Better Locks for All

Big things are happening at AC Locksmiths; I went to an industry Expo this past weekend (exciting stuff, I know!) and came away with the feeling that while I have been happy with the service I have thus far provided for my customers, there is room for improvement.

Regular readers of my blogs will know I am driven to educate my customers that fitting BSI kite marked products ensures, at the very least, that insurance standards are met. Yet, I still carry many non-kite marked products as I have also had to compete with other locksmiths on price. This has always been hard, because I have yet to find another locksmith who advertises their costs. So therefore, I am contradicting myself.
With that in mind, come this Spring, instead of fitting like for like standard locks with the option to upgrade, I will be fitting the best standard locks I can in all cases, where possible.

To give an example of the difference, let’s look at the barrel lock of a UPVC door. If your barrel does not display a kite mark, it’s a bit like having a small factory standard hatch back car. It serves a purpose. There are modifications you can make, but the barrel is still vulnerable as the car is still a hatchback and you wouldn’t want to drive across America in one. You can now buy kite marked cylinders in the shops. These however, are 1 star rated and still vulnerable to attack and so you need extra products like armoured handles or cylinder guards. So this is like the factory standard family saloon car. More comfort, but you still need to buy the extras to want that something special. The locks I will be carrying to fit as standard are made by British Company ABS and they are a stand alone 3 star and Sold Secure Diamond rated. This is like the car you want to own. For me it’s a ’69 Corvette. For my wife it’s an Audi A4. For you it might be a Lexus, or a McClaren F1. The point is, this lock is that good! BS3621 has now been superseded by a new standard which is TS007, and this lock fits this standard without buying additional products. At the price I will charge for this product (more on that later) it will be cheaper to install than buying a 1 star rated barrel from the shops and the extra kit to achieve the same level of protection.

Of course it will not always be possible to install the very best and I am always understanding of budgets, so as always, I will be happy to order standard products and return within 48 hours at no extra cost with the lesser quality product. In extreme cases, second hand products will be available, subject to undamaged removal from previous properties (although these will not have the same guarantees).

In addition to the above, I can provide more security in the form of safes to fit all requirements, be it for documents, jewellery, lap tops and beyond, even up to commercial level. I have a full brochure of safe products, most of which can be delivered and fitted within the week.

Of course, for all the locking products in the world, I cannot make or install burglar proof glass and there is always the window as a method of entry for the determined intruder. And with that in mind, I also install wireless CCTV and alarm systems which can even send a direct message to your mobile phone and be pet friendly, allowing your animals to roam free while being alert for larger human size intruders.

I also intend to improve on my already outstanding personal service, (see testimonials page) by explaining the items I am fitting and what makes them great in more detail so my customers know that they are getting true value for money. So, what about cost? Well, the Spring and Summer seasons are going to be a trial period.

* I am freezing my labour cost at £50.00 flat fee regardless of time (remember most charge hourly).

* I am also going to keep my work labour free if the locking products come to more than £100.

* A full BSI 3621 Nightlatch kit will remain at £116.00 (cheaper than buying it yourself and paying labour to have it fitted).

* If it is just a Rim cylinder (Yale type lock) that you need the price is rising to £38.00 as I will be using the ABS range which are as good as the UPVC barrels described above.

* A mortice (Chubb) with handles will remain at £62.00

* A mortice deadlock (no handles) will rise to £44.00

* The ABS UPVC Euro cylinder will trial throughout Spring and Summer for £62.00

* The Standard UPVC Euro cylinder will remain at £42.00 (although you may have to wait 48 hours for one to be ordered)

Of course there are many more products that I supply and fit, all of which I will price for you before ever starting any work so you can decide whether to go ahead or not. Please check back for updates as to exact start dates for the new prices and please feel free to contact should you have any questions.

Thanks for reading.

admin April 3, 2014

insurance standard locks / Locksmiths norfolk / Safe installation /

Commercial Locksmith Norfolk

On my outings as an average shopper, I cannot help but look at the locks I pass. I find myself guessing how quickly I think I could get into a lock should the owners lose their keys. For many shops and businesses, the estimate is scarily quickly, and I am not thinking about using power tools either, because it is my job to try and think like a burglar and they want to be in and out as quick as possible.  

Just think about this for a minute: The intruder of a shop can usually see exactly what he wants or can legally enter and scout the shop during opening hours, so once he is through the door, it takes very little time to get what he wants and leave before anyone knows anything about it. He does not have to search room to room as he would in a house and so theft is much easier.  

Warehouse type businesses have great big doors, often with ram-posts behind to stop them being driven through, but if the office door is easy to attack, then what is the point of the other security. It has to be all or nothing. 

