How to Find the Right Locks for your Needs

If you’ve been shopping for locks, then you are likely already finding out that there is basically an endless selection of various types of locks and keys. When you have to track down the best locks for your particular requirements, you ought to be certain that they’ll prove to be the most effective.

Do your homework. Carry out a thorough evaluation of each lock you’re considering, and ask these questions:

• Who will use the lock?
• Where will you install it?
• What level of security do you need?
• Wherever you’re installing the lock, what are the surroundings like?

Let’s take a look at some popular locks and their security features:

Deadbolts are the most secure locks you can install in your home, as any locksmith professional will tell you. Anytime you install deadbolts, you’ll definitely be adding an exceptional level of security. These locks are referred to as “dead” because there aren’t any springs to operate the bolt; a deadbolt is operated by hand – which means you have to use a key or thumbturn.

There are four basic deadbolts: single-cylinder, double-cylinder, jimmy-proof, and lockable thumbturn.

The single-cylinder deadbolt is the standard deadbolt we all imagine, with the key cylinder on the outside. On the inside, a thumbturn is used to close and open it. It’s usually for a solid door, of wood or metal. The one drawback to a single-cylinder deadbolt lock is, if there’s potential access to the inside – through a window that’s on the door, or even through the peephole (something an intruder can easily do) – then the door can be opened using the thumbturn.

One way to correct this shortcoming is the double-cylinder deadbolt, which gives you a key cylinder both outside and inside the door. If the door’s locked, the double-cylinder needs a key to open it from the inside. This kind of deadbolt is ideal if the door has any glass in it, or if there’s a window near the door, because it stops a thief from shattering the glass and reaching in to unlock the door. Its weakness is that it isn’t safe if there’s a fire. Therefore, if you choose a double-cylinder deadbolt, always leave a key handy. That way, in case there’s a fire when anyone is at home, everybody will be able to leave quickly.

The jimmy-proof deadbolt is a surface-mount lock, typically used at apartment complexes, primarily on double doors. People who prefer this deadbolt like it because it requires the least door modifications. The way this deadbolt works is that it interlocks with the jamb bracket, and that prevents it from being pulled apart or forced from the outside by a robber. A surface-mount lock means that the lock screws into the inside of the door, instead of having the drill pattern of a traditional deadbolt.

A lockable thumbturn deadbolt is like a perfect combination of the single-cylinder and the double-cylinder deadbolt, providing excellent flexibility and security. It has a thumbturn on the inside, which works the way a regular single-cylinder deadbolt does, but it can also be locked with a key, so that it cannot unlock or lock the door. Thus the thumbturn can be left in the unlocked position while you are home, but it will work just like a normal single-cylinder deadbolt. When you go out, the thumbturn can be locked, so that even if a burglar gains access to the door’s inside, the deadbolt itself cannot be unlocked.

You’ll often see lever handle locks on interior doors at commercial buildings. If you have to provide accessibility for the disabled, a lever lock will work best, since they’re easier to open than knobs are. The push-down handle doesn’t need to be grasped and turned, the way a knob does. Its one minor problem is that you might catch your clothes on the lever.

Of course, knob locks are the typical locks used on your exterior doors, and your major source of security at your home. Sometimes, they’re also installed in addition to deadbolts so as to give you more security. A knob lock alone actually isn’t totally secure, since the lock cylinder is inside the knob itself, rather than inside your door. One disadvantage is that a criminal could break off a knob lock from the door using a heavy object, like a hammer. It can be forced open with pliers, or by bypassing the lock cylinder using a wrench behind the knob.

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