If you walk down the door accessories aisle of your local hardware or home improvement store, you’ll see dozens of choices when it comes to door locks. You’ll find locks in various styles and finishes, some with keys and some without. Unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, the choices can be quite overwhelming. While you may be tempted to buy the cheapest lock that the store carries, curb your urge until you understand how well the different types of locks can protect your home and family.

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Deadbolts

Deadbolts are the standard lock for most entryway doors. The lock typically works with a key from the outside and a knob from the inside. These locks provide ample security for homes that have solid entry doors. If your door has a window located near the lock, you may want to rethink the traditional deadbolt. An intruder can easily shatter your window, reach inside and turn the mechanism. If your door is solid, a deadbolt lock can be a great value at under $30, depending on the style that you choose.

Keyed Locks

If your entry door does have a window next to the lock, a keyed lock will protect your home and family better than a traditional deadbolt. These locks work in the same manner as deadbolts but utilize keys to open and close the lock on both sides of the door. Although you may find it slightly inconvenient to have to lock your doors with a key before you go to bed at night, you’ll be able to rest easier knowing that your family is safe. Keyed locks can be found for the same price as traditional deadbolts at any home improvement store.

Keypad Locks

Keypad locks are a convenient way to provide security for your home. Keypad locks range in price just over $100 to close to $200. These locks are secured and unsecured by punching in a code that you program after you install the mechanism. Because batteries power these locks, they can also be opened with a key. The locks are convenient for parents who don’t want to worry about their young children losing a house key.

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Apps

You may not know it, but you can buy a lock for your entry doors that works with your mobile device. These kits typically start at around $200 and come with the mechanism and application. Once downloaded, the app works as a virtual key from anywhere in the world. You can send your children, or anyone else, a “key” to their mobile device, allowing them entry to your home when you are away. The best thing about these virtual keys is the capability you have to designate how long they remain active.

Window Film

Even if you lock your windows before you leave the house or go to bed for the night, any intruder can break the glass and gain entry into your home. For about $9 a square-foot, you can purchase security film for your windows that is able to withstand up to 400 foot-pounds of force. Though the film should be installed by a professional, thus adding to its cost, it is incredibly effective when it comes to protecting your home.

The next time you’re shopping for locks for your home, don’t be tempted to buy the cheapest one that you see. As with many other things in life, you get what you pay for when it comes to locks for your home. The lock you choose should be based on fit, functionality and level of security that it provides. By understanding the types of locks that are available and how they work, you will be better equipped to choose the best lock for your home.

Laura Newkirk is a guest writer for locksmith.net where you can find the best San Diego locksmith.

For more home safety tips on Stagetecture, click here.

Every 15.4 seconds a burglar breaks into a home in the United States. That’s straight from the FBI. Families need every edge they can get to keep from becoming part of that statistic. Take these 6 home security tips to heart and you will be much safer in your home.

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1. Fortify the burglar’s easiest entry points.

Your back door, front door and garage door are most common ways for burglars to get into a home. Usually the garage door is the weakest and easiest target, followed by the back door. Burglars can often work on back doors and garage doors without being noticed by neighbors. They also know that if they get into a garage, many families will leave extra keys in parked cars.

Make sure your locks on all these entrances are strong. Install deadbolts on all doors that are outside or between the house and the garage. You can have a locksmith come through and get rock solid locks on all these doors. Also make sure your lock strike plates are rugged. When you have a door near a window, consider a “double cylinder” lock. It can be locked from the inside with a second key so an intruder can’t just break a window, reach around and turn the door knob.

2. Never give away the fact that you’re gone.

Most of us know to stop the delivery of newspapers and mail. Also, set up lights on timers around the house—including the outside—and keep a car in the driveway if possible. If you’re prone to bragging about your great vacation spots, be careful. Don’t boast in public about the fact that you’ll be “basking on a tropical beach for two straight weeks starting Monday!”

If you have a lawn, mow it just before you leave if you’ll be gone long enough for it to start looking a little shaggy. I don’t know how many people still use answering machines, but if that’s you, turn it down so it doesn’t blare every time the phone rings.

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3. Put locks on windows and sliding glass doors.

Those little thumb locks on windows are not very secure. Invest in window locks. Also, if you have a sliding glass patio door, it needs two shots of extra security. You need to prevent it from sliding with either a lock or a length of wood. Also, these can be easily lifted up and out of their tracks. You need a device to prevent this. A good locksmith can help you get your sliding glass door properly secured.

