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| PART 6
This will be my |
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last article for a while. It's been fun for me, and I hope my advice has been helpful.
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Some people still come in to buy a new lock when all they need is a combination change to get a different key. This solution is less expensive, and saving the customer money is all part of the service we provide at Cole Hardware.
Last month I left off explaining how to provide a lock for a door while doing the least amount of carpentry. Installing a deadbolt would be ideal but is not always possible. Sometimes half-measures have to do.
KEY FACT No. 6 -- Odds & Ends
 If you just want to lock the door when you go out, you could install a hasp and padlock or a locking slide bolt. But even this involves too much carpentry for some people. An equally strong alternative would be to use two eye-screws, one mounted on the door and the other on the door jamb so that the eyes overlap when the door is closed. Put the padlock through the two eyes. This involves only two screw holes which can easily be filled in later if need be and is really quite strong depending on what size you use. As with all padlocks, bigger is better. But it's also uglier.
If you don't want to change the outside appearance of the door in any way, you can install a locking door chain on the inside. These are just like the safety chains that allow you to open the door three to four inches to see who's there, but are lockable. When you go out you have to reach in and insert the chain end into a locking unit on the inside door jamb. And when you come home you can only open the door three to four inches and have to reach in with a key to disengage the chain. A little cumbersome and not very strong, but at least it lets you know if someone else has been in your apartment while you were away. Of course anyone who could force open the main lock would have no trouble breaking that little chain. But if the chain was broken and the main lock was not you'd know somebody came in using another key.
 If you have a locking doorknob (key goes right in the knob) there's another device you can use that involves no carpentry whatsoever. Its called a Key-Block, or some people call it a key cover. It's a baseball-sized steel shell that opens and closes around the entire knob itself. Using it's own separate key, it prevents access to the knob-lock's key hole. And since the unit spins free it helps prevent wrenching of the doorknob itself as well.
 Finally, if you just want some additional security to keep the door locked when you're inside, there are a number of little slide bolts or chains you could use. Even a simple hook and eye can be effective, again depending on size. My favorite, however, is an inexpensive little device called a Flip-Lock. For about two dollars it provides a very strong inside add-on, provided the door opens in (most doors do). Whereas most items screw onto the inner surface of the door and/or jamb, the flip-lock is screwed onto the jamb only. And what makes it so strong is that the screws holding it onto the jamb are perpendicular to anyone trying to force the door open. Pound for pound and penny for penny it's the strongest little auxiliary lock I know.
Of course we have all these items for sale at all of Cole Hardware's four stores. If you can't find what you need, just give me a call. I hope I've educated you as to some of what's available; a special thanks to all of you who called as a direct response to one of my Key Fact articles. Glad to have been of service.
Yours for better Locksmithing,
Skip the Locksmith,
Cole Fox Hardware, 415/777-4400
| See more Hardware Hotline Key Facts articles: |
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 part 4 |
Auxiliary Locks |
| part 5 |
Easy Door Lock |
| part 6 |
Odds & Ends |
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Skip, our in-house locksmith at Cole Fox Hardware®, comes to us with over twenty years experience in the trade. Originally from New York City, he came to San Francisco in 1969. He has worked as a locksmith since 1975, for most of that time at the Key Factory, a shop (now closed) servicing primarily the Sunset, Richmond and Marina districts of San Francisco. We are pleased to have him as one of our staff.
- Hardware Hotline November, 2000 |
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