I’m selling a house (not my own) that has this style of entry knob on one door. I want to warn the buyers against the high probability of accidentally locking themselves out. I’d like to be able to tell them the correct name of this kind of lock it is so they can look up more information. Google searches and AI provided me several leads, but they all turned out to be something different that what I have.
On the inside, it has a knob with no keyhole but a thumbturn for locking and unlocking. However, the knob can still be turned and the door opened from the inside even when it’s locked. On the outside it has a knob with a keyhole, and (obviously) the outside knob can’t be turned and the door can’t be opened from the outside when locked. If it’s locked, you need key to unlock it from the outside.
I have already locked myself out of this house once because I forgot to unlock with the thumbturn before going out to check the mailbox. Luckily, I recognized the danger and was able to get back in with a key I had hidden outside. I knew the danger because decades ago I lived in another house with the same style of lock and accidentally locked myself out there too. But I’ve never known what this “feature” is called. (It’s not a bug because it was designed to work this way.)
It’s an “entry lockset” function. These vary, as some allow you to use the inside button/switch to keep the door unlocked, while others don’t. In commercial locksets (typically mortise locks), there may be a button function on the latch edge of the knobset that performs the function of permanently unlocking the knobset.
I have a front door like that. There are two buttons inside the edge of the door that lock or unlock the outside handle. I finally removed the buttons after too many kids found them irresistible.
I had an apartment with that type of lock, and I hated it. I locked myself out twice and was not happy about it. The first time, I had to call a locksmith. The second time, I had already hidden a key that I could use to get back in. There were no buttons that I could change the function of it. I did hang my keys on the door, though, so that I would have to move the keys to get out of the door.
That type of lock (I call it a Yale lock) has been standard on every home I’ve ever had until the one I live in now. I suffer from the opposite problem - several times since I moved I’ve gone to bed without locking the front door with a key from the inside so anyone could have just walked in and murdered me in my bed.
There are multiple happy mediums, here. You could still have a finger-operated latch on the inside, but where the knob doesn’t turn while it’s locked, so you have to manually unlock it before going out (this is what my apartment door has). You could also have a finger-operated latch inside, where you can turn the knob and open the door from the inside while it’s locked, but doing so unlocks it (this is one of the options on the doors at work).
Requiring a key from the inside, as yours does, does have the benefit that if someone gets into the house through a broken window or other tight space, they’ll still have a hard time taking big bulky items like TVs, since they won’t be able to unlock the doors.
And the downside of needing to find your keys if your house is burning down with you in it.
My front door is keyed on the inside, but there’s a key in it 24/7. I might consider removing the key if I was leaving on vacation (to prevent entry via broken sidelight window), but I’d want to put it back as soon as I got back home.
I hate auto locking doors with a passion. As a cat owner, I like closing the front door if I’m going to get the mail, or bring in the groceries, etc. and would HATE having to unlock every single stinking time. Not to mention the accidentally locking yourself out bit.
My friend’s door requires a key to bolt the door closed, in which case there is no way to open it from the inside without a key, but if the deadbolt is not engaged and you shut the door you can still lock yourself out because the outside knob does not turn,
Our door has this kind of lock too. It has become an ingrained habit of mine to immediately turn the button so it is unlocked when I let the dogs out first thing in the morning. We also have a dead bolt.
First thing I did when we bought this house and moved in was remove that type of lock and just put in a deadbolt with the strike plate screwed through the frame all the way into the studs. The handle itself doesn’t lock at all.
Right, in my mom’s house (which has that kind of locks), we only use that lock when nobody’s in the house (there are other locks we use when someone is inside). And for just keeping cats contained while stepping out to get the mail, or the like, a screen door works fine.
I am more familiar with the term ‘entry latch’ for that component as opposed to ‘lockset’. A latch is the knob or lever that latches the door in place. A bolt (or deadbolt) is a dedicated locking mechanism. The lockset is the combination of the two. A latch that has its own locking function is called an entry latch, a non locking one is called a passage latch. Latches have a ramped bolt for latching which can be shimmied open with a knife, a dead bolt cant.
You can buy them separate or combined as a lockset. Basic locksets usually have an normal knob or lever entry latch and dead bolt which both can be locked. More ornamental locksets will have a long handle thumblatch for the exterior, basic knob/lever on the interior and often no locking feature, relying on the deadbolt for security.
I always install passage latches or lockless thumblatches and deadbolts when building. Entry latches are a false sense if security and you shoild always use a deadbolt to lock the door.
It is actually against fire code (here in Calgary anyway) to use a double cylinder deadbolt. You cannot install these in a new home, it won’t pass.
You also must have a main entrance with an inswing door. Outswing doors can be blocked by snow or debris and are much harder to kick in in a rescue situation. If a secondary entrance uses an outswing door it must have a 6" vertical clearance to the exterior surface so it is not so easily blocked by snow
I inspect houses for damage after fires. It is terrifying. Make sure you know how you are going to get out.
Interestingly, in public places in the US, it’s required for exterior doors to be outswing, because in a fire or other emergency, the press of people inside trying to get out can prevent the door from opening.
For residential construction, inswing is much more common, but I don’t think that’s governed by code. Rather, it’s because a lot of residential doors have a thin screen door outside of them, and it’s easiest to do that with an inswing main door and an outswing screen door.
I’m familiar with this type that I’ve encountered all over in the UK. The inside is a lever to open the door, and there is nothing on the outside except a key hole.
Yale seems to call it a “deadlocking night latch”, but if Brits have a special word for it other than “door lock” I’m not aware of it.
And yes, the person I was staying with did manage to lock us out once…
Regarding inswing vs outswing outside doors, I saw a report suggesting the outswing type in locations like Florida where hurricanes are common because the wind will push the door closed. But yes, in the snowbelt, there’s the danger of a snow drift blocking the door.
Yes and that means that a double cylinder deadbolt is doubly dangerous, since when it’s locked, you can’t escape your home in a fire by kicking the front door outward.
It’s déjà vu all over again. In a recent thread, we discussed direction of swing for egress doors. There are exceptions to the rule that commercial (non-residential) doors have to swing outwards or in the direction of egress. This is true of both the International Building Code and NFPA 1/101. Many external doors in commercial buildings open inwards.