20
Apr
2015
By Calvin at 11:29 GMT, 9 years ago
The basic five-lever mortice sashlock on my shed’s double leaf door packed up last week. It had come with the shed (the front half of which I use as my office) and was about 10-years-old.
‘Why didn’t you have a BS 3621 sashlock in the door?’ I hear some of you say.
Well, the office is alarmed, the hinges have been bolted through the door leaves, the leaves have hinge bolts and the second opening leaf is fitted with lockable bolts, top and bottom. In addition to this I fitted a steel plate on the outside of the first opener that covers the gap between the two leaves. I think that was enough and the insurers certainly didn’t ask any more of me.
So, there I was in my local DIY store about to buy a straight replacement five-lever mortice sashlock when I checked the prices. A standard five-lever mortice sashlock was £22, whereas a BS 3621 five-lever mortice sashlock was £25 – a ‘no-brainer’. (I could have a bought a BS sashlock online for about half the price, but I needed the thing immediately - shame)
I got home, removed the old lock and cut out a slightly deeper mortice for the much bigger and beefier striking box. I deliberately didn’t remove any further timber around the striking box’s plate to allow it to fit flush, but instead screwed the plate onto the surface. This is because the door leaves have shrunk over the years and by fitting the box in this way I have regained 2mm of the gap, which means that more of the deadlock will be engaged. The whole job took me 25 minutes.
There are BIG differences between the two locks. The BS 3621 lock has
- Many more key-differs
- Much more substantial fitting screws
- A drill resistant case
- A more substantial deadbolt and live bolt
- A more substantial and ‘boxed’ striking plate
- Is insurance approved
- Has a 10 year guarantee
- Overall the BS lock is a lot more substantial – it just feels more secure
- It’s pick resistant, but this doesn’t mean it cannot be picked, as given time and the right equipment an experienced locksmith can still unlock it.
The one I bought happens to be made by Yale. Interestingly I see they’ve done away with the separate brass cover plate, which is now already fixed in place, thus saving on two extra fixing bolts and the deadbolt has rounded edges making location in the keep easier and saving a little on material. The only downside is the rather cheap looking key, which doesn’t really match the otherwise decent quality of the lock. That said; if this is what it takes to keep the price down, so that all of us can affordably upgrade our locks than that’s a compromise worth having.
A cylinder version of this lock, using a Kitemarked cylinder, is a lot more expensive, but I judged that the risk of breaking into my already well-secured shed did not warrant the extra expense.
So, there we are. Calvin was doing a bit of home security over the weekend. I hope you were too!
Don’t forget; if you’re planning to improve your home security this year do please complete our home security survey. It’s designed to identify the extra things you can do to improve your risk assessment score and it’s all free!
Home Security Survey http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/home-security-assessment/468/home-security-survey--diy/
