locking yourself in

I locked myself in my first night at my flat.  And then couldn't get the door unlocked from the inside!  I panicked because I didn't know anyone in the city yet.  It took me 15 minutes to get the door unlocked and I never locked myself in again.

We had a deadbolt lock that had to be keyed from the inside on our side door in the US.  I was afraid of the fire hazard so we had a spare key made that we left hanging near the door (no mail slot).  Did that make us burglarproof?  No.  The thieves just crow-barred the door and broke a chunk out of the wall.

I've been silent on this thread because in 20+ years I've lived here, I have never encountered the type of door you're talking about.  I can't even picture it in my mind! 

We had a lock like that in our flat when we were first married.  I can't remember what we did.  I think we kept the key in the lock on the inside maybe.  Now we have one of those turney things inside and a key lock outside.  Our backdoor just has deadbolt slidey things inside and noway to lock from the outside.  That's kind of annoying.

The family I lived with in the UK had a door where you had to have a key to get in and get out, but they kept a spare set of keys on a nail near the door. That way there was no rushing around looking for the keys if they wanted to let company in or get out of the house fast.

i had locks just like you're describing growing up in the US.  it's not just a UK thing.  there was always a key left in the front door since there were no windows nearby (and you could still unlock the front door even with the key sitting in it on the other side, so they don't all work the way that has been described) and for the back door, we had a key permanently hung up in a place that wasn't visible from the windows.  it was a much safer system since our back door had glass. 

To be honest, I'm looking for this kind of lock here in the US and it's very hard to find a double-keyed deadbolt!  Our front door has plate glass windows so it would be very easy for a burglar just to break the window, stick his hand in, and turn the deadbolt to open the door.

Growing up, our front door had a double-keyed deadbolt.  My parents kept a spare deadbolt key on a nail high up on the doorframe.  We'd be locked in at night, plus the alarm system would be on.  Now that's security!

To be honest, I'm looking for this kind of lock here in the US and it's very hard to find a double-keyed deadbolt!  Our front door has plate glass windows so it would be very easy for a burglar just to break the window, stick his hand in, and turn the deadbolt to open the door.

You can get double-keyed deadbolts at Home Depot.

I'm a little puzzled by this, as, when I was growing up here in the UK, all I knew about was that most people had "Yale" locks. No key needed on the inside, only when entering from the outside. The Yale lock locked the door instantly once you closed the door, whether closing it while standing inside or outside (meaning you had better always check you had your keys when you left the house!!)

You never needed to turn a key to lock it, either from outside or in, but you needed a key to unlock it from the outside. If you were stepping outside just for a moment -- to get the paper/milk etc, you could push a little trip on the side that prevented the lock from locking even if the door closed all the way.

Yale locks were basically almost universal in the UK I used to know, and they were convenient as no manual locking with keys was required -- I'm surprised to hear of these key-requiring locks on this thread now. Goes to show a lot has changed.

 

I locked myself in my first night at my flat.  And then couldn't get the door unlocked from the inside!  I panicked because I didn't know anyone in the city yet.  It took me 15 minutes to get the door unlocked and I never locked myself in again.

At the same flat I mentioned earlier in this thread, the lock was really tricky and one time I spent 45 minutes trying to get the door locked so I could meet my bf for lunch.  I even had someone come over to help and he couldn't get it to lock.  By the time my BF's flatmate came one I was standing there with my head against the wall just turning the key over and over again hoping it would magically lock.  It never did. 

Overall, most people on this board do not have great things to say about the advatages of being locked in (especially if there is no window on your door). Yet, most of us have locks on our doors that require us to lock ourselves in. Given that the locks can be easily changed to prevent this (at least if you own your place), it surprises me that more of them not been changed.

I also find it surprising that this would actually be something which a realtor would think is going to make a house harder to sell.  If you're spending $100,000 on a house, is $50 to replace the outside door locks with types you like going to be a big deal? 

Yale locks were basically almost universal in the UK I used to know, and they were convenient as no manual locking with keys was required -- I'm surprised to hear of these key-requiring locks on this thread now. Goes to show a lot has changed.

It's changed as PVC doors which have extra locking points have become more common.  In the "old days" the spring-latch on the Yale lock was often the only thing keeping the door locked. 

Look at the newer types of door, and you'll see that in addition to the spring-latch which is operated by the handles inside and out, there are also mutliple locking bolts down the side of the door which slide into slots in the frame when the door is shut.  There is a separate locking action when the handle is lifted which slides all those extra bolts into place, then the key is used to lock the handle assembly. 

We, and I think most people who lived in houses built around the turn of the century, were fitted with the Yale and the mortice lock, which needs a key to lock/unlock inside and out.  Just having a Yale is not v security conscious, and sends insurance rocketing.

We had a chain and a bolt as well!

Vicky

We, and I think most people who lived in houses built around the turn of the century, were fitted with the Yale and the mortice lock, which needs a key to lock/unlock inside and out.

A lot turn-of-the-century homes would have had just a mortise deadbolt originally, with a separate spring latch.  In fact you'll still find a lot of old cottages around rural areas like this which still have that arrangement, even if the fittings themselves might date back only to the 1930s or so.

Just having a Yale is not v security conscious, and sends insurance rocketing.

But it was very common on new homes at one time.  That was before the burglary rate went through the roof, of course.   

I'm a little puzzled by this, as, when I was growing up here in the UK, all I knew about was that most people had "Yale" locks. No key needed on the inside, only when entering from the outside.

These are called "cylinder nightlatches" in the trade. They are easily forced or slipped with a credit card and are not very secure. Many home insurance policies require locks with more security for example a cylinder lock with a deadlock feature. These can be "dead locked" by turning the key twice. In fact Yale actually make one called an "Insurance Nightlatch" which conforms to British Standard BS 3621, which is the standard most insurance companies demand.

I'm surprised to hear of these key-requiring locks on this thread now. Goes to show a lot has changed.

The wider use of home contents insurance for one thing. It's not necessarily that there is "more crime" or that people are more "worried" about crime, I don't think, but rather that if you have an insurance policy you need to avoid the company refusing to pay out on the grounds that you had not attended to security properly.

I also find it surprising that this would actually be something which a realtor would think is going to make a house harder to sell.  If you're spending $100,000 on a house, is $50 to replace the outside door locks with types you like going to be a big deal? 

Regardless of whether it's a lock you dislike or not, I'd have thought changing the locks when moving into a house was a good idea anyway. That was one of the first things I did when I moved in, you don't know who might still have a key for the house.

Regardless of whether it's a lock you dislike or not, I'd have thought changing the locks when moving into a house was a good idea anyway.

Very true.  Replacement cylinders for the traditional Yale lock are cheap and easy to change, and if you have one of the modern Euro-lock mechanisms (linked above), while you're changing the barrel for overall security you can easily replace it with the type which has a thumb-turn on the inside instead of a key.