DEADBOLTS: THE BEST LOCKS FOR YOUR HOME

We all want to effectively provide reliable security for our place, and at a reasonable cost. Deadbolts are viewed by most professionals as one of the most secure and safest ways to attain optimal home protection. If you’ve been shopping for the right locks for your home, you’ll soon find out that there is an almost endless selection of locks to choose from. You may feel as if it’s impossible to decide. But you can at least narrow it down to deadbolts. By and large, most locksmith professionals agree that deadbolts are your best bet.

Most residential locksmith specialists recommend that you install deadbolts on all your outside doors. There are numerous kinds of deadbolts. The reason they’re called “dead” is because they don’t have springs to operate the bolt; that is, a deadbolt is operated manually, with a thumbturn or a key.

The most common deadbolts are: single-cylinder, double-cylinder, lockable thumbturn, and jimmy-proof.

• A single-cylinder deadbolt lock is the regular deadbolt that we usually think of, for a solid wooden or metal door. There’s a key cylinder on the outside, and a thumbturn on the inside to open and close it. The one downside to a single-cylinder deadbolt is that if there is any possible access to the inside (through a nearby window, or even through the peephole), then your door can be opened by an intruder using the thumbturn.

• One solution is the double-cylinder deadbolt. It has a key cylinder on the inside of the door and on the outside. This means that if the door’s locked, the double-cylinder always requires a key to open it from the inside. It’s perfect if your door has any glass, or if your door has a window close by, because it keeps an intruder from breaking the glass and reaching in to unlock it. The disadvantage of a double-cylinder deadbolt is that in order to be secure in case of fire, you must always leave a key on the inside accessible to the people who are home, so that in an emergency everyone will be able to make a speedy exit safely.

• The lockable thumbturn deadbolt is the deadbolt that provides ultimate security and flexibility. Basically, it’s a combination of the single-cylinder with the double-cylinder deadbolt. The way it works is that it has a thumbturn on the inside, which functions like a standard single-cylinder deadbolt; yet it can also be locked with a key, so that it can’t lock or unlock the door. This means that the thumbturn can be left in an unlocked position when you’re at home, but it will operate just like a single-cylinder deadbolt. When everyone’s gone, especially if it’s for a long time, the thumbturn can be easily locked, so that even if a robber gains access to your door from the inside, the deadbolt still can’t be unlocked.
• A jimmy-proof deadbolt is a surface-mount lock, frequently found on double doors and at apartment complexes. A surface-mount lock means that you screw the lock into the inside of the door, rather than with an elaborate drill pattern, the way a conventional deadbolt does. A jimmy-proof deadbolt is popular since there are minimal door modifications required. In this distinctive style of deadbolt lock, the deadbolt interlocks with the jamb bracket, which prevents it from easily being pulled apart or from being forced open from the outside.

In addition to these four no-nonsense deadbolt options, there are also five more types of deadbolts often recommended by the professionals: mortise, vertical, rim, keyless, and digital.

• A mortise deadbolt lock is a traditional lock you can install in a mortise or a recess pocket, cut in the door’s edge, so it can’t be tampered with easily. This lock is tough and durable; but bear in mind that, since you have to penetrate the door frame to make a hole, it can weaken the structure of the door itself slightly.
• A vertical deadbolt is bolted on the inside face of the door, but this kind of deadbolt is placed on top of the door, which makes it impossible for a potential burglar to pry it open by sticking a bar between the frame and the door (which someone can do with some horizontal deadbolts).
• A rim deadbolt is also bolted to the inside face of your door, but the advantage of this deadbolt is that it locks automatically behind you every time you shut the door. That way, you won’t ever forget to lock it. Both the vertical and the rim deadbolt are relatively simple to install. A minor problem with both the rim deadbolt and the vertical deadbolt is that they’re somewhat ungainly, and therefore not as pleasing to the eye as basic deadbolts.
• A keyless deadbolt is also mounted on the inside of your door, but it has a keypad instead of a keyhole. Rather than using a key, you enter a secret code. The clear advantage of this deadbolt is that you don’t have to use a key at all, so you don’t ever have to be concerned about losing your key again, or worrying that it could be stolen. Moreover, to optimize security, you can choose a new passcode every few months, or as often as you like.
• A digital deadbolt is much like a keyless deadbolt, with a keypad instead of a keyhole. How it’s different is that a digital deadbolt requires electricity or batteries to operate. With a digital deadbolt, you need to make sure you monitor the power level periodically. Always keep the batteries charged, in case a power outage happens!

Before you can find exactly the right deadbolts for your home, bring all of your questions to a reputable local locksmith.