Secure Door Locks

You may be lucky enough to live in part of the country where you don’t have to lock your doors, but for most of us this is not a reality. An unlocked door would always be a burglar’s preferred method of entering your home, and a door with a flimsy rickety old lock would come a close second. For this reason it is important that you chose the correct and most secure lock that you can. You may have read this article on choosing a wireless home security alarm system but it is always best to try and prevent your alarm going off in the first place. Good door and window locks will get you some way to ensuring that you don’t ever hear the sound of your alarm.

The front door of your house is the most obvious entry point of your home, particularly if it is hidden from view behind a tall hedge or fence. There are three main types of locks available for front doors, but this does depend upon the material of your door. For wooden doors you have the choice of mortise locks, mortise sash locks and cylinder locks. There is a variation on the cylinder lock which is the deadlock cylinder lock. Most uPVC doors some with multipoint locks fitted, these can be difficult to replace or upgrade so make sure when you are specifying your door you order the most reliable and secure lock you can afford. For the other doors in your house you have the option of patio door locks, bolts and door chains. It is unlikely that you would use the latter as the sole lock on the door; it’s more likely to be used as well as another form of lock. Lets take a look at each of these locks in more detail:

•  Mortise Lock
  This is the securest type of lock that money can buy. When you turn the key in your lock a hardened steel bolt shoots deep in to the door frame. If some one tried to break in to your home with one of these fitted it would be your door or door frame that would give way before the lock did.
• Mortise Sashlock
  As you may have guessed a mortise sash lock is a combination of a mortise and a sash lock. The ‘sash’ part of the lock is like a conventional door latch that is handle operated. When you door is pushed shut it latches in the closed position but can still be opened by using the handle. If you use the key to operate the mortise lock, the door is then secure.
• Cylinder Lock
  Cylinder lock or yale locks (as they’re sometime mistakenly called in the UK) is the sort of lock where you can shut the door from the outside and that’s it, it’s locked and secure, if you’ve left your keys in the house, you’ve got a problem!. The locks can only be unlocked from the outside by using the key. From the inside you can just use the lever, no key is needed. Most cylinder locks have a button to disable the inner handle for opening the lock. This is usually used at night so that the lock cannot be forced.
  

• Deadlock Cylinder Lock
  This type of lock has the same functionality as the cylinder lock but is more secure. You still have the same problem that it is easy to lock yourself out of the house, but it is convenient. The deadlock part of the door is operated by a key once you have left the house. It is almost like a mini mortise lock.
• Door Chain
  If you’re unfamiliar with door chains let me explain, one end of the chain is permanently secured to the wall by the side of your door and the other end temporarily fixes to your door. This allows you to open your door a small amount to see who is outside. This gives you the security of knowing that they can’t barge the door down and enter your house. You wouldn’t want to use this as the main method of locking you door though as an intruder could easily put their hand through the opening and unlatch the chain.
• Patio Door Locks
  Not and ideal solution but may work as a deterrent, retro fit patio door locks are surface mounted at either end of the patio door. They are key operated and shoot a bolt in to the frame. They are not overly secure because they can easily be forced, so make sure when you choose your patio door you get a good multipoint lock fitted that is integral to the door.
• Bolt (sometime called sliding door lock)
  These can be fitted to virtually any door. You can get surface mounted bolts – the sort that you’d get on a gate – or you can get concealed bolts that are recessed in to the door frame and are key operated. The latter type are a great way to enhance the security of any door and like the mortise lock it will be the door or door frame that give way before the lock does.
  

Hopefully this article has given you a brief overview as to the types of lock available and you can make some informed choices when you are buying your next door lock.