In my experience there are two type of locking doorknobs for exterior doors. One allows you to lock the door and still open it from the inside, the other prevents the knob from turning even on the inside when the lock is engaged.
Is there an industry term for these two configurations? Something that would appear on the packaging at a big box home improvement retailer so I could tell the difference?
Being accustomed to the ‘knob will not turn when locked’ variety, has led to many hilarious adventures outside the house in a bathrobe or less for me. I know my neighbors and I would both like to reduce the number of these excursions.
It’s generally one of the defining differences between Schlage and Kwikset. A basic Schlage lock with still allow the inside knob to turn while it’s locked where as a Kwikset when locked does not allow the knob to turn.
Another option, if you’re buying a new doorknob, is to get one that does not lock at all, or can be set to not lock at all, and use the deadbolt to secure the door.
This is interesting news to me. In the years I have been buying my own locksets, I have only encountered the kind that can always be opened from the inside. I find them somewhat frustrating, because all my life I’ve tested to make sure I’m not about to lock myself out by wiggling the door knob as I’m leaving, but I always wiggle the knob from the inside, because that’s the one I’ve already got my hand on. I simply assumed it was a new safety feature to prevent delay in evacuating in the event of a fire or something similar.
