Poll: Does your front door auto lock when you shut it from the outside? Poll
- Thread starter jaybee
- Start date
door you need to manually lock. What do you guys do when inside your house? Constantly have the door locked from the inside? What a pain
Yeah my thoughts exactly. My Brother in laws house is like that, if they haven't locked it you could just walk right in. Whilst i'm sure 99.99% of people wouldn't even try the door handle, it'll just take that once occurrence where you've gone upstairs to drop the kids off and someone has let themselves in.
Come home put key in door to open, take key out put key in other side of door as I'm closing it and lock it. Not sure what's so difficult about that.
We did have split spindle and yale locks on my various student houses though, luckily never managed to lock myself out. The one with the split spindle really confused me when we first moved in, thought the handle was broken
We did have split spindle and yale locks on my various student houses though, luckily never managed to lock myself out. The one with the split spindle really confused me when we first moved in, thought the handle was broken
Soldato
- Joined
- 28 Dec 2017
- Posts
- 9,857
- Location
- Beds
50/50 so far
This is my main worry with a door you need to manually lock. What do you guys do when inside your house? Constantly have the door locked from the inside? What a pain
And that means you need the keys nearby to get out quickly anyway right? In case of fire or another emergency etc. I wouldn't want to be worrying about finding my keys to unlock the door to get out quickly if needed!
I live in a fairly safe neighbourhood, at the end of a caul de sack and set back from the road. I just lock the door at night/after I know I’m not going back out again. We tend to be in and out the front a lot due to the layout of the house and the beer fridge in the garage!
The keys are close by just in case, but out of sight and somewhere that can’t be fished through the letter box. If I couldn’t get out the front door, I couldn’t get down the stairs either so it would be out an upstairs window either way in an emergency.
It would take a particularly brazen person to come into an obviously occupied property. Nearly all crime like that takes place when people are not at home and not something I’m particularly concerned about where I live.
My wife worries about this in our apartment in Austria and that autolocks and cannot be opened from the outside without a keyNever lived anywhere with a front door that can just be opened without a key from outside, was thoroughly surprised to find out that was even a thing when I first encountered one
Maybe due to growing up with doors that lock behind you and being in the habit of either setting a latch or having a key but never locked myself out. I also can't imagine being comfortable or relaxed in my own house knowing that any delivery driver, leaflet dropper or other random joe could just let themselves in, even if that is thoroughly unlikely and an irrational worry.
But you have to decide whether or not you're in for the rest of the night, or if you're a bit over-cautious (like I would be) or live in a rougher area you'll be locking/unlocking your door all day to put out the bins, run errands etc. Especially if working from home if you're in and out a few times a day.
Personally I wouldn't hedge my bets on a 'safe' neighbourhood stopping me from getting robbed. It happens everywhere. Granted a lot less in some areas, a lot more in others. I know if I came in on a dark evening, didn't lock the door behind me and went and played CSGO for 3hrs with headphones on loud.. I'd rather know that no-one could try the door and sneak around downstairs without me knowing. It just feels weird having your home open to others
Even working as I am now on the first floor, if I'm listening to music particularly loud I'd probably not hear someone sneak in downstairs. Or I might even think it's the neighbours and ignore it! Why take the risk.
I think you may be making a mountain out of a molehill. The chances of getting robbed while you are inside your own house are so much smaller than an unoccupied property. The chances of being ‘burgled’ is already pretty low.
It’s all about the organised criminal gangs these days stealing stuff to order and a locked door isn’t going to impact that sort of activity.
While I don’t suggest leaving your door wide open, barricading yourself inside your own home isn’t exactly needed either.
Sheds, garages etc are much easier targets and likely have stuff they can take and sell for good money with no questions asked.
The chances of being caught when the person is home, in broad daylight, is rather high compared to doing their shed under the cover of darkness or while they are out.
My thoughts might change if my door opened straight onto the street, but it doesn’t. The amount of doorbell cameras etc. around here is nuts, you’d have to be mad to even try it round here. Speaking of doorbell cameras, I’d get a notification before they even made it to the front door.
It’s all about the organised criminal gangs these days stealing stuff to order and a locked door isn’t going to impact that sort of activity.
While I don’t suggest leaving your door wide open, barricading yourself inside your own home isn’t exactly needed either.
Sheds, garages etc are much easier targets and likely have stuff they can take and sell for good money with no questions asked.
The chances of being caught when the person is home, in broad daylight, is rather high compared to doing their shed under the cover of darkness or while they are out.
My thoughts might change if my door opened straight onto the street, but it doesn’t. The amount of doorbell cameras etc. around here is nuts, you’d have to be mad to even try it round here. Speaking of doorbell cameras, I’d get a notification before they even made it to the front door.
