Ideal Door Lock
Josuah Venter
April 29, 2020
Whether you live out in the suburbs or in the middle of the city, protecting your home and family is a high priority. Choosing the ideal door lock South Africa is the first line of defense against intruders. But how do you decide what to look for or what lock is best for your needs?
Table of Contents
- What is the ideal door lock South Africa? What to look for
- There are two main types of locks on the marke
- Deadbolt Front Door Locks
- Key Features
- Exterior (Entry) Doorknobs
- Helpful Tips for choosing the right door lock for your family
- Always look at the quality and not the style
- When to Replace Your Door Locks
- What else can I do to protect my doors?
- Security of Your Sliding Door
- Panels of Sliding Door
- How To Select the Best Lock
- When You Travel often
- Safety of Your Sliding Door
- Security gates for your doors
What is the ideal door lock South Africa? What to look for
There are two main types of locks on the market
Deadbolts
These are your main security feature and the preferred lock when it comes to securing your home.
Knobs/ Levers
They are usually used more for secondary security.
Deadbolt Front Door Locks
Deadbolts are a foundational part of security. When most people are searching for the best front door locks, deadbolts are their main concern. A deadbolt uses a bolt to extend into a bored hole made in the frame of a doorway.
This bolt can only be extended or retracted by manipulating the keyway, hopefully with the proper key. If the deadbolt is only a single cylinder, there is likely an interior thumb turn mechanism that allows the bolt to move without the use of a key, as long as the user is already inside the building.
Standard deadbolts use a rim cylinder, opposed to a mortise cylinder. Deadbolts are graded on how well they withstand forced entry attacks and given a ranking of one through three, one being the highest. It is the deadbolt and not the keyed knob that provides the security for your front door.
Key Features
.12 pin-double sidebar locking mechanism
.Complexity based drilling resistance
.Restricted key duplication
.Extremely difficult to open covertly
Exterior (Entry) Doorknobs
Locksets for exterior doors are also called entry locksets, exterior locks, or keyed locks. These are heavier, more durable, and lock far more securely than doorknobs made for interior doors.
Lever-style locksets have cylindrical workings. A lever is easier than a knob to operate, particularly for children and the elderly.
Exterior knobs typically comes as a standard keyed entry set, an emergency exit knob (these can be opened from inside without unlocking the latch), and a dummy set (a fixed knob meant to be paired with an active knob).
Entry locksets can be locked or unlocked from both sides of the door using a key, a button, or a throw latch, depending upon the type.
Locks aren’t an everyday purchase. There are a few main reasons you would purchase a door locks. For example, during upgrading your home, new home construction, existing home renovation, or lastly after a break-in. Many people consider style before function but you should take the opposite approach. Your lock is only as good as its quality. Quality, safety, and function comes first.
Defining the main function is the first and main step in choosing a lock. Function and purpose will help determine the level of security and endurance your lock will need to uphold. For instance, a hallway or interior door usually doesn’t require such a strong level of security as your front door would.
Helpful Tips for choosing the right door lock for your family
Always look at the quality and not the style
When you’re securing your home, make sure you’re using a Grade 1 deadbolt to maximise home security.
If you can not care too much, you can call LockPro Locksmith to secure your home.
This guide will provide some insights about when it’s time to replace your door lock, the types of locks available on the market, how they work, and the grading system used to ensure the lock you select meets industry standards for quality and durability.
When to Replace Your Door Locks
You can go for years without thinking about your door locks. It’s easy to take your home's security for granted but if any of the following situations would happen to you, it’s time for a replacement:
Worn-out Locks
If you notice rust, tarnish, or other signs of wear, it’s likely your locks will easily break or be compromised. Older locks will also be difficult to operate. Don’t risk getting locked out, especially at night.
Forced Entry
It may seem pointless to replace your locks after a break-in, but once your locks have been damaged, you’re at a greater risk of another robbery. Even if only one lock has been affected, it’s time to replace all the exterior locks at your home.
Missing Keys
Keep intruders out of your home by replacing your locks if your keys have been lost or stolen. If only one key operates all exterior locks, you’ll want to replace them all.
