Deadbolt for old door

Friends have an old exterior French door with a skeleton lock they'd like upgraded for more security, so I'm looking for a deadbolt to fit. Very difficult to find, since the lock stile on the door is only 3" wide, so need a lock with a shallow backset (ideally about 1-1/2").

A local search has turned up not much. One lock place can get a fancy-schmancy solid brass lock, but it'll run--get this--about $600-700! No effing way.

Other solution is a surface-mount deadbolt, easy to install, but not what I really want, a regular old deadbolt that mounts inside the stile.

So anyone know of any locks that'll work? Again, deadbolt, standard thickness (1-3/8"), single cylinder (turnbolt on inside), 1-1/2" backset, not too expen$ive.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl
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replace door, for better energy efficency

Reply to
hallerb

if the door uses a skelton key it must be ancient with no insulation or weatherstripping.

as such it might qualify for the energy tax credit, would be more energy efficent, more secure and little or no maintence.

if a friend asked you to fix their 1980 chevy, wouldnt you at least mention possible replacement?

Reply to
hallerb

How tall is top rail? Add a bolt going straight up? Most people can reach top of a 6'8" door with no problem, and most burglars will never see it. (Double-key deadbolts being a fire hazard, and thumb-tab deadbolts being pretty useless close to glass.) If a double door, does the seldom-used side have the slide bolts at top and bottom?

-- aem sends, stuck on google until the 29th or so....

Reply to
aemeijers

On 12/20/2010 5:20 PM aemeijers spake thus:

Interesting idea, but no; one of the residents is short, so she won't be able to reach anything that high.

Just the single door. There are slide bolts, but the thing is that this door is used as a passage, coming in from car parked in the garage in back.

I'm probably going to to with the "Ikon" lock I found at the local locksmith. It's a small surface-mount deadbolt with a through-keyhole that can be operated from either side. I'm not thrilled about that aspect of it, as I really do not like doors that need a key to unlock from the inside (not to mention that they're illegal), but it's the best solution I've found so far. About $100 (it's NOS, and the locksmith says a new one will run at least twice that).

As to the ridiculous suggestion that the door be replaced: it's a beautiful "storybook" home in San Francisco built in the 1920s, and the door is an integral part of the house, so thanks but no thanks. And insulation and "energy efficiency" is not an issue; it's just one lousy door.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Why a deadbolt? Wouldn't a simple hook and eye suffice (of sufficient strength). Just about whatever you mount will be susceptible to manipulation by breaking a pane.

You COULD mount a key-operated-only deadbolt on the FLOOR - the "jimmy-proof deadbolt lock" as seen here:

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Reply to
HeyBub

Since you won't get a lot of security if the door is full of glass anyway, perhaps a deadbolt simply isn't appropriate.

If you were handy, I expect you could modify a standard deadbolt for a short backset since that part of the mechanism is pretty simple. For that short a backset you might have to reduce the deadbolt throw as well.

Reply to
Pete C.

Two inch backset still too much?

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Reply to
DD_BobK

Some additional options

Might take a while to get the first one but looks like it might fit the bill.

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22mm or 37mm backsets & not expensive

here's some closer to home

31/32", 1-1/8", 1-1/2"

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Reply to
DD_BobK

David Nebenzahl wrote: ...

OK, there's a clue not previously revealed -- go check out the salvage places then--SF is both large enough and interested enough in vintage stuff there have to be a multitude of places specializing in vintage recycled stuff...

--

Reply to
dpb

On 12/20/2010 7:14 PM dpb spake thus:

Thanks, but I already know about all those places in our area (I'm in the East Bay):

o San Francisco: Building Resource, on Third St. near Hunter's Point o Berkeley: Urban Ore & Ohmega Salvage o Oakland: The Reuse People & Habitat for Humanity ReStore o Richmond: This & That o And last but not least, Whole House Building Supply in East Palo Alto

I'm pretty familiar with all these places.

Of these, the only one that is a reliable source of supply for anything lock-oriented is Ohmega; I've bought lots of bits and pieces for old mortise locks and stuff there. But they don't have a short-backset deadbolt.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

On 12/20/2010 6:19 PM DD_BobK spake thus:

Yep. Remember, the stile's only 3" wide. With a 2-1/8" bore required for the lock, that'll put the hole past the edge of the stile.

But thanks for the link. Before thinking it through I thought it might work. But I think one can get 1-1/2" backset locks *somewhere*. I've had no luck yet wading through all the irrelevant results you get from a Google search, but it's probably out there somewhere.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Fire code most places prohibits it, but it is routinely ignored. Idea being, that unless you leave a key in the lock (which basically turns it into a thumb latch), people could get trapped in a fire. Unlike us tool-using barbarians on here, most people wouldn't think of smashing the glass to get out. I might do it in a house I lived alone in, but would never do it in a house with kids or older folks.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

On 12/21/2010 6:06 PM aemeijers spake thus:

Well, I agree wholeheartedly with the fire codes here. I've had two clients with entry doors with double-cylinder deadbolts that I had to convince to replace the inside lock with a turnbolt. I was successful in both cases, but it took a lot of wheedling. In both cases, I had to replace windows in the doors with safety glass to allay the homeowners' (justified) fears of being broken into.