4. Fix your doorbell.

Here’s the job description for many burglars: Pretend to be a salesman. Ring the doorbell. If someone answers talk for a minute or two then leave and go to the next house. If no one answers, bingo, go around to the back and break in. If your doorbell is broken you could easily have an unwelcome intruder in your midst someday soon. Fix a broken doorbell and test yours regularly.

5. Use a home alarm system.

Homes that are equipped with alarm systems are far less frequently burglarized. Use it all the time, even when you’re home. It’s bad enough to come home and find that you’ve been robbed. It’s far worse to come downstairs and find out that you’re in the process of being robbed. Also, put the decals of the company monitoring your system on windows in the front and back. Burglars generally prefer breaking in through rear entrances. Also, don’t forget to turn it on when you leave. One professional burglar reports that 90 percent of the homes he victimized had alarms that were not turned on.

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6. Change all the locks when you move.

If you’re moving into a new home, switch out all the locks on day one. This is the perfect time to call in a locksmith, get a top-to-bottom inspection along with some sound advice, and have all your locks switched out. If you’re an avid DIYer, spend some time at your nearest home improvement center and invest in all the locks and deadbolts you need to safely secure all your doors and windows. Don’t forget patio doors and garage doors. If you are renting, be certain your landlord has changed the locks to your new apartment or house.

Follow these 6 home security tips and there’s every reason to believe that the bad guys are going to pass by your home and go find a much easier target.

About the author: These home security tips were provided by fc-locksmith-ottawa.com, a locksmith company serving the Ottawa area.

For more home security tips on Stagetecture, click here.

When your little tykes get big enough to crawl, climb, and walk around, you’re going to have to start worrying about a whole new level of dangerous things they can get into, especially in the kitchen.  Just the thought of a toddler rooting through the trash, getting stuck in the fridge, or opening a drawer full of knives is enough to send any parent into panic mode.  Luckily, you’re not the first parent to face these trials and tribulations in the course of child-rearing, so there are plenty of solutions out there for the concerned adult that would like to make the kitchen a safe place for the little ones.  Here are just a few tips to help you do so.

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Gates

Baby gates won’t keep your kids out forever, but they’ll work well enough during the stage where anything and everything must be sampled to see if it’s food, or when every door, drawer, and unseen surface that is just within reach (the stovetop, for example) represents an adventure waiting to be discovered.  So until your children are old enough to understand (and heed) you when you warn them that something is dangerous, your best bet to preserve their ongoing health and safety is to keep them far away from the many trouble zones represented in the kitchen.

Height

Your main advantage over your kids, at least when they’re young, is that you have access to overhead spaces that are beyond the grasp of their tiny fingers.  However, you should be aware that some kids are climbers, so although it’s a good idea to put harmful items in the higher cabinets, you may want to secure them against entry, as well.

Latches

While you can certainly keep some hazardous items out of reach in the kitchen, it behooves you to put latches on all doors and drawers (including the fridge), and there are a couple of reasons.  First of all, you can’t possibly store everything out of reach (unless you are okay with the idea of foregoing half of the usable storage space in your kitchen).  This means that potentially hazardous items (cleaning solvents, sharp utensils, and heavy pots and pans, for example) could be on the lower level.  And where would you put the trash?  Since you’ll have to store some items within easy reach of your children, simply secure them with child-proof latches.

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Locks

Kids are like little velociraptors, constantly testing the defenses.  So eventually they’re going to figure out how even sophisticated latching systems release.  You’d hope by this point they’d be smart enough not to drink the dish soap or pull an iron skillet down on their heads, but since you can’t really be sure of that, you may want to switch to locks on the doors, at least for cabinets that contain the most potentially hazardous items.

Alarms

Okay, so this might seem like overkill, but if your kids are persistent, some kind of closed-circuit alarm system could be necessary to ensure that they’re not breaking and entering in your kitchen cabinets.  If you’re really paranoid (say you have older kids that get left home alone on occasion, and you’re worried about the well-stocked liquor cabinet) you can even get an alarm system that alerts your smart phone when it goes off.  It doesn’t take a specialist in loss control management to know that kids are going to try to get into things they’re not supposed to when your back is turned, so you need to protect them from themselves by any and all means available.

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