksmithsantapola.es/burglary-repair-santa-pola/), where they live for a reason: they are what you would fit after a break-in, so fitting them before is simply cheaper. And while the cylinders are being looked at, it is worth checking the terrace too: [the terrace slider that jams every September](https://locksmithsantapola.es/blog/the-terrace-slider-that-jams-in-september/). Thinking of a stronger cylinder? High-security cylinders and guard plates are fitted after a break-in, or before one. [Burglary repair in Santa Pola: shut tonight, stronger after](https://locksmithsantapola.es/burglary-repair-santa-pola/) Two more for the same situation - [What salt and sand do inside a lock](https://locksmithsantapola.es/blog/salt-pans-on-one-side-sea-on-the-other/) · 5 min - [The terrace slider that jams every September](https://locksmithsantapola.es/blog/the-terrace-slider-that-jams-in-september/) · 4 min - [Every guide for Santa Pola and the cape](https://locksmithsantapola.es/blog/) ## Would a call be quicker? Ring, or send a photo of the lock and a pin on WhatsApp. Open 24 hours · 7 days [+34 678 583 290](tel:+34678583290) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/34678583290?text=Hi%2C%20I%20need%20a%20locksmith%20in%20Santa%20Pola.%20Where%20I%20am%20(town%2C%20Gran%20Alacant%20or%20the%20coast%3B%20street%20or%20urbanisation%2C%20block%20and%20door)%20and%20what%20has%20happened%3A)