Front Door Locks Guide
There are several front door lock types that you can find in your front doors. Each one plays a unique and significant role in keeping your door secure so that your home can remain a safe space for you and your family.
Knowing the functions of certain lock types allows you to take more of an active role in securing your home, and finding out the locks you’d want to add to protect it further.
In this guide, you can learn about fourteen different front door lock types. You’ll be able to find out the various security systems available for your door, and exactly how they work to protect your home.
That way, you’ll be able to find out about the systems that exist in your current door, and you can look to invest in other measures to cover up any weaknesses you may find. You can also answer questions such as ‘how do you open a uPVC door when the uPVC door won’t open?‘
By comparing each locking system, you can work out the ones you’d like to add to your door to enhance your home’s security and give your family peace of mind.
That way, you can enjoy your home with freedom and privacy, without having to worry about unwanted visitors. All of these locks are market-leading options too, so any you want to invest in will make a genuine difference.
Front Door Lock Replacement
The benefits of adding a new front door lock are truly invaluable. Many older doors, and security systems, can wear down over time and lose their strength.
As a result, intruders could be more likely to target these damaged designs, especially if they have noticeable signs of wear. Getting new front door locks, though, lets you take back control of your home’s security.
Another advantage of adding new locks is the amount of choice you’ll have available to you. While this guide covers fourteen different locks, there are even more on the market that can make your front doors a little more secure.
Each one of these designs can give you peace of mind with their robust manufacturing and innovative solutions.
For example, some locks can do the things you forget, such as locking your door when you leave in a rush. Also, you can even fit new locking systems into your locks, as well as secondary solutions, to make tampering with your door a minefield for intruders.
Investing in new locks is crucial, and it’s just as vital to ensure you select the one that suits your front door best.
Front Door Lock Cost
The cost of changing a front door lock can range anywhere from £85 to £115 for a more complicated lock, such as a mortice design. Because of this, you do have to make an initial investment, but it’ll prove to be invaluable.
Not only will you be putting money into a durable system that makes your home safer, but you’ll be getting the peace of mind in your home that you can’t put a price on.
The costs can change depending on several factors. One vital one you may not consider is the regulations your new doors have to fit.
British Standards regulations govern front door lock installation and ensure they function correctly for your home. If you live in a house, always check your locks conform to BS3621 rules, or BS8621 rules if you live in a home with one exit (like an apartment).
Other things to consider when totting up the cost of a front door lock include your locksmith, and the travel they have to go through to get to you. But, if you choose a local installer, you can cut these travel costs and get an expert who knows your area.
Once you find your locksmith, they’ll ensure your new lock conforms to BS standards, and they’ll make sure you get a tested locking system.
Front Door Lock Types
Padlocks
Padlocks are unique in that they are the only locks that don’t attach to anything else.
That makes them both flexible and portable, meaning you can use them for a variety of purposes other than securing your front door. However, as one of the main front door lock types, they offer brilliant security for your home and are immediately recognisable by intruders as a warning sign.
You can get padlocks in either the combination or keyed styles. An intruder could decode a combination lock, however, whereas you can re-key keyed padlocks to ensure they have a more challenging time.
Also, you can invest in a padlock with a shrouded shackle, which raises the shoulders to make it harder for intruders to use bolt cutters on the lock.
Deadbolts
Deadbolts are a classic system available for front doors. There are three main varieties: the single, double and lockable thumb turn.
Single thumb turns can provide extra security, but intruders can open them from the inside if they can find another way into your home. The double style locks the door from the inside to solve this, but that means you’d have to unlock the door every time you want to leave your home.
A lockable thumb turn design lets you lock the deadbolt as you choose. That means you can leave it unlocked when you’re at home, but the deadbolt will automatically secure itself when you close the door, including to anybody left inside.
That way, you get maximum flexibility and security in your home, and you take control of who gets to enter your living space.
Knob Locks
Knob locks usually work as a secondary security measure to a deadbolt. However, knob locks can be the first option for some designs.
If you have a front door that relies on knob locks for its security, then its highly advisable that you replace them with other systems. That’s because the lock cylinder lies inside the lock itself, and not in the door.
A better option than these designs is to replace them with simple passage knobs, which provide similar levels of security. However, they should only be a secondary line of protection for your door if the deadbolt fails.
With simple passage knobs, the lock will exist inside the door. That means intruders won’t be able to break them using a hammer or a wrench like they can do quickly with knob locks.
Lever Handle Locks
Lever handle locks are much easier to use than knob locks and can secure your door more effectively. They have a large lever you push down to open, making your doors accessible even for those with handicaps.
However, they don’t only make your entrance easy to swing open. Their durable design and solid materials mean they can ensure your door stays closed when you need it to as well.
Lever locks can be the target of torque attacks, however. A torque attack is when an intruder applies excessive force to the lever in the hope of breaking the lock.
You can counter this technique by installing a clutch lever, though. These innovative designs turn without putting pressure on the lock, meaning your door will be able to resist more extreme forces.
Cam Locks
Cam locks are a security system which offers you an incredible amount of choice. There’s an almost endless amount of cam systems on offer, with several different lengths and tailpieces (the “cams” themselves) which link up with another locking system.
Cam locks are popular in filing cabinets and lower security applications but could work well as added protection for a front door.
You can also be specific about how you want your cam lock to function. They can tilt between 90 and 180 degrees to unlock, and you can select them to twist in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.
As a secondary option for your front door, they put a little more in the way of you and intruders, helping you protect what you and your family value.
Rim or Mortise Locks
Rim or mortise locks have similar security advantages but have a lot of differences in their design.
