Before and After

[LovelyLadyLux]

I've slowly been going through this house and updating and changing what needs to be changed. The original front door was a lovely big old wooden door but was a solid wooden door and the sidelights gave me no chance to actually see who was at the door.

I know I could have drilled a peep hole in the door but didn't really want to do that.

My front door is also inset back and with the dark door makes for a dark entrance way so I've always planned to change it.

Have had a couple Contractors come and give me prices which were astronomically high as they wanted to pull out the entire frame and replace door + sidelights as an entire unit. I never saw the need and finally found a place that would sell me a door plus two sidelights in fiberglass.

I actually ordered the door slab and lights and the side light slab plus window lights back in August. We have nowhere here on the Island that does leaded glass soooo I'm not sure WHERE it all had to come from but it has taken forever and all decent weather has passed - so who doesn't change out a front door in the cold of winter?!?!?!

Anyway - two weeks ago had the guy come and take the wood door to the door shop and they then cut out the new door (hinges/locks etc) to match the old door. Thursday they came and installed.

Turns out the OLD sidelights were NOT tempered glass!!!! Never knew but one sharp knock and they'd of broke and one did break when he was delicately taking it out.

Am quite happy with the result. They've got the new door on and the two old side lights caulked and in place and soon as the weather warms up (it'll be a few months) they'll be back to sand down the wood and paint it all white.........so the brown stripes will go.

BEFORE (from the inside)



AFTER from the inside and outside

[Ruby Slippers]

The change it makes is fantastic! Good for you! Looks great too.

[Horus]

Cracking job it looks really good you made a great choice

[LovelyLadyLux]

Thanks - the entrance being set in has always been dark and I have had absolutely no way to know IF anybody is outside at the door or if there is 1 person or 10. Now if I turn on the exterior lights I can, at least, SEE who is out there. Really adds extra light to the area too. Probably going to be spring before I can get the brown painted white but, at least, after months and months the door is IN.

[Mad Dilys]

Just lovely! If this was my house I'd change our front door too - though it does let in plenty of light and you can see who is there. Ugly though.

[Ruby Slippers]

I'm certainly looking to change mine, but I want a door with a five bolt locking system, and WITHOUT a handle on the outside! I seem to be asking for the moon though!

[Grandad]

I'm certainly looking to change mine, but I want a door with a five bolt locking system, and WITHOUT a handle on the outside! I seem to be asking for the moon though!

@Rubyslippers Sounds as if you are very security conscious RS, any reason for that? Any previous break ins?

@LovelyLadyLux The new front door and panels look great LLL, very smart.

As we live in a town house there is no large hall or large front door. I still have the original wooden door which was panelled at the bottom and single obscure glazed at the top. I removed both panels and fitted double glazed panels in their place. There is a Yale lock but I also added a Yale five lever deadlock. In addition I also fitted into the actual door, concealed shoot bolts at top and bottom, we just use the top one each night. The knob on the door is just a pull knob and is not used to open the door.


So, security wise I don't have any worries. If somebody wants to break in they will find a way but if we are in the house they would at least have to smash the glass and we would certainly hear that....

[Horus]

I have a saying and it goes like this “Locks only keep honest people out” It is my opinion that almost every type of security can be bypassed usually with brute force. The determined criminal will have ways of getting through most doors and windows if they really wanted to, basically they smash their way in, steal something valuable then leg it before the neighbours or the police can react.

[LovelyLadyLux]

What is a 'five lever deadbolt?'

I bought a new deadbolt for this door essentially to match a new silver tone (referred to here as brushed nickel) door handle as the old door looked to have a door handle that was one gold (not real brass) and spray painted over black. The dead bolts here all have ONE single bolt that goes across.

The daughter and son in law have another kind of door security whereby it mounts at the very top of the door. You have to pull is across the door and then pull it back. Sometimes a bit difficult for me as it takes some strength in your fingers but it does keep the door very secure.

