Best type of front door lock

TheCyclingProgrammer

I've got a Brisant Ultion on my French doors.

Marktheshark

Lets put it this way, we lost the keys to an Avocet ABS lock as said above.
Two failed locksmiths later it finally ended with a full new door with frame and the help of some rather burley strong firemen who were checking smoke alarms on the street and their big "hooley key" as they call it and it was still locked tight in the frame when they ripped it out.

Cost tea and buns for 5 firemen but it was the only way it was getting opened

cyclonebri1

robatwork wrote: »

I am not sure those flat keys with holes in are any more secure, but their benefit is that if you lend someone the key (cleaner, babysitter etc.) they can't make copies - need authorisation from the master key holder as I understand it.

So that makes them a whole lot more secure, agree?

leveller2911

I find peoples attitudes with regards to locks quite funny sometimes.

I recently made a pair of french doors for a couple on their 2nd home . He insisted I used Banham locks that he purchased as that was what he had fitted on his London home. The locks are ok but nothing special and the thing that made ma laugh most was he thought they were far better than other locks, they cost just under £400 for 2 locks.

When fitted they work fine but it totally went over his head that no burglar would have broken into his new French doors even if they had been fitted with BS3621 5 lever locks and chubb bolts, let alone 2 Banham locks costing £400 .The burglar would just break a pane of thin 3mm glass in the sash window right next to his new french doors and slide the sash up and climb in.........


People do not need to spend £40-00 or more on a high spec Euro cylinder to fit in a Euro lock that costs a further £30-00. The vast majority and I mean the vast majority of burglars won't be drilling out,picking or snapping the locks they will use a small crow/jemmy bar to prize open a window. 99% of burglars are too thick to pick locks.

As long as a BS3621 5 Lever lock is fitted then it will comply with 95% of insurance companies conditions.

Most burglars are opportunists and look for an open window .

Skintdoogle

leveller2911, I'm sure you're right about opportunists looking for an open window and jemmying being a common method of entry. However, lock snapping has had a lot of publicity, including this year in Devon.

£30-40 for a 3-star euro cylinder seems reasonable for peace of mind. Also, these lock cylinders tend to be made of higher quality materials with better tolerances, so I'd expect them to be less prone to sticking/jamming than a cheapo lock cylinder. (Though a Banham cylinder in a uPVC door seems like major overkill!)

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

So that makes them a whole lot more secure, agree?

No. Avocet ABS keys can be copied without your consent, because the keys have no patent protection:

Skintdoogle wrote: »

Avocet ABS isn't patent protected and can be copied like any other key. (Although ABS key blanks aren't widely available.) Anti-snap 3-star cylinders that are protected against illegal key copying include: Evva (various), Mul-T-Lock Integrator XP+ and Kaba pExtra Guard.

leveller2911

My point is Skintdoogle in all the years I spent making and fitting Joinery I had a number of occasions where my customers were burgled and not one of them went through the front , every single one of them went through a side or rear window. The Front door to most properties is on the street side so the burglars tend to go round the side or back of the house so the front door isn't really a high risk area.

I do agree though that £40 for a cylinder and £30 for the lock body is not a lot of money for the peace of mind aspect but that's all it is really peace of mind.

Skintdoogle

Fair point. And interesting to get your insight into how your customers were burgled.

I was thinking of uPVC French and sliding patio doors: both of which tend to use euro cylinder locks. Sometimes people have uPVC side doors too.

I know there are other ways into French doors (e.g. jemmying) and sliding patio doors (e.g. lifting off their track). However, surely a decent anti-snap cylinder is part of the solution to beefing up their security?

leveller2911

There are some burglars who are not your average one and will be very professional but the vast majority and knuckle dragging numpties who see an open window and can't help themselves.To minimise the risk they don't tend to use the front door.

You would be surprised how many people have high security locks on their outward opening french doors but haven't fitted hinge bolts or hinges with integrated hinge bolts so the burglar just takes a hammer and a long punch and knocks out the centre pin from the hinges and pulls the door leaf off the hinge side and they are in. Banham locks work on a hooked bolt system similar to sliding doors so even if someone knocks the hinge pins out they struggle to pull the door leaf out.

Even if people fit the highest security Euro cylinders it won't stop a burglar getting in outward opening doors if they haven't fitted hinge bolts.