Not the exact models, but have a solid wooden front door (back from when the council did things right) with these style locks on it
https://www.screwfix.com/p/yale-630089001702-night-latch-grey-60mm-backset/42344
and
https://www.locksonline.co.uk/Front...-Euro-Deadlock-with-Security-Escutcheons.html
so requires a key to get in regardless, but is just a latch to open from the inside, then a deadbolt with latch to lock at night and that can also be locked with a key from the outside.
Therefore when out for the day I have to use two keys to get in my house.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/yale-630089001702-night-latch-grey-60mm-backset/42344
and
https://www.locksonline.co.uk/Front...-Euro-Deadlock-with-Security-Escutcheons.html
so requires a key to get in regardless, but is just a latch to open from the inside, then a deadbolt with latch to lock at night and that can also be locked with a key from the outside.
Therefore when out for the day I have to use two keys to get in my house.
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Jan 2007
- Posts
- 8,824
- Location
- *̡̡ı ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡͡͡ ̲▫̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ̲̲͡▫̲̲͡͡ ̲|̡̡
Why do you want to know? Are you planning on becoming a burglar?
Based on the current results of the poll, you could target 60% of houses and get in without a key.
I've never read the fine print of my home insurance (all my doors are always locked unless i'm in and out of the back garden, and it's only the kitchen doors open then) but i'm wondering whether they'd have a clause that says doors need to be locked/inaccessible from the outside without a key. Basically would an insurance company wriggle out of a claim if someone was able to walk in and steal something because the front door wasn't locked, even if you were at home at the time.
You're not wrong, but it's up for discussion so I'm only saying what my point of view is
Our local FB group had a warning of people coming round doing the Nottingham Knockers thing, and passing on details of houses that they thought would be ripe for burgling. Perhaps they're keeping an eye out for doors that are left open or don't lock automatically?Yeah this too. I always thought the 5 lever mortice dead bolt thing was essential and my girlfriend always used to tell me that if you're windows weren't locked and the burglars entered through then you'd have trouble claiming. Whether that's true or not I don't know. I can't imagine an insurance company would be so kind as to paying out on a property that the robber walked straight through the front door on!
I think the windows thing has always been a bit of a myth. Most double-glazed windows have the handles that lock shut - (the push button to turn handle type). So it's not possible to open them from the outside.
There’s no expectation (certainly on my insurance) that you barricade yourself inside your own home when at home. When you are not at home or a remote garage/shed is unsupervised, that’s another question.
I also struggle with the concept of window locks that can only be shut/locked/unlocked from the inside, particularly the UPVC kind. If someone’s put the window through, the fact the window is locked isn’t exactly going to stop them when the window is large enough to just climb through anyway without opening it.
They feel more like a stopping your kids from escaping thing rather than deterring thieves. Particularly when it’s not really possible to tell if a window has locks on it or not from the outside. It’s a fairly safe assumption that UPVC ground floor windows have them but they are rarely engaged, not that you can open the window from the outside anyway without first putting it through.
I also struggle with the concept of window locks that can only be shut/locked/unlocked from the inside, particularly the UPVC kind. If someone’s put the window through, the fact the window is locked isn’t exactly going to stop them when the window is large enough to just climb through anyway without opening it.
They feel more like a stopping your kids from escaping thing rather than deterring thieves. Particularly when it’s not really possible to tell if a window has locks on it or not from the outside. It’s a fairly safe assumption that UPVC ground floor windows have them but they are rarely engaged, not that you can open the window from the outside anyway without first putting it through.
It becomes autopilot - no different from having to remember to grab your keys every time you put out the bins, run errands etc. so you don't accidentally get locked out.
Most of the UPVC window locks I've encountered have been easy enough to manipulate open (if not locked) by poking a suitably bent piece of wire between the seals
Soldato
- Joined
- 24 Jun 2021
- Posts
- 4,666
- Location
- Oxon
Locked myself out a few times back when I rented so I'd never choose an autolocking door now.
Barricade's a bit of a strong word.
But a quick Google doesn't return much in the way of insurers insisting that doors are locked whilst inside the home. It's more focused around locking doors at night, or whilst away from the home.
For me it has nothing to do with insurance companies. I have witnessed a random delivery driver helping his self into my property and more worrying for me another doing so when my wife is at home alone.
We always lock our door it has become a habit but on the odd occasion we have forgot, that random delivery driver that helps himself could well be someone with other ideas.
Thumbscrew, leave key in the door or nearby, a non issue.This is my main worry with a door you need to manually lock. What do you guys do when inside your house? Constantly have the door locked from the inside? What a pain
And that means you need the keys nearby to get out quickly anyway right? In case of fire or another emergency etc. I wouldn't want to be worrying about finding my keys to unlock the door to get out quickly if needed!
This. However you really have to slam the door for it to close. No way it could "blow shut" behind you with the wind