Rim cylinder locks are ideally suited for rim latch locks, which work on the inside of the door. There are two screws in the back of the cylinder, connecting it to the frame, while a long extended metal piece runs through the door into a locking mechanism at the other side.
Mortise cylinder locks, on the other hand, actually screw into the mortise hardware in your front door. They use cams to make the locking hardware work, and you can get a similar variety of cams for mortise locks as you can in cam locks.
No matter your choice, however, both rim and mortise locks are some of the superior front door lock types available to you.
Euro Profile Cylinders
Incredibly popular in Europe and worldwide, Euro Profile Cylinders run through the door and use a single screw to stay in place. That way, you get a sleek design in standard dimensions that is discreet.
However, its security performance stands out, helping your door retain its strength against any unwanted visitors.
These designs come in several styles, including the single and double cylinder varieties. You can even add a thumb turn to the cylinder, much like in a deadbolt.
Because there’s only one attach point, some Euro Profile cylinders can break off the door under strain. However, if you work with a trained locksmith and install a tested and reinforced cylinder, you’ll reduce that risk considerably.
Wall Mounted Locks
Wall-mounted locks are systems that allow you to add boxes to your walls, connecting them up using a locking system. They’re ideal for creating discreet deposits or safes, with the Knox-Box and fireman’s box styles being particularly popular.
While they may not improve your front door’s security directly, they can act as a reliable place to put spare keys in case you lose your main set.
By installing a deposit box to the top of your door or around it with a wall-mounted lock, you can make sure that you don’t get left out in the cold.
Not only that, but you can also ensure nobody else can get into them. Working with a trusted locksmith, you can add alarm sensors to wall-mounted locks that’ll trip at the first sign of tampering, stopping intruders in their tracks.
Interchangeable Core Cylinders
Interchangeable core, or I/C, cylinders are one of the most excellent security locks on the market today. They’re prominent in businesses and large offices where privacy is paramount.
One enormous benefit of these designs is that you can re-key the lock without having to take the lock apart. Instead, you can swap the core out with ease, meaning you can change your home’s security to keep intruders guessing.
However, you won’t be able to fit them if your door isn’t compatible with the locks. Additionally, you can’t install I/C cylinders in standard deadbolts, meaning that its wise to check what features you have in your door before making your decision.
However, if your door does suit this stunning system, then you can upgrade your door’s security massively.
Furniture Locks
Furniture locks are a flexible locking system that you can fit inside drawers, desks and sliding doors. Also, you can install these locks onto many other pieces of hardware that don’t already have locks installed, giving them a new layer of protection.
For your front door, furniture locks could be a useful added option, however.
There are two types of furniture locks: the bolt and push-button styles. The push-button style is more suited to doors, as they use a rod that comes out of the back.
In your entrance, you could push this through the design to secure it at both ends. As a result, furniture locks could end up proving to be a worthwhile addition.
T-Handle Locks
T-Handle locks are more common in vending machines. However, they have some functional elements that make them suitable as one of the front door lock types.
T-Handles use a single-cylinder design and have a similar look to a Euro Profile lock. Also, they’re incredibly easy to replace, as you pull the entire lock out seamlessly when you open the device.
The strength of T-Handle locks comes from their durable materials and robust latches. There are two types you can get in T-Handle locks, each with a slightly different function.
The spring latch locks the device without a key, while a dead latch requires one, providing you with an extra layer of protection that’s in your hands.
Jimmy Proof Deadbolts
Jimmy proof deadbolts are increasingly popular in apartments as one of the leading front door lock types. That’s because you can install them without having to make significant changes to the current door.
You only need to drill a hole through the door to fit the rim cylinder, and if you already have one of these systems, replacing the cylinder can improve the security considerably as well.
These innovative designs work by interlocking with the jamb bracket. The deadbolt locks the jamb bracket in place so that unwanted visitors can’t pull the bolt apart, or break it by using excessive force.
As a result, its an excellent option for securing your door that provides minimum disruption. For an apartment door, you should also make sure the bolt conforms to BS8621 regulations.
Rim Latch Locks
A rim latch lock is another excellent option to give your door an added lock that helps protect what matters most to you. While rim latch locks use custom rim cylinders and surface mounts on each side, they aren’t able to deal with too much force.
As a result, these designs work best as secondary security options, with something more heavy-duty leading the way.
Rim latch locks auto-lock the door behind you when you leave, making them a feature that watches your back if you forget to do it yourself. That makes them incredibly useful in apartment complexes, where there’s less distance between homes and more time for opportunists to gain access.
With a rim latch lock, you can ensure you don’t give any intruders a chance at getting into your home.
Key In Knob (KIK) Cylinder Locks
KIK cylinders are a subtle feature at the heart of many other locking systems, such as some deadbolts, lever locks and knobs.
Your lock will conceal the KIK cylinder, with only the circular front visible from the outside. That way, you can improve on many different locks by adding one of these discrete cylinders, and intruders will struggle to find and tamper with them.
However, one disadvantage of the KIK cylinder is that there are no standard specifications for the design. Because of this, you need to be careful when replacing them, as different KIK’s may have differing dimensions, meaning they won’t fit into your door’s locks.
But if you want to install a new cylinder to improve your locks, KIK’s are one of the best front door lock types in which to invest.
High Security Front Door Prices
For high-security front doors that use a range of front door lock types, use Double Glazing Quoter’s unique services today.
You can get a free, online quote for a high-security replacement door using our front door cost calculator. These designs will make your home secure and will protect what matters most to you.
Find out how much you could save by getting in touch with Double Glazing Quoter today.