Front door locks - why no dead lock?

littlerock

My b-i-l recently had a new front door installed. This has a handle on both sides and has to be locked inside and out using a key ,(unlike his previous door which had a traditional latch which locks when closed and can be opened from the inside via the latch. ) I think the newer locks are called double cylinder locks?

This means when they are indoors they have to lock themselves in using the key if they want the door locked. If they leave the key in the lock noone else can get in. So they have to remember to take it out and leave it in a secure place. Not good if you are the sort of person who mislays keys.

Recently he got home after a long day, locked the door, laid down for a nap and crashed out, key still in lock.When my sister got home later she was locked out. She could not raise him because once he goes fast asleep that is it, he is dead to the world. She could not get in because the door was locked from inside with key still in the lock. She had to come round to my house for the night. She was not best pleased

How do these doors work? I heard the lock is connected to a rod which locks the door into the frame and this is said to make it more secure? is this right.? I used to have a similar system on my Audi car ( as did polos and golfs) .The car thieves soon got round that by knocking off the handle/lock and then reaching inside side the door frame to raise the rod's lever. Also surely it could be a real problem if you could not find the key in an emergency?

My son lives in a rented house with these locks on front and back door and finds them very annoying. They recently had to have the lock changed and he asked about having an older style lock and was told these double cylinder locks are now the standard and are more secure. My brother was recently told the same thing when replacing his front door. Are they required by insurance companies? What is the advantage and are they really unbreakable?

stator

Having a key operated lock is required for most insurance policies.
It's just something you have to get used to, lock yourself in and out. On the plus side it's harder to leave the keys indoors accidentally and lock yourself out.
On the downside it's harder to get out in a fire.
Just lock the door from the inside and don't leave the keys in it.
Have a spare set of keys with the neighbours and someone handy inside, but not reachable from the outside (coathanger trick)

Grenage

You either use another door, or ideally just don't leave the keys in the lock.

littlerock

why is it an insurance requirement? seems to me vulnerable to break ins and more dangerous if lost when you are trapped inside.

cajef

littlerock wrote: »

seems to me vulnerable to break ins and more dangerous if lost when you are trapped inside.

How is a euro deadlock more vulnerable to a break in than a standard yale lock that can be opened with a plastic credit card, have a spare key in the house in case the one usually used is mislaid.

suki1964

We only ever lock the door at night and leave the key in

Rest of the time it's unlocked


But then we usually come and go via the back door

melanzana

I've a relatively new front door. When you go out it closes on the latch but needs to be opened with a key from outside. Kind of like the old Yale locks.

You can also raise the handle and double lock it from outside if you want to.

The inside has no key locking mechanism, but has a twisty thing that double locks it, sorry don't know the name. Apparently this is a requirement, so easy fast exit is possible in case of danger or fire etc.

Works well. No need for keys to exit.

TheCyclingProgrammer

We have a Yale key-free lock on our front door. No key required, inside or outside (though it does have a hidden cylinder on the outside as a backup). For that reasons it doesn't meet BS3621 standards (which I believe requires key lockable inside and out) though that doesn't mean it doesn't meet insurance requirements, indeed I have checked with my insurers (LV) and the lock and door as a whole meets police Secure By Design standards. Remember its the entire door and locking system that matters, not one lock in isolation.

I did consider getting a thumb turn on our back door however I felt this was higher risk as it was more exposed (there's a big window on the side of our rear porch so much easier for somebody to break the window and reach in) but it would be very difficult to open our front door from the outside (the handle still requires a button to be pressed in before it releases the deadlock).

I must admit since having the Yale keyfree, and never having lived in a house with any other kind of multi-point locking system before (always had a night latch and mortice lock combination) I've kind of taken for granted how easy it is for us to be able to just deadlock the door when leaving and arriving by lifting the handle without further needing to lock it with a key. We have to do this with our back door but that is less of a problem as we don't use it as the main entry point - though I have on occasion come home and not been able to get in through the back door as the key has been left in the lock. I'd have had the keyfree system installed on our back door if it wasn't for the fact it costs £350!

TheCyclingProgrammer

melanzana wrote: »

You can also raise the handle and double lock it from outside if you want to.

Worth pointing out that double-locking in this way (assuming you're talking about a composite or upvc door here) shouldn't ever really be considered optional - its essential for the security and longevity of your door as it engages the hooks that secure it properly and also helps reduce any thermal distortion at the top and bottom of the door. We always engage the hooks on both our doors when closing it whether in or out.

melanzana

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

Worth pointing out that double-locking in this way (assuming you're talking about a composite or upvc door here) shouldn't ever really be considered optional - its essential for the security and longevity of your door as it engages the hooks that secure it properly and also helps reduce any thermal distortion at the top and bottom of the door. We always engage the hooks on both our doors when closing it whether in or out.

Yes, there are four bars all the way down the door from top to bottom that are engaged when you double lock from outside, as we do all the time, unless I'm just going for a walk up the road or something close like that.

When indoors the thumb turn thinggy is ALWAYS engaged, out of habit more than need!

TheCyclingProgrammer

When indoors the thumb turn thinggy is ALWAYS engaged, out of habit more than need!

Interesting - does that work without you lifting up the handle inside? I assumed, just as with keyed versions, that the handle needs to be lifted to engage the hooks before the handle will lock. I thought they were all designed that way (handle engages hooks, cylinder locks the handle). Its simply not possible to lock the cylinder on either our french doors or back door without engaging the hooks by lifting the handle first.