As most of you know, there have been a number of break-ins in Sun City. These have been daylight events where the front door was forced open, and money and jewelry were taken. On many of the homes, there is a double pane window the full height of the door on one or both sides of the door. Since the deadbolt on the doors of these houses is a single cylinder, i.e. there is no key lock on the inside, a burglar can break the window, reach in and turn the knob on the deadbolt to open the door.
There is an easy fix for this potential problem. The answer is a double-cylinder lock. This means there is a keyed cylinder on each side of the lock: one inside and one outside. If someone were to break the window to reach the deadbolt, he would find there is no knob on it, and the key is not in the lock, so the door can’t be opened. CAUTION: FOR SAFETY REASONS, YOU NEED TO PUT A CUP HOOK ON OR NEAR THE DOOR IN A POSITION THAT CAN’T BE REACHED BY A BURGLAR FROM THE WINDOW, AND ALWAYS HANG THE KEY THERE WHEN IT IS NOT IN THE LOCK. This could be on the side of the door away from the window if there is only a window on one side, or high or low on the door if there are windows on both sides of the door. WHENEVER YOU ARE IN THE HOUSE, THE KEY SHOULD BE IN THE LOCK SO YOU CAN QUICKLY ESCAPE IN CASE OF A FIRE, AND A SECOND KEY SHOULD BE ON THE HOOK.
In the last issue, we told you how to secure the front door on a Del Webb-built home. In this issue, we will tell you how to secure the front door of a Pulte-built home. They are different in that the Pulte-built homes have Schlage hardware and locks, while Del Webb-built homes have Weiser hardware and locks.
Just two months ago, when I started researching and writing this article, Schlage had a technology called SecureKey that allowed you to easily rekey a double-cylinder deadbolt lock to the other door lock in your house. Starting January 1, 2012, Schlage locks no longer offer the SmartKey feature. The following explanation is on their website:
Carmel, Ind. Aug. 1, 2011 – Schlage, a business of Ingersoll Rand, today announced its decision to no longer manufacture and ship its SecureKey line of products after December 31, 2011. SecureKey is a technology used inside the cylinder of Schlage residential door locks to enable re-keying the lock without removing it from the door. This decision has also facilitated an amicable resolution to litigation between Kwikset [patent holder of SmartKey technology] and Schlage. Details about the settlement are confidential by agreement of the parties.
If you want the locks on both doors to open with the same key, this can still be easily done. When you buy your Schlage double-cylinder deadbolt lock, bring along the key to your current lock. If possible, bring the original key that has five numbers stamped on it. This tells them which tumblers to put into the cylinders. There are four stores nearby that have the ability to key your new lock to the existing Schlage lock on the door to your garage. Lowes will key the lock any day at no charge when you purchase the lock there. Home Depot will key the lock on weekends at no charge when you purchase the lock there. Menards will key the lock any day for a charge of $5 per cylinder or $10 for a double-cylinder lock when you purchase the lock there. The local Ace Hardware has Schlage locks but only the Carpentersville store can rekey the lock.
To see how simple the deadbolt is to install, here is a link to the deadbolt installation instructions:
consumer.schlage.com/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ModelNumber=B62N%20619
Some towns have prohibitions against double-cylinder locks because if the key is not kept on the door where it can be found to unlock the door to get out in case of a fire, there could be a tragedy. We checked, and Huntley has no such prohibition. BE SURE THAT YOU KEEP THE KEY IN A POSITION WHERE IT CAN BE EASILY FOUND, AND ALWAYS KEEP THE KEY IN THE LOCK WHEN YOU ARE IN THE HOUSE.
If you often misplace your car keys, you should probably not install a double-cylinder deadbolt lock on your door, as a misplaced key could be disastrous in the case of a fire.
If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home, submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com.
