I have a key on a hook next to the door (but away from prying eyes and the letterbox). This is not the key I generally use for the door. It's there for fire escape.
Now why would I do that ARW? He does enough of that himself!
Now, as far as I can recall, under current legislation, there should be a number of UPVc windows in the house on each floor that must open, and open wide enough to allow the escape of 'trapped' persons - but I wouldn't expect TMH to be aware of that - he can't have fitted many UPVc windows in his decks.
BTW, I wonder if he knows that the correct term for UPVc is now PVCu as decreed by the European parliament in the mid '90s? And I still can't get used to Polyvinyl Chloride Unplasticised myself.
Good idea, do you also have pre-determined 'escape' routes for the family to follow in the event of a fire, and have to taught them to keep their noses as close to the floor as possible if they have to escape from a smoke-filled house? As you are probably aware, smoke is the biggest killer rather than heat.
Will that open a locked door as well as the proper key then?
I couldn't resist your challenge by the way. ROTFLMAO
I am aware, that's why I mentioned the detectors. I was also giving TMH a tip on how to maximize his profit margin.
I have an escape route plan, I do not have a family. I always plan an escape route when stopping at friends or when stopping in a hotel. Sometimes I plan them when waiting for a cat be put down at a vetinary practice in an out of hours visit and then make it known to the owner that their signage is incorrect.
I was going to add something along that lines of "early detection of fire is better than a key by the door". Dead people cannot use keys.
I thought about this when I replaced my front door. I wanted something that was secure when I was out like a mortice lock but could be opened easily without a key from the inside in the event of a fire. I was also looking for something like a multi-point lock although I was advised against them for a wooden door.
The solution that I came up with was to have three keyed-alike euro cylinder locks. One near the top of the door and one near the bottom of the door. I use these when I leave the house. Then a third by the door handle that has a euro lock (with the same key) on the outside but a thumb-turn on the inside. I can lock that at night. It is still a mortice lock so satisfies the insurers.
As a belt and braces approach I lock all three when going away on holiday.
Check if your insurance policy... a) offers a lock discount (eg, 5%) - because it may mandate "keys be removed from locks before retiring to bed" b) requires in general "keys be removed from locks at all times for insurance to be in effect" c) requires forced entry re keys stolen from nearby table via letterbox
I understand that they "bump" locks nowadays. I like Andrew's approach because I believe it's going to be jolly difficult to "bump" the top and bottom ones and take much more time than a prospective burglar would like to take, hanging around in full view.
The keys are removed and the doors locked, when the house is empty. When at home, I am more concerned with being able to easily exit in smoke-filled conditions; most burglaries are of unoccupied premises. Loss of property is less important to me, than is loss of life.
Dead locking latch in centre, mortice with turn button above, mortice keyed both sides at bottom. All on same key. Just use the latch when at home, lock the top from outside when going out, lock both top and bottom if away all day, dead lock the latch as well if going on holiday.
Maybe it's something to do with the likeihood of an event happening.
When I look my door (and I'm in) I leave the key in the same place not in view of any window. As for plan nof escape will I have a back door, which I don;t need a key to open from the inside, then there's windows although I'm on the 1st floor.
When leaving one morning I left my key on the inside and shut the door I couldn;t get back in. But I did managed to get a twig through the letter box enabling me to use it to hook the key out of the lock and on to the floor. If' I had a magnet or blu-tak I could have retrived my key, but I'd already collected my spare, so had that to hand. For that reason I don;t thinki it;'s a good idea to leave a key in the door if there's any chance of getting it.
I don;t think there's been a fire in my road in the kast 10 years but buglaries.....seem more frequant.
I did once think about always having a key on a chain around my neck. But didn;t really want to sleep with it.
In the furture they'll be unlock apps on mobiles ;-)
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