Security requirements for home

[masona]

I know this topic should be in the Windows & Doors but most of you might not read it there

I've been busy lately fitting security locks for clients who thought their house was insured and cannot make a claim because the home are not covered unless the right type of locks is fitted. Please check your insurance policy for their security minimum requirements. Down my road I have counted 58 front doors out of 92 who have not even got a mortice lock (a mortice lock is another lock below the yale lock which must also be in the correct position )
Normally the front or exit door should be fitted with a 5-levers or is fitted with a lock conforming to Bs3621:1998 or higher spec. (you can see the date on the front lock plate cover, most of them are still 1980 )
And it doesn't stop there, you must have windows locks etc, best to read your insurance policy first and see what they recommend.

The best yale lock (not the motice lock) I've fitted many so far are the Yale XBS1 60mm backset or the or XBS2 40mm backset which are so well made and have the latest X5 cylinder type, anti-drill, anti-cut, anti-card, and so on. These locks are recommended by the police and all insurance company. The backset is the distance from the edge of the door to the centre of the cylinder yale lock.
They are pricey between £75 - £110 but Screwfix are doing a good deal in brass or chrome at here £55 including delivery but sadly no XBS2 with the 40mm backset is available with them at the moment.

Cilla Black also recently lost around £1m in jewellery this year after a raid on her home, near the Osbournes', that was not covered by insurance as she was adjudged not to have adequate window locks

I'm not trying to frighten you but feel you should know the situation.

 

[ninebob]

Excellent advice there Masona - particularly this bit:

Normally the front or exit door should be fitted with a 5-levers or is fitted with a lock conforming to Bs3621:1998 or higher spec. (you can see the date on the front lock plate cover, most of them are still 1980 )

My grandparents have many thousand pounds worth of antiques which are, of course, properly insured and the house has "high security" double glazed windows and doors. However, these were fitted before 1998 so I will make a point of getting them to double check that they meet the standard. (I'm assuming, of course, that just because an item is manufactured/fitted in c1990, it doesn't neccesarily fail to be compliant with 1998 standards...)

 

[HandyHands]

BS3621 :1998 is no longer the minimum security standard. This has been updated to BS3621:2004 - the main difference being a longer bolt throw (20mm).

Always check with your insurance company to see what their minimum standards are, and get this in writing.

See the MLA site for minimum guidelines http://www.locksmiths.co.uk/pdf/homeSecurity/Guidelinesforsecurity.pdf

ninebob - By "high security" double glazing, I hope you don't mean UPVC, as unfortunately the sales hype doesn't match the reality of these being crap.

 

[JohnD]

The 1998 standard, is that for the bigger 20mm bolt? Or is there something else?

(edited, HH was quick! so what is the difference in different verions? My back doors have Chubb BS 3G114's and the front door has a 30-year old Chubb detainer).

BTW, I just looked at my Direct Line policy (it came up for renewal recently) and it does not specify locks required. But as far as I remember, when I took it out, the application form asked what locks I had at that time (and still have) they were mostly the old BS and have not been changed.

 

[HandyHands]

Nope - the 2004 update requires the longer bolt throw. It will take time for the 2004 update to filter through, but these locks should be fitted to new builds/replacements now.

 

[ninebob]

ninebob - By "high security" double glazing, I hope you don't mean UPVC, as unfortunately the sales hype doesn't match the reality of these being rubbish.

I do indeed mean UPVC. I haven't been to the house for a few months, but from memory the units do look pretty good security-wise. For both doors as well as the windows, IIRC turning the handle slides about 8 or 10 bolts into place at various places around the edge, and turning the key obviously locks these into place. I'd be interested to learn how I can check whether they meet the standard for 2004. On the negative side, I do recall hearing that the company (StormSeal) went out of business about 2 years after they had them put in, so finding technical data might prove tricky...

 

[HandyHands]

Take a look at the mechanism make/model, and compare this against the Appendix E in the guidelines document above.

