One of the biggest home security mistakes people (a lot of people!) make is to have a "hide-a-key" located near their door. Putting a key to your house--where your family lives and most of your worldly possessions reside--three feet from your door just isn't wise. If you think professional burglars don't know to look under the door mat, above the door frame, or under that little rock next to the path, you're wrong.
The most obvious fix for this home security problem is not to have a spare key laying around. If you're truly concerned that someone in the family is going to lose the key and not be able to get into the house, it makes sense to install something like this number pad door lock.
Installing this attractive Schlage Camelot Deadbolt Keypad (or any number pad door lock) means nobody needs to worry about carrying a house key around any more. Just program in a code, and your door will open up the same way an ATM works.
This keyless entry system is easily reprogrammed if you decide you don't want the cleaning lady, eldest son who won't move out, etc. not to know the combination any more (a lot simpler than having locks rekeyed!), and it's only supposed to take 30 minutes to install, so it ought to be a simple weekend project.
Other perks with the Schlage lock (which is available in a number of finishes, so you can get one that matches your door) include illumination for the keypad (so you can see what you're doing at night), a free-spinning keyway to prevent wrench attacks, and a key override system in case you forget the programming code down the line.
This particular number pad door lock costs about $275, though it's on special for quite a bit less at Amazon as I write this:
good article but what if we forget number for our door lock.. is there any solution for this..
Posted by: Disha | May 12, 2009 at 11:36 PM
In the present time everybody is worry for security of himself and his family. Many criminals eyes surround you every time. For that purpose you should install home security system in your house for avoid these bad eyes which always surround you.
Posted by: nat | June 15, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Disha, Can you read? "Other perks with the Schlage lock include a key override system in case you forget the programming code down the line."
Posted by: Reader | July 15, 2009 at 08:30 PM
The only downside to this product is that if you forget to keep up on battery maintainence they can die when you least expect it. I know from experience as a friend of ours had to climb through the doggie dog to feed our puppies while we were 100's of miles away on vacation. My husband and I actually make a product in Beaverton, Oregon called a RocLok that offers many of the same features (ie. a code you set and change) but it doesn't rely on batteries - at the very least I think that having a spare for your spare isn't such a bad way to go and if you are going to hide a key outside it shouldn't be unprotected.
Posted by: Melanie | September 20, 2009 at 04:33 PM
Yes. I definitely agree with your post. Some people tend to think that burgles are that stupid. So, as for me, I choose to look at all the possible outcome in order to prevent this from happening.
Posted by: Double Glazing Birmingham | May 02, 2010 at 06:44 AM