Home security tips: Upgrade your locks
Everyone wants to feel safe in their own homes. Homeowners should also feel confident that their homes and all the contents inside are secure.
Mortice locks are considered the ultimate in security, often featuring double length deadbolts and built-in nightlatches for additional security.
The external doors of your home and the locks on them are your primary defence against burglaries.
Did you know that you can lower your insurance premium by upgrading the locks on your doors?
Anchor South Africa shares insight on the various types of locks you could use to greatly increase the security of your home.
There are three main types of locks for front doors. Finding the right one for you will generally depend on the spacing between the edge of your door and the centre of the bore hole where your lock will be fitted (the backset).
Mortice locks come in two sizes.
To install this lock, measure the backset of your door. For a backset of 44mm, use a 67mm mortice lock or a nightlatch. For a backset of 57mm, choose an 80mm mortice lock.
Mortice locks are considered the ultimate in security, often featuring double length deadbolts and built-in nightlatches for additional security. The internal mechanism can either be a cylinder lock or a series of levers.
Euro cylinders are used most often with PVCu doors and are available in a variety of lengths.
The rule of thumb is that the more levers in a mortice lock, the more secure it is. British Standard 5 lever locks (available here in South Africa) are considered strong.
Nightlatches are best suited to smaller backsets of 44mm.
You’ll frequently see this style of lock with a thumb turn attachment on the inside piece. This makes it vulnerable if you have a glass window in the front door as it can be easily opened or if a burglar enters the property by another means.
In both cases, the thief could then open the door and walk in and out of your front door easily. If you have a lock with an easy turn internal knob, you should consider changing it for a key slot. You should also replace any windows in doors.
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