Importance of Lock Installation
Our homes are our most treasured assets and investments and, as such, we make sure that we protect it and make it secure as possible, safe from harm from fires and break-ins. Because one’s home is a huge investment and a homeowner’s responsibility is to keep his home in good condition, safe and secure, part of his investment for his home must include for a lock installation procedure to all doors in his home.
It is vitally important that the right kind of door locks must be chosen and decided on by a homeowner and, while this may be a tricky process, the homeowner has no choice but make research on which door locks are appropriate for his house doors and conduct consultations, as well, with reputable locksmiths who can help him provide the right information on door locks. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recommends Grade 1 Locks for exterior doors, known as deadbolt locks, due to the fact that they can withstand by as much as10 strikes against the door and has a longer shelf-life than other door locks. There are two main types of bolts that locksmiths would usually recommend and these are the deadbolts and latch bolts.
Aside from a drill tool, a hole saw for boring holes into the door will be required to install a deadbolt lock for exterior doors, such that the size of the hole saw which will be used must be according to the size of the bolt lock that will be installed. Because deadbolts are not spring-loaded nor bevelled, one must operate them manually to lock the doors, while the latch bolts are both spring-loaded and bevelled and help bolts be extended with these features. When it comes to the distance of extension of the bolts, the deadbolt has a longer bolt extension of 1 inch to the strike plate compared to a latch bolt which can extend to just about 1/2 inch, which makes the deadbolt more useful for situations when brute force is used against the door as it is more resistant to force due to its extension span.
With respect to strike plates, which are part of the lock feature, it is best to secure a high grade type which is reinforced with longer screws so that the bolt is deeply set into the door. It is also important to choose additional features in your chosen locks, one that is either anti-drill locks or with saw resistant bolts. For deadbolts that have saw resistant features, anti-saw pins are placed in it, making it hard for a burglar to saw the deadbolt and for locks where an anti-drill is installed, there are hardened steel chips that are placed within the lock casing to prevent any illegal drilling into the lock to take place.
