Do they really need 4 locks?
 

My neighbor lives in a not-so-great neighborhood. His has a steel security door in front of his wood front door. Each door has a locking knob and deadbolt. That's a total of 4 locks for the front entrance.

Does he really need that many?

He wants to change the locks so they can all be opened by one key.

I suggest that he get rid of the locking knobs and replace them with unlocking knobs. Then replace the deadbolts with deadbolts that use the same key. This will total just 2 locks for the front entrance.

Do I have a good plan? Or should he go overboard and get matching locking knobs?

Given that a burglar is likely just to smash a window.... He should do whatever makes him happy.

if 4 locks makes him feel safer about where he lives then 4 locks is great.. but if they are not going throu the window they will use a pry bar to bust the lock on the steel door at the jamb then kick the wood door in ...at the jamb.... reinforce the jamb with a steel plate that covers the entry point of the lock into the jamb on the steel door.. and reinforce the jamb on the wood door on the inside with steel plate as well...


then board up all the windows and iron plate the walls..seal the chiminey.. dig out the foundation for more plating.. and on and on...

I notice you said, "My neighbor lives in a not-so-great neighborhood." Are you the reason it's not such a great neighborhood? :)

Your buddy is free to do whatever he wants - whatever makes him feel a bit more safe. But Leah has it right. A burglar is just going to come in through the window. Basically, if they want in badly enough, they'll get in.

Home security is really about making your house less attractive to rob than the neighbor's house. Sounds bad to say that, but it's true.

Motion sensor lighting, and a dog inside the house barking, will do a LOT more to keep out burglars than 2 doors with 4 locks.


That said, tell your neighbor to have a locksmith key all the locks to one key.

My 13 lb dachshund keeps the Jehovah's Witness Ladies out of my yard.... :laughing: That's real security
.

Whatever works! We've got two fairly small dogs at our house - neither of which would do ANYTHING to a burglar but lick him. But a burglar doesn't know that, and they do make a fair amount of noise if provoked. The good thing is that if it were the middle of the night, and somebody were trying to quietly break in, we'd be awakened by barking dogs & 911 would be called immediately.


Seriously though... A friend of mine, who is a reformed convict, and I have often frequently discussed this. It's not so much about making your house impossible to get in. That's just about impossible to do. It's about making it less appealing than other houses in the area.

Burglars do not like surprises, light and exposure, situations that slow them down, noise and other things that draw attention, and watchful neighbors.

I would invest in systems that would let me turn the lights in the house on from the bedroom or in outdoor motion detector lights outside before investing lots more in extra locks. I don't know, maybe $300 in simple x-10 home alarm system components? Something simple as a really high decibel alarm siren should scare a burglar off.

And you may not be able to key deadbolts the same depending on what locks you get. Medeco was a common brand in Manhattan where you tended to take locks with you from apartment to apartment. Key structure and tumbler design was proprietary to the brand.

And personally? I have stood with great amusement watching someone trying to getting into a place even with multiple locks keyed the same. Was the combination the two top ones were left unlocked or every other one. ...

Get to know your neighbors even if you are unlikely to become BFF. Most will look out for each other from my experience.

This may be the best suggestion yet. I've got a whole passel of neighbors who keep an eye out for each other. The benefit of the nosey old lady next door is that she know everything that's going on in the neighborhood.

What is the reasoning for this? Just wondering. It would seem if the burgler could pick one lock , he or she could get in real quick if they were are the same, it is way to early and I am probably missing something, but as leah said, they would just come in a window anyway.

Just thought od something else. We had 2 break ins before becoming dog owners. Since the dog, 0:wink: Neither of the dogs would ever think of biting somebody but boy if they ever heard someone at the door you would think it was a trained attack dog.:yes:

We've always had at least 1 large dog. In town and here, never a problem with break-ins.
Motion lights help too, I'm sure.

DM

We haven't had a dog for many years, but the dog house remains well maintained, in a prominent place in our yard. I know that it provides some affect, as every once in a while someone we know will stop by and say something like "I didn't know that you had a dog". I even clean the snow from a substantial area around it in the winter, but haven't gone as far as leaving Tootsie Rolls laying around.

With that place locked up like a fortress it may make a thief wonder what is in there of such great value. A burglar would certainly target something like that if it was being secured in that fashion but he wouldn't need to use that entrance to gain access.:)

Locks are to keep honest people honest and neighbors out. They won't deter an invasion of any self-respecting thief.:)

If a person with serious OCD can be made happy that cheaply, hey, why not?