People tend to spend a lot of money keeping their homes as safe and secure as possible. And of course, this is never a bad thing. There is no such thing as a home that’s considered to be too secure. Video-surveillance systems, home alarms, and motion-sensing lights all have key roles to play in home security but they lack just one thing. These security devices are passive and they offer no extra physical resistance to stop a thief from entering your home. That’s why it’s an absolute must that you have the best possible locks protecting your home’s exterior doors and those locks would be deadbolts.

Here is some useful information on deadbolts and what to look for when shopping for them.

Why Choose Deadbolts?

The simple and only answer here is because they are so strong. Deadbolt locks consist of a heavy-gauge metal throw (the ‘bolt’ in deadbolt) and an extremely strong strike plate. When the throw is inserted fully into the strike plate, it makes for one tough combination to break through. Why is it important to have the additional strength that deadbolt locks offer? The answer lies in the statistics from break-ins that occur in homes every year across the USA. Well over half of all these break-ins are done using forced entry. Heavy-duty deadbolt locks make it much harder for a thief to used forced entry means to enter through a home’s exterior doors. This is why locksmith services recommend you have at least a single deadbolt on every exterior door that your home has.

How Deadbolt Locks Work

Not only do deadbolts consist if a solid metal throws and heavy-gauge strike plates for strength, but they also have other distinct differences between them and conventional door locks. Conventional locks are spring-activated and this is their Achilles heel because it makes them easier to pick. Deadbolts have no springs inside them. They are only opened and closed by means of hand-activation. This makes them much tougher to pick than more conventional spring-activated door locks. So a deadbolt lock uses its combination of extra-strength and lock picking difficulty to keep any home safer and more secure.

Be Aware That All Deadbolt Locks Are Not Good Quality

Here are some important characteristics to look for in a deadbolt lock:

• Make sure they are rated ANSI Grade-1 ANSI is an acronym for the American National Standards Institute. They are one of the leading products testing agencies in the USA. They put products under extreme testing conditions to ensure they are safe and durable. Grade-1 is an ANSI rating that is only given out to the best products. Here are some of the tests that ANSI conducts on deadbolt locks in order for them to be considered a grade-1 deadbolt product.
  • It has been proven to work through 250,000 open/close cycles
  • Has a throw that inserts at least 1” into the door frame
  • Can survive 10 consecutive extreme hammer blows without breaking
• Install one with a six-pin keying system, these are much harder to pick than those with standard five-pin keying.
• Make sure your new deadbolt has a heavy-gauge steel or brass strike plate. It’s also important to secure that strike plate into the jamb and frame using large length screws (up to 3” long if possible).
• Try to get a deadbolt lock with a throw that’s at least a 1” long; a throw that extends 1” or more into a door jamb is extremely strong.
• Your deadbolt’s throw should have a free-spinning and saw proof hardened-steel pin located at the center of it. This makes cutting through it almost impossible.
• Locksmiths always recommend installing a deadbolt housing so that it protrudes into the door face instead of just being flush with it. This makes a deadbolt lock harder to break off with hammer blows.

Types of Deadbolts

Here are the most commonly used types of deadbolt locks:

• Single cylinder

  This is by far the most commonly used type of deadbolts. That’s because they are not only strong but other types of deadbolts are illegal to install in many states. They are activated using a key on the exterior portion of the door and by using a knob on the interior side of the door.

• Double cylinder

  Double cylinder locks offer more protection than single cylinder deadbolts because they use keys to open them from the outside or inside. That makes them great to use on doors that have embedded glass panes. Unfortunately, having to be opened with a key from the inside makes them unreliable to be opened quickly in the event of an emergency. This is why these types of deadbolts are banned from being used in many states.

Locksmith services are also great at maintaining and repairing deadbolt locks. It is very important to keep your deadbolts in good working order in order to keep your home door security at a high level. Most locksmith service providers even offer 24-hour emergency deadbolt repair services.

Tips for Keeping Your Deadbolt Locks as Secure as Possible

Here are some helpful tips to consider that will help keep your deadbolt locks protecting your home as well as possible:

• Make sure that the strike plate is installed using as long screws (3” screws work perfectly)
• Be sure to have your new deadbolt locks installed
• Try to get periodic maintenance done on your deadbolts (this is important for all types of locks, not just deadbolt locks)
• Limit the number of people that have access your deadbolt locks keys