Improving front door security

DiG

DiG

DiG

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I'm looking to change the locks on the wooden front door of my house. At the moment I have a 5-level mortice lock and a Yale nightlatch lock. Do these offer good security?

I want to change the locks anyway and am very keen to have them keyed alike with the back door and each other. The back door is easy as it's euro cylinder. However the front door I'm not sure about. Seems that you can get mortice locks that take euro cylinders so I was thinking:


  • Replace the back door euro lock with an Avocet ABS

  • Replace the front door mortice with a euro mortice and put an Avocet ABS module in it

  • Replace the nightlatch and use the Avocet ABS secure rim

Does this sound like a sensible approach and does anyone have any recommendations on what to look for in the nightlatch and mortice locks?
 
DiG said:
I'm looking to change the locks on the wooden front door of my house. At the moment I have a 5-level mortice lock and a Yale nightlatch lock. Do these offer good security?

I want to change the locks anyway and am very keen to have them keyed alike with the back door and each other. The back door is easy as it's euro cylinder. However the front door I'm not sure about. Seems that you can get mortice locks that take euro cylinders so I was thinking:


  • Replace the back door euro lock with an Avocet ABS

  • Replace the front door mortice with a euro mortice and put an Avocet ABS module in it

  • Replace the nightlatch and use the Avocet ABS secure rim

Does this sound like a sensible approach and does anyone have any recommendations on what to look for in the nightlatch and mortice locks?
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I'm very interested in this also so I'm glad you posted.

However when I investigated all the options you have - in particular avocet ABS MK3 you can see how easy even the AVS MK3 is to pick with video's on yout ube (even though of all the cylinder locks the AVS MK3 does *seem* to be the best) even bypassing the magnet system is not all that hard. And 5 lever Mortice locks, whilst usually a requirement for insurance reasons are no better.


Good also to take note that the British Kite Mark is a mark od a MINIMUM standard and not a guarantee of security - a lot of people seem to think just getting a kite marked lock is all they need to think about


So Now I am looking into smart locks certainly as a secondary, backup, lock but possibly as a primary lock also.

electronic locks have come a long way and can now even be retro fitted.

http://www.techlicious.com/guide/5-futuristic-smart-locks-for-your-home/

also the Samsung range of smart locks look good too and, it seems, all take into account the possibility of electrical failure too as they are battery powered with backup procedures.
 
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I've seen a few of those around, they do look very cool but I think I'd want to wait for a few more years before I go down that route. Hopefully in the next house!

There is no budget for replacing the whole door, I'm sure a top quality composite would withstand attack much better, but at least that is noisy so I will be woken up!

Those youtube videos are the most concerning, are there any locks that are better for this? Though I suppose most people a) are not going to know the lock that well and b) not be prepared to spend the 10 minutes or so picking both locks if there was a nightlatch and a mortice.
 
bitslice said:
Ask yourself if that 1" bit of wood framing is going to stand up to a hefty kick first.
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That would depend on the door, a proper solid wood door without panel inserts is hard to knock down cause the wood absorbs the impact, the frame is the weak point, but that too can be made strong.

I have a solid wood front door, which has the highest security Yale 5 leaver lock, maximum security Yale night latch with deadlock and hinge bolts on the other side.

As with most houses its the glass which is the weak point, not the door / window frame itself.
 
On the Rockdoor Ultimate we had fitted as a back door we had the glass laminated, as we considered that to be a weak point and cost us very little at the time of fitting over the std glass.

I suppose it all adds up towards the "hardening of the perimeter" as best and affordable as possible whilst maintaining a home without machine gun nests and barb wire.!
 
Yep all depends how far you want to go, just make your house less of a target than next door.....

Laminated glass is a good bet and something i will get when i change the current front door to an Ultimate.

One of our other houses has a Rock Door Elite which has no windows, solid bit of kit very impressive.
 
I too was impressed with the Rockdoor Ultimate, it does seem a very solid piece of kit - especially compared to the rather poor quality old panelled door we had. Due to the small size of our kitchen we could not have a solid door without a window as we needed the natural light it would provide. The best compromise seemed to be the lamination of the glass.

With the security lights and CCTV being a visible deterrent hopefully it will encourage the scrotes to just move on.
 
Firestar_3x said:
I have a solid wood front door, which has the highest security Yale 5 leaver lock, maximum security Yale night latch with deadlock and hinge bolts on the other side.
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Yes, spreading the load around would work, even cheap uPVC multipoint doors are darn near impregnable, but relying on two locks a foot apart won't do a lot.
Anyone with a haligan bar is just going to trash a conventional wooden frame, they need a full length steel bar behind them to compete with composite doors.
 
Keep the mortice lock will keep the majority of the key bumpers out. Also you can get Avocet cylinder rim locks for your night latch. These are the same as the euro style, can be keyed alike too. Excellent locks very hard to get past. Withought kicking the door down these will be a good deterrent.
 
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Door security is a fallacy, there are so many other easier ways to enter a property without touching the front/back doors.

Going in via a door leaves obvious entry, any self respecting burglar is not going to touch your door.
 
bitslice said:
Yes, spreading the load around would work, even cheap uPVC multipoint doors are darn near impregnable
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Having watched the police try to get through a "cheap uPVC multipoint" door with a battering ram and crowbar, taking ~45 minutes to do so, alerting everyone within a half mile radius, and eventually only getting in because the frame separated from the wall it was attached to, I can confirm this is the case!

I'd also agree with BigBoy that turning your front door into a fortress is only going to make them look for another way in - your house is only as secure as its weakest point.
 
Vimes said:
There must be lots of scrotes around our area with very little self respect then.
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When I got burgled in Mancs (Blackley - yes, I know) it was through the patio door with a brick. They tried an upstairs window (on the first latch position) but the drain fell off; then tried a kitchen window (locked). Finally they just smashed the whole glass out of the patio door. The glass in these is toughened for safety reasons, so it's pretty easy to smash and kick out, and pretty safe as well.

But note: all of this was at the back of the house. The front is just too visible for most properties, so unless you actually leave the front door open, it's unlikely they will even try it. As long as it looks secure, it will be left alone. And all this stuff about bumping locks is just theory - burglars don't have the brains or time to do it. They just crowbar or smash something. It's usually the latter, because they don't want to caught carrying anything which will get them a Going Equipped charge. Bricks you can find anywhere.
 
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