UPVC is a weak material compared to a wooden alternative, and the hooks etc are easily bypassed with a little knowledge. Additional surface mounted locks can be added for a little extra piece-of-mind.

Hope this helps.

 

[biffvernon]

Sometimes one wonders whether the lock makers, the insurers ( and even the burglars) are all in league. I've been told, but haven't tried this, that you can get round most locks in uPVC windows with a a few seconds work with a blow torch. Oopps, hope there's no burglars reading this. Hard for Cilla Black perhaps, but if one doesn't have anything worth pinching one can leave one's door unlocked and just not worry. Then Mr. Burglar doesn't do so much damage to the door frame with his crowbar but can just use the handle like everyone else. There's really not many locks, whatever their BS numbers, that aren't susceptible to a little persuasion with a decent jemmy.

 

[Nige F]

I take the Tony Martin approach

 

[masona]

BTW, I just looked at my Direct Line policy (it came up for renewal recently) and it does not specify locks required. But as far as I remember, when I took it out, the application form asked what locks I had at that time (and still have) they were mostly the old BS and have not been changed.

The trouble is, can you trust them unless it's in writing. I'm with Prudential and it explains everything in black & white on my policy of all the minimum details of locks Bs number & windows locks etc. At the moment Pru are accepting Bs3621 1998 or greater but some insurance will only accept 2004, like I say best to check it out and get it in writing.

 

[masona]

There's really not many locks, whatever their BS numbers, that aren't susceptible to a little persuasion with a decent jemmy.

The whole idea is to make it harder for the burglar to give up early and moving on the next before making any more noise. My front door will take a long time to break it down the way I've done it

 

[HandyHands]

A good wooden door with a properly fitted mortice lock, additional mortice bolts and hinge bolts, and with frame strengthening - would take a while, and a lot of noise, to jemmy open.

Nothing is burglar proof (unless you spend a fortune and turn your home into a fortress), but as Masona says - the idea is to make your property unattractive to the local pond life so they go onto the next one.

 

[Steve]

we just had our UPVC front door replaced with another UPVC one (about 16-17 years difference). The old one had 3 window sliders securing it when locked! ffs! Was this the standard back then on UPVC doors?

The new one, thank goodness, has funky bits of metal that come out all the way up and down from the handle but do the same BS's apply to UPVC doors as wooden doors? And would this meet those standards? (7 locking points i think!)

back door is a upvc double door, the 2 doors lock together and they both have a bolt that shoots into the top and bottom frames in the middle. Is this enough? bearing in mind it opens outwards and is part of a conservatory!

my auntie lives in a bad area (their neighbours keep trying to break in ), so my uncle screwed the back PVC windows shut and fitted extra locks to the PVC patio doors. Also fitted a new burglar alarm and sensors on all the windows and doors (after my cousin got home once to find a burglar in the house )

 

[Moz]

Masona

all well an good with the fear tactics ..lol

but insurers dont pay up at best of times

I came from a rough estate , an surrourds went not just doors ..lol

I always liked that BBC SHOW "BEAT THE BURGLAR "
it was in the mornings most peeps missed it ... , it showed an ex burglar doing a house as householders watched ...shockingly easy ..lol

as most burglars know front door NO-NO , back door with a shove ... an give..... no then NO ,
side windows open /shut , old wooden windows the little window frame punched through ..lol
upvc frames ........sooo many left them open down stairs ..lol
upstairs big windows open , trip into garage for ladder , or flat roof up in less than 6 secs

house then secured from inside as he strips every room ,

he was saying he was taking in excess of 30 k from a house a fence would give him 2 k , for a hour break in , 2 a week does him for the crack ...

when the householders going back too the houses an this guy had gone mental in the house like a real burglar ....
they were screaming an crying ... even though all was returned an house made more secure


big thing I found was every episode its open window or flimsy back door..

great REAL TV ......

 

[toffee]

you been on some fancy vacation ?