As Horus says a determined thief is going to get in. This place has 4 windows across the front and smashing any one of them means you'd easily step into the living room OR walk around the back and you've got 1 waist height window or come up the stairs and you've got a sliding glass door (I don't like sliding glass doors) and another window so if you're into smashing windows this place wouldn't be too difficult and this is the design of many houses here.

[Grandad]

What is a 'five lever deadbolt?'

Nothing more than a lock that you HAVE to lock with the key as opposed to a Latch that secures when you close the door.
The levers simply refers to the number of lever plates indide the lock that have to be lifted the correct amount for the lock to 'unlock'. That is why the key has different castellation pattern for each lock.

I agree with you LLL and Horus about what lengths a determined thief will go to to gain access. Most window and door locks simply make it difficult for all but the most determined thief.

We have an aluminium patio door at the rear of the house at the side of the extension. Many years ago some chancer tried to 'jemmy' the doors open but as I had fitted a patio door lock he was unsuccessful. Fortunately he did very little damage that I was able to repair. We were not in the house at the time and a seasoned thief would have smashed his way in.

Without going into a long story, we are sure that we know the culprit who had been inside our house with his girlfriend a few days before.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Houses here now don't have screen doors. We don't get that many bugs flying about so there really is no need (although all my windows do have screens on them) but I did like having a screen door as you could lock them yet allow as much airflow coming through as possible.

The dead bolt here has an turn knob on the inside that you turn to move the bolt and then a key on the outside to open the door.

When I bought this deadbolt and door handle the clerks were telling me that more and more key locks here are being phased out and everybody is now going to the new keyless entry in that there are keypads where you punch in a series of number. Apparently this allows you to easily change your lock combination.

I checked in several stores and all the clerks referenced this new type of door lock and one said he had it on his house (probably did as was the owner of a door store) and said he'd only had a problem once when the temperatures dipped really low. Apparently it didn't work then. Kinda thought to me that 'yeah' the coldest night of the year would be the exact time I'd want to get stuck outside!!

I don't believe KEYS are necessarily disappearing in my lifetime and I have noted when I was getting keys cut for this new lock that the Hardware stores now have a machine whereby the clerk inserts the key and it is laser cut to match. No more having a clerk hand cut a key following the lines of an old key.

My concerns with the new keypad locks is that hitting the same numbers over time WILL create a discernable pattern. You might not know which combo of 4 numbers goes first, second, third, fourth but IMO over time you can see wear patterns which would narrow down figuring out the combination.

I also opted for keys as I hand them out to the daughter, son in law and they don't need to be memorizing lock combinations (me either).

[Grandad]

I also opted for keys as I hand them out to the daughter, son in law and they don't need to be memorizing lock combinations (me either).

Picture the scene: You have fitted a keypad lock, you arrive home on a snowy night, temperature minus twenty, you are desperate to get to the bathroom, you punch in the wrong code because you changed it that morning, you now have a problem remembering the new code..............you wet yourself.

Stick to good old keys

[LovelyLadyLux]

Keeping keys is exactly what I intend to do. I think have electronic locks based on batteries or whatever may be something coming in the future but so long as I'm moving I'm going with a key. The garage door can be opened off a key pad with a combination coded in though. I rarely use it, really don't like it but don't know how to disassemble it so it lives on as something I acquired with the house.

I really don't come in and out the front door that much as usually when I'm leaving I'm driving and so go out the garage door with the vehicle. I think it is a fad they're pushing here right now and I'm sticking with hard cold metal KEYS too.

[Horus]

What is a good idea is to buy one of those code operated key boxes then fix it somewhere discreet. In an emergency you can always give someone else the location and code number either verbally or over the phone should you need them to enter your house while you are out, or even in an emergency while you are still inside, handy for friends and family.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Technically I do have a code box on the garage door and by entering the code you can get into here so am not entirely locked in or out Key-wise.