Lock Fitting

Xmas Tips From A Barnsley Locksmith

As a Christmas “treat”, and with huge apologies to Clement Clarke Moore whose poem I may have shamelessly stolen and amended to reflect a more security conscious age... 

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the properly secured house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, as they’d been prevented entry by recently-fitted anti snap locks.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, but far enough from the fire to ensure no fire hazard presented itself.
In hopes that no-one soon would be there, for the locks, alarms and security lights should act as a real deterrent. 

Things to be aware of in Winter

Halloween will soon be upon us. I know this because going into Home Bargains the other day I was confronted with an aisle wholly devoted to Christmas. The Halloween section had been there since July, of course, and no doubt the Easter aisle will be in place before the end of November. 

With Halloween, comes all things spooky and a slew of horror films being released. I was pondering on these the other day and wondering how different some of the classic horror movies would have been had the participants paid more attention to home security. I know, I lead quite the life, don’t I? 

Different lock types for homes

Well hello there and a very Happy New Year to you. I don’t want to get all Mystic Meg on you but I’m sure that 2018 will be the year that a lot of things happen and some things don’t happen, whilst other things might happen. And remember, you heard it here first. 

Everyone’s heads can be in a bit of a muddle at this time of year what with the over-indulgence throughout Christmas, the not knowing which year to put on your cheques (if indeed anyone even writes cheques any more), and the knowledge that Donald Trump is inexplicably coming up to the first anniversary of his presidency. 

I thought I’d do my bit for the de-cluttering of your head by penning a quick reminder of the various types of locks you can get for your front door. I know, right -  it’s the New Year’s gift you never knew you wanted, but whereas the intricacies of gym memberships or the bank holiday affected bin calendar may be befuddling you, at least you’ll never be caught out by not knowing the difference between a nightlatch or a deadlock. 

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Advice on key safety

Did you hear about that time that Robert Louis Stevenson was sacked from his job as a maintenance man at the bird reserve? They had no choice really – he decked a jackal and missed a hide. I’ve told that joke to literally dozens of people now and not one of them have laughed, so this was my final go. I can sense the tumbleweed, but drop me a postcard or telegram if you did chuckle just so that I have some form of validation. Regardless of all that, there is a tenuous connection between that ‘joke’ and the subject of today’s blog which will all be about hiding keys – asking whether you should, and if so, the places you should definitely avoid. 

Ideally, you would never hide your house keys around your property. The safest place for them to be is on your person at all times. Hiding originals or duplicates anywhere away from you runs the risk of an unintended “seeker” coming across them, and gaining the easiest of access to your property. If you must hide them though, here are a few places you should certainly side-step. 

What are rim night latches?

Well, I had a draft of this blogpost written, giving thanks that all the excitement of the elections was over and adding that I thought I spoke for most of us when I said "STOP ASKING US THINGS, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD."  That draft didn't age well as I had rather assumed some normality would have returned by the time this was posted, but it appears that might not quite be the case, and the never-ending cycle of political news rolls on and on.

Mortice lock description

Well hello, I seem to have found a small window in amongst the never-ending elections in order to pen a new blog. Don't worry, I'll be staying well away from the politics today - after various referendums, elections both sides of the Atlantic, and the recent local and mayoral elections, I'd be quite happy never to see another party election broadcast ever again. The only "strong and stable" you'll hear from me will only relate to any locks I recommend you have fitted, and I promise not to bang on about it as often as some people do. 

What makes a secure front door?

Right, hello, you're looking lovely there. Hope you had a splendid Easter and all that - it'll be summer before you know it.  Now the pleasantries are out of the way, I thought I'd go back to basics on this month's blog. Not in a 1993 John Major campaign type of way because, well,  I'm not John Major, and I've not been up to unspeakable stuff with Edwina Currie - apologies if you thought that was me. Rather, instead of getting deep into the ins and outs of alarm systems, safes, window locks, grilles, and the like, I thought I'd concentrate on one thing and one thing only - the trusty front door. Or at least it should be trusty, but as we'll see, this isn't always the case. 

The simple fact is that if your house has the most secure front door in the neighbourhood, your chances of being targeted by burglars drop significantly. As I've said time and time again, burglars are lazy and want an easy life - 20 years of being in the locksmith business has shown me that they will take the path of least resistance every single time. The front door is still the main point of access for most burglaries, and having the right one in place can be intimidating enough for the burglar to take a glance and then move on looking for an easier target. 

So what makes a secure door? There are a number of factors, four of which I'll briefly touch on below;

What burglars look for!

Well, hello there. You may notice this month’s blog is slightly later than usual. Any connection between this, and the fact that the Olympics has been constantly on the TV for the last 2 weeks is purely coincidental, believe me.  Although wasn’t it great to have the sound of Breaking News notifications on your phone and find it signalled more British sporting success and not the latest death/resignation/terrorist atrocity, as sadly so often seems to be the case?

Anyway, now it’s back to reality, so today I thought I’d pen a refresher on the mistakes that people so often make with their home security, leaving their homes and property at greater risk from the threat of burglary and theft. I’ll use as the basis of this a survey carried out by Crimewatch and the BBC which found the things that burglars find most appealing about a property, and I’ll expand on a few of these.

Security tips in Barnsley

In the spirit of the time of year, and also with a nod to the BBC's current poetry season, cast your minds back to school when you may have been forced to study/enjoy (delete as appropriate) the poem, Ode to Autumn, by John Keats. Most of it now escapes my memory, lost in the distant past, but I do still remember the first line which went: 'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness' sounds good, doesn't it, and even to me, a non-poetry loving locksmith, it really invokes the atmosphere of this season. However, also as a non-poetry loving locksmith, I see another , less evoking side to Autumn, as the nights draw in and the evenings becomes progressively shorter. To represent this not-so-glorious side of the season, I've come up with my own alternative first line (with many apologies to Keats.).

'Season of thefts and callous lawlessness'

Okay, you can probably see why poetry's loss was locksmithery's gain, and, truth be told, it was unlikely I was ever going to be called on to be Poet Laureate, but despite all that, there is also a reality contained  within those clumsily edited words. For burglars love this time of year, stretching from now until Spring. Shorter days, longer nights - the cloak of darkness is one of their greatest accomplices, for them to carry out their thefts and lawlessness. So here's a seasonal reminder of things you can do to try to ensure you're not the one ending up reciting a bloody awful homage to Keats.