Locksmithing and Security

Close on the heels of the plea not to choose uPVC doors, comes a story of 14 uPVC windows.

The manufacturers of these accursed uPVC products tend to discontinue them after only a few years. And whereas wooden doors and windows can be kept in service for twenty years or more, once your uPVC window or door has failed (and it will) you won’t be able to repair – only replace.

I’ve just been to a job where the keys to the espag handles (espangnolette handles) on the uPVC windows were lost two occupants ago. Yes: the manufacturer has discontinued them and I can’t even get a key blank. All 14 handles will have to be replaced.

If you’re going to make a lock that will carry on working though ten years and ten thousand operations, there has to be play in the handle and the mechanism. So the excellent Yale #1 and Yale #2 have “loose” handles — on day one.

Yale #1

So does the Unican mechanical digital lock.

Unican Simplex 1000

One thing you do have to watch out for on a Yale #1 or Yale #2 is that the securing screws — the little fellers above and below where the bolt comes out — do work loose. So if the whole lock is wobbly, tighten up those screws — just until they pinch — don’t over-tighten.