It never ceases to surprise me how many people, even in this day and age and with all the publicity around opportunist crime, still leave an open invitation to opportunist thieves.
In a recent case in my area a home was burgled and many valued possessions taken.
It was even more disturbing when I found out that the thieves didn’t even ‘break and enter’ they simply used a key in the back door!
Many house owners tend to fit stylish locks to their front door, all manner of brass and other fancy metals cast or shaped into styles as varied as minimalist to Greco – Roman and in the main they are very secure. These same house owners, like my neighbours, then fit the cheapest and least secure of locks to the rear entrance of the home, the back door.
Many New Zealand houses still have the very simple two lever mortise locks fitted to their back doors. These locks are strong enough and easy to use however they are not very secure, you only need twelve keys and all these locks can be opened!
In the ‘good old days’ this was an excellent situation in that if you ever locked yourself out you could go to a neighbours house on the same estate and borrow their key.
Sadly today this type of lock is begging to be opened by a thief.
Mortise lock.
The best way to over come the problem is to remove this lock and fit a more secure unit such as a five lever lock. 
Mortise locks have two latches, one a spring loaded latch that depresses as the door is closed past the door jamb and then drops into the hole in the striker plate. This then holds the door in place until the door handle is turned which pulls the latch back against the spring and so opens the door. The other latch is the locking bolt operated by the key that will lock the door in place. This ‘bolt’ latch is moved backwards and forwards when the key is able to operate a set sequence of levers. The more the levers the more the combinations and the more secure the lock.
This is why you will see irregular cut shapes on all types of keys; the cuts on the keys match the shapes of the levers in the lock. As its name suggests the mortise lock is fitted into the edge of the door, this makes the lock fairly secure; a much more secure lock is a mortise deadlock.
This unit fits in the same way as the standard mortise lock into the edge of the door. The main difference is that it only has one bolt and that bolt can only be operated by a key and once again the more levers the lock has the more secure it will be.
The one disadvantage of this type of lock is that you will need another type of lock on the door that will simply clip into place (using a spring loaded latch) when the door closes and can be easily open by a lever handle. Otherwise as you come and go through the door, while at home, a key will be needed!
Finally the other type of lock that you might find on a back door is the Rim Lock.
This lock that mounts on the surface of the door should be used for privacy only on interior doors as they offer very little real security. If this is your only means of security on your back door fit a more secure lock immediately!
If you are unsure at all about security, talk to the experts at your local hardware store or locksmith. You don’t need to pay a tradesman a fortune as most locks even the most secure come with excellent fitting instruction and can be fitted by the home handyperson.
Another source of some very good information is your local community policeman, find out who he or she is and have a chat sometime!
Email Chris with any DIY questions and queries you may have.
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KiwiTussock - 10 years ago
I find it really sad to read about all this security stuff. I have a 92 year old mother who has always had unlocked doors. Even when she was living in Kew in London (between the ages of 60 & 80), she would left her back door open. Sure it had a gate to the rear garden but a railway line was on the back boundary and it sure as heck wasn’t even remotely “secure”. She loved her garden and had foxes visiting, and a few other neighbouring wild and tame animals. In NZ as a kid, we lived rurally in Norther Hawkes Bay and I had NEVER known of a key for the house. Even now at 92, in Hawkes Bay, she doesn’t lock the house. She lives on the out skirts of Napier.
We are much the same but do close the door and generally lock it but at least one or two windows are left open. We have never been burgled.
SO MUCH business depends so much on fear and us to feel fearful.
I dont get into that rubbish. Sure it does happen and then all one needs to do is to watch what the media starts on about and how they portray it.
We are all so conditioned to fear virtually every thing. The Police, the Tax Dept, or if going into the bush for a walk, driving down the road, DOC, Councils even if we can have a fire in our house. All this terrible stuff MIGHT happen. Garbage! I even saw 4 orange cones around a very small digger in a grassy paddock with stock in it. What a lot of bollocks!
Positive thinking and acting in positive ways brings only positive things. Look at what the USA has when it comes to deaths by fire arms. The live constantly with fear of violence and get what they fear. Compare it to Canada next door. Compare the US with Japan. Theres no comparison.
Imagine if we didn’t have TV. What way would folks get to experience the rubbish that is portrayed if others didn’t learn from what the see and live with on a daily /nightly basis. We can and I believe we will always live peaceful lives, if we think peaceful thoughts and care and show love and consideration for others.
Sure there is or are some who don’t do well in our society but if we shut our selves indoors and fear that something bad will happen to us, instead of getting out there and seeing what we might be able to do for someone who needs a helping hand for that day, even if its a bit of silver beet or a spud or two, don’t you think that we will likely live in more harmony and in peace. Im no christian or have any other faith, Im just trying to be a human being who cares and loves other human beings. It doesn’t matter what shape , colour or “economic” back ground we all have because we are all the same. We are all human beings with needs of love and acceptance, food and shelter.
I reckon, no…. change that to I know that a kind gesture can bring bountiful returns but sitting inside behind locked doors and hiding from the truth of the difficult times of the neighbours, will only bring them and us and frustrations and fear, pain and retribution in the way that doesn’t help society in the long term. The States is a prime example to look at and question.
If folks spent the money that they are planning or have spent on locked gates, high fences, electronic security systems, window locks, door locks, alarm services on giving to the immediate neighbourhood, why would there be that fear and line up of pills & need of doctors appointments for stress related or anxiety related troubles?
There, I have said my bit and earnestly hope that others will stop and look around at their neighbourhood and see where they can assist, in even with just a smile & kind thoughts.
I now live in a small rural town in Canterbury and find it so sad to se townies coming out here to live. I know they are townies because they put high fences all around their new houses. Dont they realise that they are not only blocking out the rural views but the community spirit that there is here. They are isolating them selves and then become fearful of “all of those strangers who are walking the streets and rds.”
Sad. So very sad. …and not only them but sad for the kids who wont get to know their pooch or cat on the way to school. The mums & dads who walk the kids to school wont get to wave or to be able to say gidday.
I wonder if they will ever say what a nice neighbour hood they live in.
I reckon its unlikely ’cause it will be too sterile.
Thanks for reading & I sincerely wish you a peaceful loving heart that will bring you much joy of life.