Front Door Lock Question

I had to replace the lock on my front door. The deadbolt (which is separate) is fine, but the “spring lock” connected to the door knob stopped working. That’s usually the only one I lock.

My old one worked the way I liked it: I let myself in with my key, and the lock stayed locked. I didn’t have to remember to re-lock it after letting myself in, I just slammed the door and went about my business. The new one does NOT work that way! It always unlocks itself when I let myself in. I went back to Home Depot and asked for the type that stayed locked. Granted, the associates there are not experts, but they told me no such lock exists.

I know they did exist, because I had one for the last nineteen years. Granted, they might not make them anymore, but I find that unlikely.

So, the question: Do they still make locks that stay locked? Where do I find one? And what is the proper terminology for that function that I’m looking for?

I know I should probably visit a locksmith shop, but I figured I’d plumb the expertise here first to pre-arm myself. Thanks, gang!

Yes, they still exist. I don’t know if they have a special name, but all of the interior doors at the schools I work for can be opened without unlocking them. Most of them you turn the key one way to open without unlocking and the other to unlock. The door to my office has a push button lock. To make it stay locked you push and turn the button 90º. To unlock it you have to turn it back, then it will pop out when you turn the knob or key.

This isn’t going to be a very GQ worthy first answer, since it’s based on vague memories, little experience and a bit of a hunch, but…

I think that if there are locks that work like that, they would be the ones that have a button on the interior side that you push in to lock. The kind that have a sort of dial/switch you *turn *to lock generally will unlock and stay unlocked when you use the key to open them. Was your old lock the “push button” kind?

But the more useful and certain advice I can give you for your current lock is to get into the habit of using your key to unlock and open the door, then with the key *still *in the lock and the door open, turn the key in the opposite direction before returning it to the “neutral” position and pulling it out. That way, it should re-lock the knob before you’ve even closed the door, and you won’t have to remember to lock it once you get inside.

(Meh, on preview, I see I got sort of ninja’ed…)

reported

FWIW, that’s the default find of door lock in the UK

Terms might be “self-locking” or “automatic locking”.

Looking around they don’t seem to be all that common, but several of the keypad style ones do what you want (and you don’t even need the key either). Obviously they exist - every hotel room I have ever seen and many dorm rooms come with locks like that, but they don’t seem to be popular/common for residential usage.

I think the mortice lock on the house I grew up in works this way (most likely original to the house – ca. 1940). IIRC, it had two buttons on the jamb side of the lock that you can use to put it in this mode. One mode would just be unlocked, and the other mode would be what you describe. Basically when you turn the key, it would unlock and you pushed the door open. If you let go of the key it would return to the locked position. Once you were inside it was still locked from the outside.

On the inside of the lock was a knob that you can use to engage the deadbolt. So if you had the deadbolt engaged and it was in “auto-lock” mode, you had to turn the key an extra revolution - first it undid the deadbolt, then the second half-revolution would work in the way I described above.

My folks had the exact same type of lock.
They recently replaced it, and had to get a “must-lock-manually” type.
One reason they replaced it was it took too much hand strength to turn the key to unlock the door. I suspect this may be the reason these types of locks have disappeared.

Right. I imagine also some people are uncomfortable with the possibility of locking themselves out of the house.

I remember it was acting up one time and we had looked into getting a replacement but found they were hard to find and a bit pricey when you did find one. The home depot workers didn’t even know what it was.

Kind of off topic… but the last doorknob I bought has a “feature” that I really hate. On every door knob I’ve ever seen, if it is locked, it’s locked on the inside and the outside. The new one will open from the inside if it’s locked. Got locked out soon after getting it. I’m in the habit of checking it now (and spare key in the garage).

What you are looking for is called a “night latch lock”. Try searching online for it.

By the way: good username/subject combo.

I think that the main reason is that the locks that need a key on the inside are simply more secure. I too lived for years with a ‘Yale’ lock which just slammed shut and always needed a key on the outside. Then I bought a new door, and now I need a key both sides.

Not only are these locks impossible to open with the old celluloid in the door jamb trick, but if thieves get in by some other route (a window?) they still have trouble opening the front door to cart your valuables to your car, the keys for which were handy on the hall table.

It is this type of lock that insurance companies insist on anyway.

Stopped in to post just that!

The term you’re looking for is “deadlatch.”

What you might look into is a “storeroom function” lock. It’s one-sided: keyed on the outside, nothing on the inside (the inside knob has no button or switch). It’s always locked from the outside, and always unlocked from the inside. As the name indicates, it’s intended for use on interior doors, but if you already have a deadbolt on the door the reduced security is probably not as big an issue than if this was the only lock on the door.

The problem with locks that need a key on the inside is safety. In a fire when you need to get out NOW if you have to fumble with the key, and hopefully you can still see, you might not get out in time. Most fire departments recommend leaving the key in the lock when you are home.

I’ve owned 2 houses and been though many different insurance companies over the last 30 years, and none of them have ever mentioned anything about door locks.

Commercial grade keyed entry latches function like this; you have to unlock the button on the inside and turn the handle to release the button, otherwise the latch will lock when closed. I am not sure that you will find the true commercial model at Home Depot, you may have to go to a proper Lock and Safe retailer.

If you are going to solely use the keyed entry latch for security rather than the deadbolt you should certainly go with commercial grade anyway. Residential grade keyed entry latches offer very little security and can be opened with a putty knife or even a credit card if the latch isn’t seated perfectly in the strike (they usually don’t).

I have the same complaint, I have locked myself out dozens of times. I made a hide-a-key so it is not a real big issue now.

Yes I will also add that the insurance companies I do work for do not care what kind of door security is used. After a break-in we replace everything with the exact same door and hardware that was there at time of break-in.

Double cylinder door locks are considered a fire safety hazard. The main exit of the house has to have a single cylinder deadbolt. You should not have to look for a key when you are trying to escape a fire. You are better off getting a door without a lite (window) that can be broken by a burglar and used to reach through and unlock the dead bolt.