The only thing separating you in your home from the outside world is your door. And, the only thing separating your door from your home is its locks. Door locks and the way that it’s installed is a critical part of keeping you and your home safe. These locks are designed to keep you safe from potential dangers like intruders and thieves. They provide you with a level of comfort and peace-of-mind knowing that they are designed to keep us secure. But, not all door locks are created equal. Make sure that you get a good one and that it’s installed correctly.
Door Lock Security
When using a good high quality door lock, it reduces our tendency to worry. We don’t have to worry about the average Joe breaking into our house or entering and hurting our loved ones. Most door locks are quite durable and can take a pretty good pounding before failure. There aren’t too many people that would want to live in a house if they knew that it couldn’t be secured. Today’s locks have become more sophisticated with things like fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, remote access, keypads, NFR ability and much more. But don’t let the convenience of these modern advances reduces the actual intended function of the lock: to keep you secure.
Convenience
Door locks, especially of the “smart” variety provide a lot of convenience. A large percentage of them don’t require a key at all. The days of kids having to wear a key around their neck on the way home from school is becoming a thing of the past. Now they can just use their smartphone to unlock the front door. How times have changed. However, you have to consider the trade-off. Many of these types of locks offer convenience but is essence they are easy to defeat by those in the business of robbing households. There are countless videos showing just how easy defeating these types of locks are – many just using a common magnet. Make sure you choose your lock after doing considerable research.
Safety
Having a good door lock is one thing. Having it installed correctly is another. You’d be surprised how many times that our Handyman has come across locks that have been installed incorrectly or poorly. There is more to it than just the lock. For example, what type of screws, and length, of screws are being used. How is the strike plate reinforced? What about the strength of the door frame? There are many components to consider about door security. The lock is just one part.
Changing interior door locks is something that a versed homeowner can usually accomplish on their own. However, we suggest that you leave the exterior locks to our professional handyman to install. Give us a call when it’s time to upgrade your locks and security.