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- Choosing the Best Door Lock for Your Home
- We recommend Grade 1 (ANSI designation) deadbolt
type locks on:
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- Tips:
- 1.) Install locks with deadbolts.
- In residential construction there are basically
two types of bolts used on exterior doors: latch bolts and deadbolts.
Some locks combine the two bolts into one.
- 2.) Install locks with an ANSI Grade 1 classification.
- There is a grading system that measures the
security and durability of door locks. The American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) has standards, developed and maintained
by The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association Inc. (BHMA),
that comparatively measure the security and durability performance
of door locks.
- Not all Grade 1 locks are equal. Different
types of door locks are tested differently under ANSI standards.
But the grade designation system is the same.
- 3.) Install locks with key control.
Key control is simply controlling who has
copies of keys to your home. Many door keys can be copied at
a local hardware or retail store. However, many manufacturers
now offer locks using keys that cannot be copied except by certain
locksmiths or only by the manufacturer themselves.
- There are burglaries where the unlawful entry
can be traced back to a key that was either knowingly or unwittingly
provided to the burglar.
Key control can help protect your from the following scenarios:
- * In-home help has been fired or quit, but
they made their own copy of your house key.
- * In-home help may have acquaintances who
burglarize homes; they might try to acquire a key through them
- * Mechanics may try to make copies of your
house key while working on your car.
Key control may require extra effort, such
as a letter to the lock manufacturer or a trip to the locksmith
to get a key made. Also, there is an additional cost due to record
keeping by the manufacturer or locksmith (between $10 and $50
per key). The additional cost and inconvenience should be weighed
against the security benefits.
- Other Door Lock Features to Look For
- Security Strike Plate -- A strike plate comes
with every door lock. Many times these strike plates are cosmetic
and not intended to provide much security.
- The strike plate's attachment to the doorframe
is usually the weakest point in the entire door/doorframe/lock
system.
- High security strike plates are available.
They sometimes come with a heavy gauge metal reinforcing plate
that mounts under the cosmetic strike plate and come with 3"
long screws that secure the strike to the wall framing, not just
to the doorframe jamb.
- The screw holes are staggered so the screws
don't penetrate into the same grain of wood. The concept of screwing
into different wood grains in the doorframe and wall framing
is to make it more difficult to split the wood doorframe or wall
framing when the door is impacted. This feature should be considered
at every exterior door and at those doors coming from attached
garages.
Long Screws
- 1" Minimum Throw on Deadbolt -- The
throw of the deadbolt is the length that the deadbolt extends
out of the door edge. A minimum throw of 1" is recommended.
Longer throws makes it more difficult to gain entry by spreading
the doorframe.
- Saw-Resistant Bolts -- Some deadbolts come
with internal anti-saw pins. The pins spin freely inside the
bolt. If someone tries to break in by sawing off the deadbolt,
the pin will make this difficult because it spins back and forth
with every movement of the saw blade.
- Captured Key Deadbolt -- Burglars can gain
entry through a locked door by breaking the glass in the door
light or sidelight, reaching in, and simply unlocking the door.
Many homeowners, in an effort to prevent this, install double
cylinder deadbolt locks with keyholes on both sides of the door.
- Don't let Double Cylinder Deadbolts create
a fire safety danger to your family.
- In the case of a fire when the family needs
to get out of the house quickly, you don't want to be wasting
time looking for the key to unlock the door. Most building codes
do not allow this type of lock on doors that are used to exit
the house for this very reason.
- To solve this conflict between family safety
and security, one manufacturer has developed a deadbolt lock
with a feature called a captured key.
- On the interior side of the door the deadbolt
lock has a thumb turn that can be removed from the lock, leaving
a keyhole. The idea is when no one is home, there is no need
for the thumb-turn. The last person to leave removes the thumb-turn
and creates a double cylinder deadbolt condition.
- Captured Key Thumb-turn -- The thumb-turn
cannot be removed without having a key to the lock. Therefore,
small children cannot remove the thumb-turn from the lock. Also,
the thumb-turn can actually be used as a house key. It is important
that whenever anyone is in the home that the thumb-turn is left
in the lock at all times.
- Hardened Cased Steel & Beveled Casings
-- On a typical deadbolt lock the outside housing of the lock
is called the "casing" or "case." Many lock
manufacturers make their casings out of hardened steel and many
make the casing beveled. The hardened cased steel makes the casing
more resilient against blows from a hammer. Beveling the casing
makes it very difficult to get pliers or pipe wrenches to stay
on the lock when trying to twist it loose.
- Anti-Drill Feature -- Some intruders know
how to drill out a lock. Some manufacturers combat this by installing
hardened steel chips within the lock housing. When the drill
bit hits these steel chips, it tears up the drill bit.
- Dropbolts and Rim Locks -- If a dropbolt
or rim lock is selected, make sure the lock is mounted on the
door with through bolts.
- Dropbolt with Through Bolts and Without --
If not, a forced entry can cause the lock to separate from the
door. The typical dropbolt and rim lock should not be considered
as secure as a deadbolt lock.
- Help in assessing the need for better security
can be found with your local police department. Many departments
have a crime prevention unit that will examine your home. Based
on their experience with crime, they can see things that the
average homeowner does not. Also, an experienced locksmith can
help you select the right products.
Source: 1Appendix X4 of ASTM F476-84 (Reapproved
1991) Standard Test Methods for Security of Swinging Door Assemblies;
American Society for Testing and Materials
State Farm® believes the information contained
in the Learning Center is reliable and accurate. We cannot, however,
guarantee the performance of all items demonstrated or described
in all situations. Always consult an experienced contractor or
other expert to determine the best application of these ideas
or products in your home |
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