New Tenants
Protect yourself by replacing locks whenever you bring in new tenants. You’ll never have to worry that your previous tenant still have access or that they’ve given a key to someone else. It will put your mind at ease.
Upgraded Doors
While it may be convenient and less expensive to re-use your old locks when you install new doors, it’s still important to install new locks too.
Of course, you’ll want to choose a handleset and lock that is both aesthetically pleasing and provide the best security for your home. There are many new and improved products on the market that range from traditional door knob locks to electronic and keyless styles. You’ll want to review the options and select the type that fits your specific door.
If you find yourself asking, “What’s a mortise lock?” don’t worry—you are not alone. Mortise locks are less common than deadbolts, but they provide better protection.
A mortise lock is more difficult to break with a swift kick than a simple deadbolt would be.
Mortise locks are recessed and set in the frame of the door. This setup gives the lock an extra level of stability. A mortise lock is more difficult to break with a swift kick than a simple deadbolt would be.
Mortise locks are more expensive than deadbolts, but the cost is justified if you want extra safety and security. Still, mortise locks are better suited to commercial properties than residential. In a family home, a mortise lock could be overkill.
All Locked Down
There are plenty of other door locks and many fall within the five categories of knobs, deadbolts, cam locks, padlocks and mortise locks. For example, lever handle door locks are used for inner doors and work much like knob locks. Besides door lock considerations, it is important to scrutinize the door for lock installation, namely for its backset. Measuring the backset of a door determines if your lock will fit it properly. The backset is measured from the center of the lock’s hole to the edge of the door.
Installation
While you may be tempted to install new locks yourself, they rather need to be installed by a professional to achieve the full benefit of security, energy efficiency, and trouble-free operation.
What else can I do to protect my doors?
Invest in solid doors
Another way you can improve the security of your home is to replace any hollow-core doors with solid wood or metal. Hollow-core doors are weaker and more vulnerable to shattering than a solid wooden frame. Sure, solid exterior doors are more expensive, but they’re also much more durable and nearly impossible to break down.
Avoid doors with windows in them
A super secure lock doesn’t do any good if the thief can just break a window and reach inside. So avoid installing doors with windows. If you need to see outside, add a peephole.
Reinforce your doors
Remember, thieves say they go for the front door first. Invest in deadbolts, mortise, strike plates, and chain locks to make your home much more challenging to break into.
Security of Your Sliding Door
Sliding doors should have a secure lock or else it is very easy for intruders to break into the house. Because the door itself is not as strong as the traditional wooden doors the security of the house is solely dependent upon the lock of these sliding doors.
Panels of Sliding Door
Sliding doors have glass panels as mentioned earlier and therefore it is very delicate. So, first and foremost the house owner should make sure that the frame of the doors is really strong.
How To Select the Best Lock
Next is the step of selecting a lock for the sliding doors. Usually the lock for the sliding doors has a not so strong latch which is the biggest security hurdle. So while selecting a lock for the sliding doors go for a lock that is hidden from the view, has a strong latch, and is made of strong metal.
Some other measures to be taken for the safety and security of your home:
Put the locks in chains, especially if your locks are installed in the middle of the doors. The chain will act as additional security.
Employ safety bars into your sliding doors. This will make opening the sliding door horizontally impossible.
Lastly install a slide locking bar. Installing a slide locking bar will prevent the door from opening, even if the latch or the lock on the door is damaged.
When You Travel often
This is especially a great option for those who travel often, and the house is empty for long periods. Sliding door locks should be selected keeping in mind your unique needs and the decisions should be made based on your preferences.
The lock should be secure enough to keep you and your family safe but it should also not be too complicated, in case of an emergency, one should be able to get out of the home easily.
Safety of Your Sliding Door
If the sliding door is close to a swimming pool and if you have small children then the lock on the door should be installed at a specific height so that the children are not able to open the doors.
Security gates for your doors
All your exit doors should be protected by good quality, lockable security gates. This includes front doors, back doors, and doors from the garage into the house. Fully framed security gate designs offer the best protection as they are generally stronger under attack than semi-framed models. The locking mechanism should lock in more than one place inside the lock stile.
Read this interesting article with some additional information to discourage intruders:
https://www.property24.com/articles/6-ways-to-thwart-intruders/20249