Just like safety, security is a priority and they often times go hand in hand. We all put mechanisms in place to protect ourselves and our property from intrusion, theft and burglary. As long as you own a home, an office space or any space in general, you want to make sure you have the best locks in place to keep away people that aren’t authorized to access that area. So prior to calling a locksmith in Edinburgh to fit your new door lock, the first thing to consider is security followed perhaps by other factors such as style and finish. The kind of lock you select will also depend on the kind of doors you are installing them on. Different kinds of doors require different locking mechanisms and you can’t just install whatever you like on any kind of door as you may run into some trouble along the line. For instance it will be total nonsense to install a deadbolt on a bathroom door and perhaps even worse to install a push button lockset on a front door. To better understand what kind of locks to install and where, you really need to understand how door locks work in general.

There is a body known as British National Standard Institute (BNSI) responsible for grading door locks and bolts and they do this by carrying out various tests on these locks to rank them based on quality and durability. These tests may range from security tests to weight tests and lock and unlock efficiency. According to ANSI, there are three grade levels, grade levels 1 to 3. Grade level 1 is considered the best amongst the three and they are suitable for commercial buildings and residential homes. Usually standard knobs or mortise locksets do not meet this grade 1 certification. The grade 2 level is the class of locks and bolts that are not as good as grade 1 but are suitable for light commercial building requirements. They also do very well in their stress tests and they have been found durable enough to serve almost around the same purpose as the grade level 1. Grade level 3 is the class of locks that provide the least security levels and are not suitable for commercial purposes. They can be used for residential purposes but you can only expect the very least levels of security from this class.

There are quite a few categories of door locks that are used today and each serves its own purpose but for the purpose of this article, we shall be focusing on the three popular ones namely;

• Deadbolts
• Yale Locks
• Mortice Locks

Deadbolts

These locks are most suitable for residential purposes and they provide excellent security against unauthorized entry. These locks are very difficult to pick, and perhaps even impossible because they do not contain any springs that latch on to anything. This is where thy get the name deadbolt from. The working mechanism of deadbolts consists only of a single cylinder bolt that can only be turned with a key from the outside and with a switch button on the inside. One word of caution here is that these locks can be a real pain if you can’t find the key and may not be the best in an area where quick movement is required on in case of an emergency.

Yale Locks

These locks are of a little less security compared to deadbolts but they also do very well considering. They are classed medium security entry locks and they are even sometimes combined with deadbolts. These locks come with two door knobs, one on the inside and one on the outside. The door knob on the inside locks by turning and pressing a small button at its center while the doorknob on the outside can only be locked with a key. Some of these entry locksets also come with a decorative handle.

Mortice Locks

These locks are also very popular in residential homes and they are used in a variety of situations where convenience is prioritized over security. The lockset consist of two flat plates on either side of the door and a rectangular shaped locking mechanism that fits in a small recess on the door in between the two plates. There are keyholes on each plate and this is where the key enters and can be turned either way to lock and unlock from the inside and the outside. The lockset can come with knobs or door handles depending on your preference and they control the little latch that keeps the door in a closed position prior to locking with a key.

All of these locks and bolts serve different purposes and it is up to you to determine what exactly you need in place before actually installing it. Sometimes you need to install the one that offers you the highest level of security and sometimes that’s not so important so you go for the most convenient ones. Whatever the case, there is a lock for every door and for every purpose. For more information on improving your homes security visit our website.