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Burglary
If you have been unfortunate enough to suffer a burglary we will repair the damage and ensure the security of your property. Keyhole Surgery Locksmiths can also provide advice to minimise the chance of an all too frequent repeated burglary, upgrade your existing door locks, window locks or garage locks.
The fitting of door locks, window locks and other forms of additional security will help to keep burglars out. In 20% of burglaries thieves gain entry through open doors and windows, so not only do you want the fitting of good strong locks, but you should make sure your doors and windows remain closed and locked.
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Changing Locks
Changing locks is overlooked when moving house as there are often more important things to be done... but are there?
How many people do you know that has a duplicate key to your home?
Families that have moved house are twice as likely to be burgled. Keyhole Surgery Locksmiths strongly recommend that you have your locks changed not only for piece of mind but for your family's safety. Unless you know and trusted the previous tenants or builders it is unlikely that you will know how many sets of keys were cut and are in the public domain belonging to your property. By not changing the locks and ensuring that all points of access around the house are secure, you could be putting yourself and your family in unnecessary danger.
Furthermore, if you were to be broken into and possessions damaged or stolen your insurance claim may be void, as some insurance companies will state that if you have not changed the locks on moving house then you have not done enough to secure your property and prevent a burglary.
After changing the locks you can guarantee that you are in control of who has access to your property. Other reasons that you may consider why to change your locks may include:
Could you exit through all necessary doors and windows in an emergency?
Does your property have adequate physical security?
Do you have keys to all your doors and windows, for general access and opening?
Are some of the locks broken or are any of the locks damaged - do they still work and are they secure?
Do your locks meet British Standard 3621:2004/2007, now a stipulation of most insurance policies?
Keyhole Surgery Locksmiths will replace lock cylinders of at least like-for-like quality, preferring to upgrade to a more secure high quality lock where necessary.
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Emergency Opening
Keyhole Surgery Locksmiths employ only professional Locksmiths who, using the latest technology and techniques, will gain entry to your house with the minimum of fuss. As professional locksmiths we will open your door by lock picking or drilling the lock. We will endeavor to keep any damage to the surrounding door to a minimum.
Keyhole Surgery locksmiths can gain entry to most locks without having to change the lock, enabling the continual use of your existing set of keys.
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Garage Doors
Up and over garage doors provide an easy target for burglars. Most burglars are opportunist thieves and in many cases force is not needed.
Keyhole Surgery Locksmiths provide professional lock installation and lock repair services for all types of garage doors, including padlocks with hasp and staple, mortice deadlocks and garage defenders.
Common garage door security issues resulting in a call out to supply and change the existing garage lock include
> General lock failure
> Buckled garage doors resulting in lock alignment issues
> Problems with disconnected or snapped wires connecting the locks to the rods
> Keys snapped in locks Lost keys
The common types of garage locks are the T Handle, flush originals and Euro cylinder.
It is also important to keep all doors connected to integral garages secure. This is best done by fitting a mortice lock that meets the British Standard.
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PVC Doors
If you have a damaged or faulty UPVC door lock it is important to try the doors locking mechanism when the door is in the open position; if the door bolts slide into the locked position when the door is open the door may just need re-aligning. If the mechanism or multi point lock fails, the door will need to be opened by a Locksmith and in most cases the mechanism will have to be replaced.
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Recommendations and Observations
The Home Office recommends fitting five-lever mortice deadlocks (British Standard BS3621:2004) to all external doors. Many insurance companies require this as a minimum standard and may offer a discount on your premiums.
Mortice locks are embedded into the door itself and can only be opened with the key. They are commonly found on back doors and are often fitted to front doors in addition to a cylinder rim lock (Yale lock).
Mortice locks can often be described as a deadlock or sash lock. A deadlock is a mortice lock which has just a key hole and a bolt. A sash lock has a bolt and a latch and a pair of handles.
Mortice locks have several lever variations: a 2, 3, 5 or 7 lever mechanism. 5 lever and above can be British Standard or non British Standard. The higher the number of "levers" the more difficult the lock is to "pick" and the more secure it will be, the higher the lever the lock the more key variations there are eliminating duplicate keys.
Keyhole Surgery Locksmiths recommend all locks should be upgraded and replaced with 5-lever locks, tested to BS3621:2004, which can be identified by the British Standard Kitemark symbol. This is usually a minimum insurance requirement and can be found on the faceplate of the lock.
Mortice locks require a key to be turned to activate the deadlock. The major advantage of a mortice lock is that burglars can not smash an adjacent window, reach inside and unlock the door. The deadlocks on a mortice lock also mean that if a burglar breaks in through a window they can not escape through the door, providing you have not left the key in the lock on the inside.
Most front door locks and internal door locks are cylinder locks, commonly known as 'Yale' locks, after one of the leading brands. If your front door locks automatically when you shut it and you need a key to open the door from the outside, but it opens without a key from the inside, then you have a cylinder rim lock (Yale lock).
Cylinder rim locks are fitted to the surface of the door and are mounted on the surface of the inside of the door with a connecting cylinder, which is fitted into the door with the keyhole on the outside.
Restricted cylinders provide physical protection against unauthorized key duplication, thus ensuring extra security to your property. Restricted keys guarantee keys can only be cut with the authorisation of the owner usually within a security card system.
Keyhole Surgery Locksmiths recommended the fitting of mortice locks to supplement cylinder rim locks, particularly on front doors.
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Window Locks
One in three burglaries is through a window. Consider fitting high visibility window locks, so if a burglar breaks the glass the window locks will mean they still cannot open the window and risk injury climbing in through broken glass.
Window locks should be fitted to easily accessible windows such as those downstairs and next to flat roofs and drain pipes. Remember not to leave the keys on show in the window locks.
Keyhole Surgery Locksmiths can help with everything from simply opening the door to your house to upgrading and replacement of your current locks to conform to British Standard.
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