I take the threat of fire, and the possibility of dying in it, very, very seriously. I may not be the handiest handyman on the planet, but I've resolved to not do anything that leads to serious injury or death.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

We have burglar bars on the doors and windows. The doors are equipped with double-cylinder deadbolts. The bars on the windows are equipped with knob deadbolts.

I tell all overnight visitors that, in case of fire, make for a window, not a door.

You do NOT have to sacrifice security for a potential fire.

Reply to
HeyBub

so what keeps the burglar from using a window?

Reply to
hallerb

In case of an emergency people always head the way they came. In a Mall fire the staff went for their staff exit, even when the customers entry was the safest way. So I suggest you make the ordinary entry into a safe exit .

Reply to
Sjouke Burry

The pane containing the lock is not barred, it is a sheet of diamond steel gridwork. Plus the knob in encased in a 1/8" metal cylinder about 1.5" long. You can get your fingers in it, but not a tool.

If the do-bad with the stink-eye manages to defeat all that, there's still the shotgun to contend with...

Reply to
HeyBub

David:

Since you have ruled surface mounted rim locks and want a deadbolt lock for this door on a story book house where you are trying to maintain a historical appearance, you clearly require some sort of mortise auxiliary lock...

Adams Rite makes narrow style mortise locks that would work with your given dimensions of a 3" wide style on a standard thickness

1 3/8" door... You have options of a standard bolt or a hook bolt and would have to create a pocket in the second door to receive the bolt rather than just drilling a hole for a standard deadbolt...

Sadly you will not be able to find a bored deadbolt lock with a backset of 1 1/2" because the "throw" of the bolt would be so short it would not be worth manufacturing as it would not provide much in the way of security with a throw of less than an inch...

Adding a deadbolt to the door is one way to deal with the requested security upgrade... The other way to accomplish said request is to upgrade the "skeleton key" mortise or rim lockset which is currently in use securing the door to one which has a higher level of security...

The aforementioned architectural salvage type places can be a source for older and very decorative yet still serviceable door hardware...

If the people who want this deadbolt are dead set against removing the current lock to replace it with one which is more secure than a skeleton key, then your only option at that point would be an Adams Rite deadbolt for a wood door as your stile is too narrow for any other type of lock to be installed (even a 2" backset deadbolt still requires the standard 2 1/8" bore which would exceed your stile dimension)...

Now to address the specific suggestions that have been discussed thus far:

The NOS Ikon lock -- garbage... Not only is it old which means you might only be able to get what you see with no options or substitutions this lock will not be easy to repair or replace in the future if it breaks... This is not an ideal solution to this problem...

The rim mounted jimmy proof lock mounted near the floor... That is a joke to mount a lock at either the extreme of near the top or bottom of a door... This is not a good solution to the problem...

As to the issue of double cylinder locks used on residential doors in homes without sprinkler protection:

It is against the national building code to have double cylinder locks installed on any egress door in a residential building... So those who have such locks installed on EVERY door in their homes are clearly in violation...

Since most burglars are not lock pickers and will use brute force to open doors (even those with deadbolts installed on them) having such double cylinder equipped locks provides no additional protection since the opening that is breached will allow removal of items from inside the home... Hinge pins can be removed from other doors to provide exit if it is equipped with a double cylinder deadbolt if you have some extraordinarily valuable item which is unable to be carried off through the point of entry...

So since double cylinder locks do not provide any additional protection compared to a single cylinder lock, what do they actually provide:

-- entrapment in an emergency condition if you do not wear the key around your neck (keys located on wall hooks within reach of the door can and will remain invisible in a house filled with smoke)...

-- you can come home and walk in on a burglary and be trapped in the house if you drop your keys somewhere even if you left the deadbolt on the door you just entered through unlocked if the burglars get between you and the door, you might have to fight your way past them to exit through the only unlocked door or to reach your keys to open another way out...

So the only thing you are doing is providing a barrier to egress when you install double cylinder locks on your home... Same with window bars... I would never install either on any property I own even with a fire sprinkler system installed... If you are that worried about security spend whatever money you would waste on "security upgrades" that would otherwise turn your home into a maximum security prison which could kill you on a very sophisticated alarm system and windows with less breakable glazing (either coated glass or lexan plastic panels)...

Building your home properly rather than adding bars on windows and locks that are keyed on both sides of the door is what is necessary...

~~ Evan

Reply to
Evan

You want to find it, you can look it up...

In the section on primary means of egress...

~~ Evan

Reply to
Evan

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