Should I Repair My Own Locks?
Apr26

Should I Repair My Own Locks?

With the world of the internet today, it seems it is possible to do anything yourself rather than hire a professional. Within just a few minutes you can find a YouTube video or an article of how to do almost anything.

 

However, when it comes to repairing locks on the doors of your home, you are probably asking the question: “Should I repair my own locks or have a professional do it?”

 

While some projects around the house are great to DIY, when it comes to the safety of you and your home and repairing a lock, you should leave it to the professionals. You may save a bit of money by doing it yourself, but you could make a mistake that could end up costing you a great deal more money in the end.

 

We are going to take you through the reasons why it is better for you to have a professional locksmith repair your locks.

 

TOOLS

The tools that are required for repairing a door lock are not always ones that a person typically has lying around the house. And just going to the nearest hardware store and buying them doesn’t mean that you actually know how to use them. A professional locksmith, on the other hand, is trained specifically in his tools and how to use them.

 

EXPERIENCE

One of the biggest things that a professional locksmith have that you likely do not is experience. Repairing locks is a major part of a locksmith’s job and is something he is performing on a regular basis. Chances are good that you, on the other hand, have rarely (if ever) repaired a lock. Thus, you may find yourself getting mixed up, frustrated, or incorrectly repairing it. You run the risk of locking yourself out and having to break in to your own home, which will cause even further damage.

 

SAFER LOCKS

If you repair your door lock on your own, you will likely head to the nearest hardware store and pick up your materials there. However, locks like the ones you find there are the ones that are usually the easiest for someone to pick. By hiring a professional locksmith, you have options of more secure locks that are higher quality and harder for someone to pick.

 

PROFESSIONAL INPUT

You may have already decided that you need to repair your entire lock, when indeed you really don’t have to. A professional locksmith will be able to look at your lock, listen to what your needs and concerns are, and tell you whether he thinks you need to change the locks entirely or whether you can simply rekey them. In the end, this could potentially save you a lot of money (and time).

 

KEY COPIES

If you repair your lock yourself, you will have to go to the hardware store to get new keys made. When you hire a professional locksmith to repair your lock, he will make copies of the new key for you and save you the trouble of a trip to the hardware store.

 

SPEED

Since you are likely new to repairing locks, even if you have a YouTube video to follow, it is going to take you a long time to get everything done correctly. Because a professional locksmith is regularly repairing locks, he will be able to do it extremely quickly and easily and save you the concern of having a broken lock.

 

OTHER SERVICES

When you hire a professional locksmith to repair your lock, you will have an opportunity to have him analyze your security needs and help you pick what will best protect you and help you rest easy and night and while away from home.

 

So to answer your question, “Should I repair my own locks or have a professional do it?”, the answer is “no.” You can never be quite sure that you have done it correctly until something goes wrong and your lock breaks again. Also, you will waste a great deal of time and potentially money tracking down all the tools and materials you need, trying to follow along with the internet directions, and repairing something that you are just not familiar with.

 

With a professional locksmith, you know that your high quality, high security locks have been properly installed and that you will no longer be concerned about the safety of your home. Not to mention, they will be able to complete this type of task so much more quickly than you could have imagined.

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Lock Bumping And Ways To Prevent

Many homeowners are unaware of a potential security risk that over 90 percent of American households today are susceptible to Lock Bumping, according to Littleton Locksmith Pros. The following is a brief explanation of how residential locks work, what Lock Bumping is, and also the best methods of preventing your home from falling victim to this domestic security threat. The normal American house has Pin Tumbler locksets introduced.  The essential mechanical components of Pin Tumbler Locks contain a progression of spring stacking stacks known as stick stacks. Each stick stack is made out of a Key pin, which is the pin that touches the core when it’s initially placed into the lock, and then there is the Driver Pin, which is the spring-driven pin. The proper alignment of all Key Pins and Driver Pins is what enables a locks cylinder to be turned. This proper alignment is accomplished when the correct key is inserted into the lock. A lock will not open if there is misalignment, which will occur when no key, and or an incorrectly cut key is inserted into the lock. Lock Bumping is a Lockpicking technique used specifically to bypass Pin Tumbler locksets. The Lock Bumping method is carried out by the user placing a key created for the sole purpose of “bumping” your pin tumbler lock, which is called, a bump key, slightly into the key hole entry way of any Pin Tumbler Lock, and then proceeding to strike the Bump key with a very small amount of force, which will in turn cause the pins within the lock to give way for only a split second, but in that split second anyone willing will gain almost immediate access, leaving little to no evidence of a forced entry onto your property! These reasons combined with the fact that Lock Bumping Keys are inexpensive and easily made is what makes Lock Bumping a serious threat! Advances in lock technology seem to be met with new ways of breaking front door locks. Bumping, drilling, or snapping of locking cylinders are now highly common methods of forcing entry through a front door. They each require tools, and as such true high-security locks have reached an impressive level of sophistication.

