Fitting A Screen Door Lock Shield To Improve Security
Our security and safety are paramount, so we need to ensure our entry point security sliding and hinged doors are really doing their job. Are yours?
If your security doors are installed with a diamond grille instead of a heavy-duty, tightly woven stainless steel mesh, you may have a security issue.
Once inside, we often flick the snib latch into the locked position, believing we are safe and secure. However, we need to be mindful that the snib can simply be unlatched by hand from the outside by peeling back the flyscreen mesh and gaining access through the diamond grille holes. These holes are large enough to allow fingers to reach in and around and unlock the snib latch. This unlocks the door and allows the intruder to enter.
There are 2 ways to remedy this potential breach.
Firstly, we could secure the lock internally using the key. This is referred to as dead-locking and overrides the snib latch. Although this is recommended, it can be frustrating trying to find your keys to unlock the door. Worse, keys left in the cylinder can simply be accessed through the grille from the outside.
Alternatively, Rolltrak’s Lock Guards are a high-strength, durable option. Once installed, they help to significantly limit access by intruders, through the diamond grille.
There are 2 types available, and both are very easy to install – the R8001 frame fit or the R8002 under-lock fit. Both are a universal fit.
FRAME FIT LOCK Guard – R8001
As the diagram below suggests, on the inside of the door, you simply align the lock guard centrally to the lock on the sunken aluminium frame face, which holds the grille into the frame.
Check the lock cylinder and snib are inaccessible from prying fingers from the outside through the grille. The screws are self-drilling. However, piloting the holes with a 3mm drill will assist in the ease of the screw installation. Install the top screw first, the bottom next, and then the two remaining central screws.
UNDER-LOCK FIT LOCK Guard – R8002
We use this product if we don’t want to drill holes in our security door frame.
NOTE: it’s important to be aware that by installing the Lock Guard under the lock, you will shorten the lock screws by the thickness of the Guard. Make sure there is sufficient thread to firmly reattach the lock furniture.
As the diagram below suggests, the Lock Guard is mounted under the lock furniture. This requires the inside lock furniture to be uninstalled. With the keys removed, simply unscrew the lock furniture screws and the lock handle, and the furniture should come away. Hold the outside furniture in place to avoid it falling.
The Lock Guard has a cut-out that should be aligned with the exposed cut-out in the frame. The lock furniture can now be reassembled over the Lock Guard, as shown in the picture below.
Check the lock cylinder and snib are inaccessible from the outside through the grille. Then tighten the lock furniture screws.
GET THE ESSENTIALS YOU NEED FROM ROLLTRAK
Ready to give it a go and try installing a new Lock Guard yourself? You’ll need all the right tools for the job, like a Phillips head screwdriver and a powered drill with a 3mm drill bit if installing the R8001 screw fit version.
Head down to your local Bunnings Warehouse to shop our range.
