Anyone know about locks on UPVC doors?

[AL_n]

I bought this house recently and it has a UPVC front door. The lock is a bit of a nuisance because you have to turn the key twice, i.e., 360 degrees x2.

I imagine this gives it an added level of "unpickability" or something, yes?

My UPVC french windows also have an identical-looking lock, which only requires one turn of the key.

My question is: Is there a lot of point in turning the front door key 720 degrees, when turning it 360 degrees seems to lock the door just fine?

Will turning the key a mere 360 degrees make it exactly as burglar-proof as the french windows, which only require a 360-degree turn of the key?

If so, I will save myself a lot of hassle over the coming decades by turning the front door key only 360 degrees!

PS I'm beginning to miss the old yale locks, as per my previous house! (No key-turning required except on entry, and then only a few-degrees of turn!)

Many thanks,

Al

[Roger Mills]

Double throw locks are considerably more secure than single throw because a villain would have to lever the door and frame apart by a much larger distance to open the door - and this would be difficult if not impossible.

In your situation, I'd be considering replacing the lock on the french door with a double throw jobbie!

[Gel]

And consider upping any UPVC door locks too; watch

[AL_n]

Roger Mills wrote in news:8gus5jFonrU1 @mid.individual.net:

Thanks. I wasn't aware that this was what the double turn was all about. Now they make sense to me. Are they also more secure against bump keys?

I reckon so. I wonder how feasable that is.

Al

[Roger Mills]

Dunno. Probably not though, 'cos once you've got it turning, you can probably turn it through two revelations.

You should be able to find a double throw lock that's a direct replacement for your existing lock. Take the lock out, and take it to a locksmith to make sure you get one with all the right dimensions. Oh, and make sure that there's space in the door frame to accommodate the extra throw.

[Weatherlawyer]

I imagine that going over the tumblers twice or more makes modern electronic fobs a little less easy to foist. The actual dead bolts go in with the turn of the handles so it isn't them.

As for the good old fashioned Yale; an hefty shove from the shoulder would pop one quite easily and nobody outside the house would notice hat was going on. Forget all that fiddling with plastic cards.

[Dave Osborne]

Nah, unless you were very skilled (or lucky) you would have to bump it twice.

Unfortunately, locks that are easy to bump once are easy to bump twice. ;-(

OTOH Locks that are hard to bump once might well be impervious to being bumped again with the same bump key. ;-)