Diagram of a well secured front door

A rim latch (Yale type) on your front door is not sufficient in itself to protect your home. The door should also be fitted with a 5 lever mortice deadlock, though insurance companies will accept a rim automatic deadlock; both must be to British Standard 3621 or the equivalent European Standard EN12209. Quality locks are only as strong as the doors and frames to which they are attached.

Hamilton Locksmith and Carpentry Services of Swindon, Wiltshire will ensure that your frame is sound and the door suitable for external use. It should be of substantial construction, at least 44mm thick to support the mortice lock and hung on three strong 100mm hinges. The rim latch and the mortice should be fitted 45 to 60cm apart. In the door itself recessed or decorative panels should be a minimum of 9mm thick. Swindon based locksmith and carpenter, Hamilton Services specialise in the supply, installation and fitment of secondary security for your home, such as mortice bolts, door viewers, padlocks, padbars, window locks and door chains.

An effective option in improving household security is to fit mortice bolts (rack bolts) to your front and back doors. The mortice bolts are similar to mortice locks as they are fitted into the door frame and are reinforced by a metal frame which is recessed in to the door. The mortice bolts can only be opened from the inside with a key. Hamilton Locksmith and Carpentry Services of Swindon, Wiltshire recommend fitting a pair of mortice bolts to the top and bottom of the door. We always fit at 90 º to the grain of the wood, reducing the likelihood of the wood splitting if subjected to pressure.

Alternatively, we can fit surface-mounted locking bolts (push to lock, key to open). Whichever type you use, we will fit to top and bottom to provide rigidity. If securing French Doors which are outward opening, we would recommend the addition of hinge bolts. We ensure they are fitted 100-150mm below the top hinge and similarly above the bottom for added robustness.

Door viewers or peep holes offer occupants a discreet way of identifying who is at the door before deciding to open it. Additionally door viewers mean you do not have to reveal your own identity, which may prove useful at times. Door chains and door limiters provide similar benefits to door viewers, allowing the occupant to identify who is at the door before deciding to fully open the door. Both of these options are especially beneficial to the elderly.

Letter boxes / plates should be considered as an aperture which can be used by the criminal, either to extract goods from within in close proximity to the door, commonly door keys, or to work vulnerable locking devices from the inside. Letter plates should conform to British Standard. They should be positioned not closer then 400 mm from the door lock and under no circumstances should they be fitted to the bottom rail of the door. An internal cover plate offers additional security, as does a letter basket, though you might wish to consider removing the bottom, allowing the mail to fall to the floor and thus preventing theft of the mail.