Best Door Locks

 Inappropriate locks fitted to a property

Best door locks 

As an emergency Edinburgh locksmith I got called to a lockout yesterday at one of the busiest pubs in the city. The landlord had the key for the lock but the door would not open, So he phoned a few locksmiths for a quote. After he received my quote he asked if i could go there straight away, the pubs customers were due soon and the staff were waiting to get in – so no pressure on me!

When I arrived I noticed the door was coated in reinforced steel. It had no windows or letterbox and was fitted with only 1 lock cut into the steel. The owner gave me the key for the lock, which was a basic nightlatch or what most people know as a Yale lock (not the best door locks

Basic Yale lock

on the market! – better off going with a ERA or Walsall!). I tried turning the key but it only moved a few millimetres in either direction – This means the snib on the lock has moved into the deadlocked position.

With this scenario a locksmith would normally put a  mirror through the letterbox and a long tool to lift the snib. However this door didn’t have a letterbox, just one big steel door!

I had no choice but to get out the crowbar. I could tell the staff were thinking good luck getting through that door with a crowbar! However, 2 ‘light’ tugs and the door was open.

Everyone seemed shocked how easy this heavy duty door was opened with a simple tool you can buy at most DIY stores. All in all I was in the premises in under 2 minutes of arriving!

The main reason for this post

to highlight the fact that nightlatch locks are not the best door locks when used on their own, and especially not on business premises with thousands of pounds worth of stock!

Night latches should ALWAYS be used in conjunction with a 5 lever British standard mortice lock. These mortice locks are amongst the best locks on the market for adding security to a door. They are morticed into the door and have a large bolt that goes deep into the actual door frame. This makes it almost impossible to force entry. Here at Alcatraz Edinburgh Locksmith Services, we will always try to educate our customers so that they are not spending unnecessary money in the future. If you have any specific questions related to increasing the security of your property, then give us a call today! – 0131 467 7675