Keeping your home and loved ones safe and secure is of the utmost importance. An essential part of your home’s security is having a good-quality entrance door lock. According to NHBS Standards, “Entrance doors of individual homes should be fitted with securely fixed locks or a multi point locking system”. This locking system should:

• have at least 1000 differs
• have a latch and deadlock
• have a hardened steel bolt to prevent sawing
• would not pull out without breaking the door or the door frame if burst open.

Are you moving into a new home and want to replace the current front door? Are looking to upgrade your house’s entrance lock? At Ironmongery Experts, we supply a large collection of high-quality door locks to suit all requirements, from mortice sashlocks to mortice deadlocks and more.

However, choosing the right front door lock might not always be the easiest of tasks if you do not know what you need. To give you a helping hand in choosing the best lock for your entrance door, we have put together the different types of locks you can choose, so you can narrow down which one suits your needs.

Mortice locks.

What is a mortice lock?

Mortice locks are locks that are fitted into the edge of a door and can only be opened with a key. Mortice locks have various lever mechanisms, including two-lever mechanisms, three-lever mechanisms, five-lever mechanisms and seven-lever mechanisms. The higher the lever number is, the more secure the lock is, making high lever door locks perfect for exterior doors.

The Home Office recommends that all external doors should have five-lever mortice deadlocks, which meet the British Standard BS3621:2004. For front doors, five-lever mortice locks should also be paired with cylinder locks for added security, such as the popular Matte Black 60mm Euro Cylinder and Turn or the best-selling Evva 62mm A5 Antique Brass Euro Cylinder and Turn.

Lower lever mechanisms are ideal for internal doors. For example, our 152mm Satin Stainless Steel 3 Lever Horizontal Lock and our 127mm PVD Brass 3 Lever Horizontal Mortice Lock are two great low lever options for interior doors.

What is the difference between a mortice deadlock and a mortice sashlock?

Mortice locks have two variants: mortice deadlock and mortice sashlock. Deadlocks are locks which only have a bolt and keyhole, while sashlocks have a bolt, keyhole and built-in latch, which will keep the door closed.

Rim Locks.

This type of lock is mostly used as a secondary security method for front doors or as a primary security method for bathrooms, toilets and bedrooms. Rim locks are fitted to the side of doors and, in general, are split into two categories: nightlatches and rim deadlocks.

Nightlaches, such as the Black Cylinder 60mm Broad Nightlatch, are simple locks which will lock the door automatically and open it by using a snib and turn handle to hold the latch back. Rim deadlocks will also lock automatically, however, these will require a key to open the door from the inside and outside. Thus, if you require extra security for your front door, adding a rim deadlock would be a good option.

Digital locks.

Digital locks are a good security option for front doors of commercial buildings and residential buildings. These locks are also ideal to secure specific rooms within a building.

Are keyless entry door locks safe?

Yes, keyless entry locks, such as digital locks, are safe options to lock rooms. Our best-selling digital locks include Left Handed Union E1200 Codehandle Battery Operated Digital Lock and Right Handed Union E1200 Codehandle Battery Operated Digital Lock.

At Ironmongery Experts, we understand the importance of feeling safe at home and keeping your belongings secure. For this reason, we would also recommend installing a door viewer on your front door, as well as a door chain for added security. If you have any enquiries regarding our ironmongery products, feel free to give our team a call on 01376 557 561. Alternatively, you contact us at info@ironmongeryexperts.co.uk.