Door locks may serve several purposes but the main purpose of door locks is security. Door locks are meant to ward burglars off completely. Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing very well. So, if doors are meant to keep burglars off, then they should be able to do it very well.
One thing that matters most is that security should not be static. It should be improving since burglars do continuous research on how to beat contemporary security facilities in place now. The best way to select door locks is to use a burglars’ perspective. Below are a few tips to select effective door locks.
Always go for door locks with deadbolt as against the ones with latch bolt. Although latch bolt locks are quite effective but the ones with deadbolt are better. The bolt extends into the strike plate deeper than latch bolt. Not only that, you turn back a latch bolt by turning the door handle. But a deadbolt can only be turned back with a key. However, some door locks have both deadbolt and latch both. These locks should be more preferable.
Always select door locks with ANSI Grade 1 classification. This is because the lock would have been subjected to a series of test to assess its security and durability. Any door lock that has been classified as Grade 1 is the best in its category.
You might also want to install a lock that has key control. Someone with an ulterior motive can make a copy of your key. With that, he can always have access to your apartment when you are not around. But with a key control in place, not all key cutters will be able to cut your key. Only the original manufacturers can cut your key. And they won’t do it without notifying you first.
A lot of people don’t realize that the weakest point of a door lock is the attachment of its strike plate to the frame. No matter how secure your door lock is, if the attachment of its strike plate is not strong, then its security is zero. Suffice to say the strike plate attachment has to be very strong.
Having a keyless lock is another form of hard-to –break security. It is used for advanced home security and additional peace of mind. The system requires the entry of certain security rolling code to gain entry. It is designed in such a way that same code is not used twice. Some of these keyless locks have an additional feature of sounding alarm whenever a wrong is entered three straight times.
Being in digital age, digital smart locks have already been introduced into the market. These smart locks have Bluetooth enabled deadbolt and finger print scanners. This prevents anybody whose finger print is not recognized from gaining access. A particular security company has already gone a step ahead to manufacture door locks with an in-built camera that snaps the picture of anyone trying to tamper with your lock and it sends a real-time picture alert to your mobile phone.
