Front door locks - why no dead lock?

melanzana

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

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.

Correct.

When anyone comes in from outside, they automatically raise the handle inside and engage the thumb lock.

It is just habit and what we all do.

We also have a porch with sliding doors and a thumb lock inside too. That requires a raising of a handle too, and a lowering of the handle outside to lock it aswell. I'm afraid we are not as diligent with the porch door during the day, but certainly engage the thumb lock at night always!

littlerock

well I have a very robust yale and latch deadlock. it is cut into the door frame on the frame side and there is no way it can be opened by a credit card. We close the door when we come in and then it is locked. Noone else can get in without a key to unlock it from the outside or by being let in by someone inside opening it.

Obviously any wooden door can be opened with an axe but in a respectable urban street this is unlikely. I do not see how locking it from the inside and outside with a dual cylinder lock is more secure than mine, so much more secure in fact that insurance companies apparently mandate it?

TheCyclingProgrammer

Obviously any wooden door can be opened with an axe but in a respectable urban street this is unlikely. I do not see how locking it from the inside and outside with a dual cylinder lock is more secure than mine, so much more secure in fact that insurance companies apparently mandate it?

Insurance companies do not normally mandate one specific type of lock, they normally require a minimum standard and what type of lock you have depends on your door construction. Meeting these minimum requirements doesn't guarantee your door can't be opened however - for instance you could have a multi-point locking system and 1* kite-marked cylinder which meets insurance standards but somebody with the right skills could still pick the lock. If you want the absolute best security you'd fit 3* diamond standard cylinders everywhere (but if somebody really wants to break in, they could still just break a window).

littlerock

Yes what is puzzling me is that my brother, brother in law and son have all been told that the dual locking door with handles is now the industry standard as mandated by insurance companies. My son and b-i-l would roll with that but my brother put up a stiff fight and was told a standard front door could not be supplied in any other form to meet contemporary insurance specs....

tacpot12

Insurance companies don't mandate they type of lock just that it complies with bs3621/bs8321. The company your b-i-l bought his door from were lying, probably because they didn't want the hassle of sourcing anything other than their standard lock which I'm betting is not to bs3621 anyway.

Does his lock have a brand on it and is it kite-marked?

katejo

My front door has a Yale and a Chubb deadlock. My back door is the type with a handle on both sides. You raise the handle to lock it. I never leave the keys in the lock but I always lock the door from the inside at night. I have a lodger who may come back late and need to get in.

littlerock

I accept it is not mandatory but it is interesting that all my three male relatives have had new front doors installed recently and in each case, in different parts of the country, they were told that the key locking and handle inside and out type of door is now the industry standard as an insurance requirement.

TheCyclingProgrammer

littlerock wrote: »

I accept it is not mandatory but it is interesting that all my three male relatives have had new front doors installed recently and in each case, in different parts of the country, they were told that the key locking and handle inside and out type of door is now the industry standard as an insurance requirement.

So what if you've got a traditional wooden door?

wanman

In recently bought a new composite door with the same type of lock - requiring the key to be turned on the inside to get out as well as from the outside to get in. It lasted 24 hours when I realised that leaving a key in the inside meant that the door could not be unlocked from the outside (unless the inside key was in a perfectly vertical position when the key from outside could push it back).

Luckily eurolocks are very simple to replace and I was able to install a high security yale eurolock barrel with a thumbturn on the inside for less than £20