We locked ourselves out of the house - thinking of getting a key safe

There_Goes_Trouble

Wilma33 wrote: »

I need a key to lock my door from the outside, but you don't need a key to get out. I don't think they sell them like that anymore, due to the fire risk.

I have to lock my door from the inside at night and it only unlocks with a key. I don't feel unsafe with the door locked, and when I had the fire service round to fit my smoke alarms and do a fire safety check it wasn't even mentioned as a risk. I actually feel quite vulnerable if I'm in the house without locking the door! It's locked at all times. I keep my spare key in a hidden place very close to the door (about 3 feet away) so there's always a key in close proximity to the door.

thegirlintheattic

Most UPVC doors require a key to lock them.

Errata

ariba10 wrote: »

Glass jar with screw top lid.

Put it in a shallow hole in near by bit of garden,

Job done.

Or a plastic box sealed with gaffer tape and buried in a deeper hole in the back garden. Works for me

claire16c

Wilma33 wrote: »

I need a key to lock my door from the outside, but you don't need a key to get out. I don't think they sell them like that anymore, due to the fire risk.

How do you lock it then when youre inside if it will open from the outside otherwise - just with a handle or switch or something?

There_Goes_Trouble wrote: »

I have to lock my door from the inside at night and it only unlocks with a key. I don't feel unsafe with the door locked, and when I had the fire service round to fit my smoke alarms and do a fire safety check it wasn't even mentioned as a risk. I actually feel quite vulnerable if I'm in the house without locking the door! It's locked at all times. I keep my spare key in a hidden place very close to the door (about 3 feet away) so there's always a key in close proximity to the door.

I just dont like the idea of having to find a key in the night potentially in the pitch black, in a fire. Even if the key is near to the door.

Id rather be burgled than have something awful due to that happening. Id get a new door if I moved into a house with a door like that. My Nan had one and she kept the key in the lock all the time I guess for easy access. Although then I was worried someone might be able to reach in through the letter box. Hence why Id get a different door.

azzabazza

I have just had a keysafe fitted at my mother's house on the advice of her carers. The care agency say that they have had no instances of keysafes being broken into or removed from the wall. It provides peace of mind knowing the carers can gain access should my mother be unable to get to the front door.

Edited to say it will only work, of course, if Mum doesn't leave her key in the lock!

bryanb

Be aware that the combinations on these key safes are not as secure as people think. You can put in the digits in any order and the safe will open. Therefore there are only a few hundred possible combinations.

shegirl

My door is locked inside by a key at all times.there is a pathetic lock that coud be used but I'd rather use the key.

I sleep with the key on my bedside table so it doesn't make any difference

claire16c wrote: »

How do you lock it then when youre inside if it will open from the outside otherwise - just with a handle or switch or something?



I just dont like the idea of having to find a key in the night potentially in the pitch black, in a fire. Even if the key is near to the door.

Id rather be burgled than have something awful due to that happening. Id get a new door if I moved into a house with a door like that. My Nan had one and she kept the key in the lock all the time I guess for easy access. Although then I was worried someone might be able to reach in through the letter box. Hence why Id get a different door.

alex21

ariba10 wrote: »

Glass jar with screw top lid.

Put it in a shallow hole in near by bit of garden,

Job done.

Very mse

SailorSam

ariba10 wrote: »

Glass jar with screw top lid.

Put it in a shallow hole in near by bit of garden,

Job done.

That's what i did but i'd made that part of my garden wildlife friendly and when i did need to get the spare key it was underneath about 5' of nettles and i got stung to hell.

time2deal

Why don't you store a key in a safe place at someone else's house. My friend lives around the corner, so we both hold each other's keys in jars/hidden containers. If someone found it, they would never work out which house it is for - there are about 100 flats between our houses, although still close enough to walk in emergency.

Or put the keysafe on the wall at a friends house, and vice versa so you can store their spare.