Category Archives: Lock Information

6 Home Security Tips To Keep You Safe

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The home long ceased to be a safe haven. Today, you are at risk even when in the sacred environment – your home. Out there on the streets you are not safe, neither are you in your home. The safest neighborhoods are no longer safe. For the sake of your precious, irreplaceable life, personal security remains a first priority whether your neighborhood is considered safe or not. You alone is responsible for your personal security when at home. Some of the things you can do to make your home a safe haven include the following brought to you by our boys from Diamondback lock and key in Chandler

1. Having Quality Locks

Quality locksLocks are symbols of security and safety. All the doors, both interior and exterior should have quality locks. The locks should work without applying excessive force. Preferably, the locks should be dead bolt. They go a long way in preventing the door from being unlocked from the outside when glass from the window next to it, or from the door itself is broken. Door frames should also be strong. Check the locks to the front door, the garage door(s), guest house door(s), sliding glass door(s), patio door, rear door, swimming gate(s) and the main gate.

Windows too should have strong locks. Ground floor windows are highly secure for the obvious reasons. The last thing you could wish is having your roof act as a stepping stone for an intruder. Your highest windows should therefore be fitted with locks. A window security film should not lack so as to prevent smash and grab intruders. If you have window bars and grills installed, review the fire safety. After you have locked all the doors and windows at night, leave the keys at a strategic place, in case the need for an emergency escape arises.

2. Keeping Your Keys and Entry Codes Safe

lock codeNever leave the spare key under the door mat or outside. Thieves know that hiding the key under the door mat is a much common practice. When they access your home, you can be sure it will be the first place to look for your keys. All the keys should be hid in a safe location. When moving into a new house, change all the locks. The same applies when you lose the keys. Changing the codes to the doors of strategic places such as the garage regularly also helps in keeping you safe.

3. Asking for Identity

The number of intruders that access homes through the front door is surprisingly high. After having quality locks and doors, the next thing to stop opening the door for strangers unless they first identify themselves. Many people make the mistake. Thinking that they are inviting visitors, they invite trouble. It is difficult to get help when the intruder has already made way to your home. Your front door should be well lit and have a peephole. It makes it a lot easier to see whoever is knocking before you open for them.

4. Making Some Noise

Intruders intending to harm have a tendency to sneak when you are not around then laying in wait for your return. Having unpredictable pattern can greatly help. No one will know when you are in and when not. When out for long period of time, especially at night, many people leave their television sets, their radio and any other devise on. They also close their curtains and use a timer to turn interior lights on and off. This helps it appear as if someone around, thereby keeping you, together with your property safe and secure.

5. Installing Home Security System

You cannot run out of choices when it comes to home security system. Installing security cameras and motion sensors is one of the best ways to have you and your family protected. The motion sensors alert you whenever there is unexpected activity going around your home. With them, an intruder has no where to hide. The sensors and alarms should be interlinked and have smoke detectors such that as one goes off, others do. Whereas the cost might be a hindrance, a display sticker of a home monitoring system in strategic places is enough deterrent.

6. Having a Panic Room

In case of home invasion, a panic room should be your last resort. Panic rooms have become quite popular. Whether a mirror doubling as a hidden door, or a panel opening into a conceal room, panic rooms act as a safe haven when the worse comes to worst. A panic room should be stocked with essentials such as a 5 day’s supply of canned food, water, candles, bedding, toilet facilities, fire extinguisher and weaponry.


Types of Home Door Locks and Descriptions

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Here are some lock types and descriptions provided to us by the great people over at centenniallocksmith.com in Colorado. We hope this info serves you well.

silver padlock1 Padlocks: These types of home locks are only type of lock which is not permanently attached to anything else. These come in range of sizes and are portable and are free standing and these are one of the most easily recognizable kinds of lock. It comes in 2 main varieties that are keyed and combination. The keyed padlocks have several options to choose from. There are rekey-able as well as non-rekey-able padlocks. You cannot change the key which opens the lock if a padlock is non-rekey-able. The padlocks can also be key-retaining or non key-retaining. A padlock with key retaining does not allow the key to be removed while the padlock is open. The combination locks have one or more dials which open the lock when the correct combination is been entered. It is often easy to shim open or decode.

deadbolt door lock2. Deadbolts: These types of home locks are generally installed on the external doors. It comes in 3 primary varieties: lockable, single and double thumb-turn. The single cylinder ones are found in majority of home. It has a key cylinder on outside and thumb-turn on inside in order to open or close the lock. The double cylinder ones use a key cylinder on both inside and outside of the door in order to solve this issue. The lockable thumb-turn one is the hybrid of single and double deadbolt. It has a thumb-turn in inside which works like a single cylinder deadbolt, except its thumb-turn can be locked by using key.

3. Knob Locks: These types of locks are installed frequently on the exterior doors along with the deadbolts and it is sometime been used as the primary source of security for the doors. But for security reasons, the knob locks should not be used in the exterior doors as it can be broken off by using a hammer or it can be bypassed by using wrench or pliers that are behind the knob. If you have knob locks at your home then you should get it replaced with the simple passage knobs as it will provide as much security as the deadbolts.

brass lever handle4. Lever Handle Locks: These types of locks are used frequently for the inner doors. It can be opened easily as these have large push down style handle that one has to be grasped and turned. These are generally ADA accessible and can be changed between right and left handedness. At the time of purchasing it, it is very important to measure the proper backset.

5. Jimmy Proof Deadbolts: These types of locks are a surface mount product that is found frequently on double doors and apartments. People usually prefer it because it requires minimal door modification. It is unique as the deadbolt interlocks that has jamb bracket which prevent it from being pulled apart simply or forced easily from outside. These types of locks require a hole that should be drilled straight through the door for the rim cylinder.

6. Mortise/ Rim Locks: These kinds of locks are found frequently on apartment doors and glass doors. The rim locks are similar to the mortise locks but its hardware differs greatly. Rim cylinder locks are used generally in the rim latch locks that are mounted on the inside of the door. These types of locks have a long metal piece that extends out from the rear of the lock which runs through the door in to a locking mechanism on the other side of the door. These are held by 2 screws.

7. Rim Latch Locks: These types of locks have a custom or standard Learn More on one side of it and a surface mount latch lock on the other side. These types of locks can auto lock the door and are quite popular in the apartment complexes. These types of locks are not meant to take a large amount of force but it can also be paired with other types of locks when it is been used on external door.