The best new high-security front door locks from leading companies feature mechanisms designed to thwart drilling and bumping. Firstly, hardened steel rods in the locking cylinder body and the core itself increase resistance to drilling. Furthermore, hardened steel tumbler pins increase resistance to tampering and core extraction.New high-security locking mechanisms have been developed in addition to those inside the core locking cylinder. Machined metal dead-bolts increase impact resistance but the impressive modern locks feature hooks. When a door is locked, from two to four machined metal hooks are thrown into metal keeps in the door frame. These provide greatly increased structural resistance to brute force. Also, they are not affected by successful tampering of the main locking cylinder. That’s right folks. If your main lock is somehow overcome, hook locks provide a further line of defense in your front door.

Another high-security feature in modern front doors is the use of a dual-spindle in the locking mechanism. In reality more of innovation than technology, a dual spindle will allow the internal door handle to lock and unlock the door independently of a key, while from the outside a key is needed to open the door. For example, if you wanted to lock your door from the inside, but couldn’t find your key, the internal door handle alone can be used to lock the door. From the outside, the door is locked, and a key is then required to open it. It might seem like a small addition, but add this feature to a high-security composite door, and you’ve got a well-rounded door fit to be called high-security.

To compete against all of the sites on the internet that promote the criminal use bumping of a lock, there are public service sites on the web such as lockbumping.org that do provide awareness and methods of protecting your home from Lock Bumping. There are many different ways, and expert opinions concerning this matter, but the popular consensus came down to the conclusion, of a higher security grade level of lock! Yes, the one sure way to prevent your home from a lock bump is to install locks of a higher security grade. The drawback of higher security grade locks is, of course, a more expensive lock, but they can be purchased from your local locksmith or home improvement store.

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Types Of Door Locks
Feb03

Types Of Door Locks

There are so many kinds of door locks present in the market. You can find a door lock that can be used only from the inside. Others have keys that are made up of metal and some plastic. Different kinds of door locks are used for different kinds of abode. Hotels, nowadays, prefer using cards. The guest who would check-in is given identification-card to serve as their keys. This type of keys to lock doors is, most of the time, programmed to be used only during the stay of that particular guest. This special type of keys is used by places that are open for the public so as to facilitate order when there have misplaced key cards.

Did you know that there are many types of door locks? Thanks to the guys at ArvadaLocksmith.net, here are the most common types:

Door handle locks

They are usually found on bathroom doors. The reason why they are usually installed in the bathroom is because they are very insecure as you can easily pick them. They work by preventing the handle from rotating.

Keyless

From their name, they are keyless. The locks are usually locked and unlocked using a unique code that is entered into a keypad. The cool thing with the locks is that they are very secure.

Since there is no keyhole you don’t have to worry of someone picking the lock. Due to their security level, they are found in commercial buildings and other places that require heightened security levels. In addition to being found in homes, you can also install keyless locks in your car.

Electric

They work just like other locks only that they aren’t manually applied. The locking and unlocking mechanism is run through electronics. The locks are usually opened and closed using a key or code. The good thing with them is that they can’t be picked using the manual lock picking tools. They also can’t be broken by brute force.

Since they are wired electronically, you have to rewire the system if you need to force your entry. Due to this they are very secure.

Deadbolts

There are many types of these locks with the most common ones being:

Single-cylinder deadbolt: they are the most common and are characterized by a keyhole on the outside of the door and a notch on the inside. The notch is the one that you turn in order to lock and unlock the door.

Double-cylinder deadbolt: it’s distinguished from the single-cylinder deadbolt by the fact that the portion inside the house has a keyhole instead of a notch.

Surface-mount deadbolt: here a D-shaped apparatus is mounted on the inside portion of the door. These locks play a major role of preventing a burglar from hammering off the deadbolt from the outside.

While deadbolt locks are very effective in their working, they aren’t very secure as you can pick them using the common picking tools.

Commercial locks are widely used in the business environment. It can be a good investment for any business environment since it is able to help them keep the valuable storage safely such as jewelry and electronic. The place for the establishment depends on how heavy-duty you require your lock to be. Deadbolt is highly recommended for you who live in the area with high crime rate since it is more secure.

Exit control

Exit control lock is the popular type of commercial door locks. Commonly, it is used for the back door. It has some regulations to follow. For a more durable lock, you are recommended to choose one with cast aluminum housing so that it is corrosion and attack resistant. In addition, it is easy to install. They are battery powered.

There are a lot of types of exit lock available. You can choose one with the exit bar sign in French, English, Chinese, Italian, German, and Dutch. They commonly come with saw-resistant deadbolt and high decibel alarm horn to prevent the burglary. In addition, you can find some with outside key control.

Card reader

Another type of commercial door lock is card reader lock. It is very convenient to use, to lock and unlock your door. They also come with a sleek and upscale design. They are commonly equipped with an LED light and alarm for indicating the accepted access. In addition, they need card readers to be touched or swiped by the card.

Alarm rim

This type of lock is easy to install. Some are designed with weather and water proof and exceed the code safety requirements. In addition, they are equipped with audible and visual alarms up to 100 decibels.

Fingerprint lock

This is one of the types of door lock which is popular today. With this type of lock, you don’t need any key so that you will not hassle about losing the key. For a more reliable security, you can choose high-tech fingerprint lock. It is designed with biometric technology which is able to sense the fingerprint. Since the access is by using the fingerprint, this lock has the database of the fingerprints which have access to the room. Mostly, they are able to store up to 100 fingerprints. They can also automatically turn on when you put your finger on the sensor.

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