Turning Our Home into a Castle: Locks
There’s an old Yiddish Proverb that says, “A lock is meant only for honest men.” This means that if I really want to get into something, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes, I’ll get through your lock. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have locks. This means that you should have locks and check that they are installed properly and functioning correctly.
One of the things I excelled at as a Green Beret is covert entry. The first time I was ever an honor grad at a school, the purpose of the school was breaking and entering undetected. My team thought this was hilarious because I was the most religious and honest man on the team. Locks just make sense to me. Most often, I don’t have to defeat the lock itself, the lock was installed ineffectively which then allows me to use a tool to bypass the lock.
Last weekend, I was called by an elderly widow that I attend church with, who had locked herself out of the house. I grabbed my tools consisting of a pick set, a pocketknife, and a thin metal ruler. I’m embarrassed to say I’m a bit out of practice. It took me a little over a minute to pick the lock on her storm door but then it took me about five seconds to shim with the metal ruler the lock on her front door. So, in under two minutes, I made it past two locking systems. If her front door lock had been installed properly, it would’ve taken me more time.
A lock is a delay. If it’s installed properly, it’s going to slow that person down which is going to give you time on the inside to be more prepared to greet them. Or if you’re not home, more time for someone to recognize that something is out of the ordinary.
The only thing in my home that is of true value, is my family. Every earthly possession is replaceable. When I’m thinking of securing my home, I’m thinking of protecting my children and my wife. So, we are going to focus more on the locks that will delay someone getting in while you are at home.
The first lock that we all should have is a good, sturdy deadbolt. I hate making lists, but two companies to always look for is Schlage on the high-end and Kwikset. Both quality products, and when installed properly, will act as a good delay. How do you know that your deadbolt is installed correctly? When you engage the deadbolt, does it go to FULL extension. Meaning that it travels all the way and clicks when it is extended into the door frame. If it does not, it is very easily bypassed with just a wire. This is a simple fix. Look into the doorframe, see if there is any material blocking the travel of the bolt. Remove the blockage. Here is another fix that everyone can do to the deadbolt and the knob lock. Remove the one-inch screws on the locking plate (that is the metal plate on the doorframe that the bolt travels through) and replace them with three-inch screws. This will increase the strength of the overall mechanism.
The next lock that every door should have is the classic chain. Yes, this is an easily defeated item, but it’s another layer of defense. Again, we are trying to buy time here. There are other door guard mechanisms, any of them will do. It may sound silly but remember, bad guys won’t always use the front door. One of these should be on EVERY door coming into the home.
The last mechanism I want to talk about is the classic wooden bar across the door. It’s medieval, but we’re turning our homes into a defensible castle. Funny story time. Many years ago, in Baghdad, a young twenty-five-year-old Sgt Johnson went to breach the door of a bad guy. As I smashed it with a battering ram, the doorknob and locking mechanisms shattered, and the door broke in half. The bottom half flew in and the top half remained secure. My squad and I had to duck walk to get into the house. A very effective three-inch metal bar was secured across the door about four feet off the ground. Just like you would expect to see in a medieval castle. This type of barricade is easily duplicated in our own homes. We can utilize curtain rod hooks, three-inch screw on either side of our door. Then utilize any barring material, such as, 2x4, rebar, strip steel, etc.
Not a locking system, but still a very effective item, is the door snake. No, not a venomous viper that we attach to our door, as cool as that would be. A door snake is a long fabric sleeve filled with sand or rice or other weighty material placed at the bottom of the door to seal the gap and prevent airflow. This will also act as a delaying mechanism.
Don’t forget about your windows. Make sure that you have good working latch locks on your windows. Another good idea is to cut an appropriate size piece of wood that can be placed in the window to prevent it from opening.
Remember, our locks are there to buy us time. If someone wants to get in, they will find a way. We want to make them take as long as possible and be as noisy as possible. Just like anything, a lock is useless if it’s not engaged.
Chris