Complacency is easy, after all isn’t that why we have insurance? But insurance companies are businesses themselves and they are also about making money, so if they have to pay out for your loss, have a stiff drink ready for when your renewal time comes around. Or be prepared for business upheaval when they list a string of new measures to be put in place so that you can continue to be insured.  

So, what is to stop you having the best security you can?  

Is cost a factor? No. Quite simply, making sure your premises is as secure as it can be, is a business cost and therefore should be tax deductible. Yes, you may need to pay for it now, but the cost can be offset when you put your tax return in and therefore reduces your tax bill.  

Will it interfere with my customers? Not so. Most residential or commercial locksmiths will work outside of normal business hours, so your customers won’t be inconvenienced and a CRB should tell you the locksmith is trustworthy should you want to go home yourself. I personally would be quite happy to work late into the night to get the job done if it was needed. 

So what measures might one take? 

Firstly, just about all new business premises have double glazed doors, be they UPVC or of metal construction. Unless they have a kite marked cylinder, they are easy to break into without power tools. Have these changed as a priority and ask your locksmith for a 3 star rated cylinder as these really are the best of the best. 

If your business is based in an older building, how about fitting a magnetic lock with remote fobs? The power can be switched off during opening hours and then the staff who need to get in at opening times simply zap the device which will cut the power allowing entry.  

Don’t rely on security grilles either. Inside ones are better as the locks face away from the intruder and cannot be got at easily, but the big shop front grilles are only as good as the locks and many can be picked in the same way a standard rim cylinder (‘Yale’) can be. And if they are held in place by padlocks, then the quality of the padlock needs to be of a suitable standard. I wouldn’t spend less than £60 for a top European rated one that will really slow the attacker down.  

Of course we know that nothing is impervious to attack, but the idea is to make it as hard as possible. But what if they do get in? Do you have an alarm? And if you do, is it one that just rings, hoping for a passer by to actually contact someone who can investigate? How long will it be before you actually find out your business in under attack? There are now wireless systems that can send a message direct to your phone as soon as the alarm is triggered so you can act immediately. 

There is CCTV that does the same; sending you direct images of what is happening in real time. And again, wireless technology makes these systems easy to install with minimum disruption. 

So, why be a victim? If you own your business property, make sure your assets are protected. If you don’t own it, ask your landlord to make sure your property is up to scratch.  

You can talk to me about any of the above issues by any of the means on our contact page. 

Thanks for reading. 
AC Locksmiths Norfolk

admin March 11, 2014

Business locksmiths / Commercial Locksmiths / Security advice /

Rented properties with sub-standard locks.

Rented properties with sub-standard locks. 

Last night I was called to replace a lock because the old one had failed. Both the landlord and tenant of the property were present which made life convenient when showing them that the old lock did not meet insurance standards. So, had the lock not failed, and at some point the property became another burglary statistic, the insurance company would not have had to pay out. If you are a tenant renting a property, make sure your landlord has insurance rated locks in place. If you don’t know what to look for, call a professional. Any decent locksmith will check for you free of charge or at least go through the signs with you over the phone. If you are a landlord, put insurance standard locks to all final exit doors of your properties and then use that as a selling point. It should be tax deductible, so why not do it?

Benefits of the three main types of lock at insurance standard (Or BS3621):-

  • On a wooden door, you normally have a Night latch (Yale) type lock and/or a mortice (Chubb) lock. There are many brands but Yale and Chubb seem to be the ones people use most. Night latch; If you cannot see a kite mark, then it either needs replacing or there should be another lock on the door that does have a kite mark. A BS3621 rated Night latch will have a protective surround to the key hole, which when fitted correctly, will be reinforced by additional screws set into the inside of the door. This surround makes attack by drilling a lot harder. It has more pins than the standard cylinders making it a lot harder to pick and ‘bump’. It also automatically deadlocks when the door is closed, making sure nothing can be slipped between the door and frame to open it that way. They can also have a key operation on the inside, which means if a burglar breaks in through a window, he cannot carry anything out the easy way through your door (although whenever you lock it from the inside, you should be sure where the key is in case of fire). There is also a push button snib, which, while not an insurance requirement, does have its advantages as readers of previous blogs will be aware.
  • The mortice lock; These are the ones I find to be most lacking on rented properties. If you look at the lock where it sits in the leading edge of the door, the absolute minimum requirement is that it is a five lever lock and it will usually say so. Sometimes the locks are so old and dirty, it is hard to see. Ideally it will have a kite mark which will bring it up to insurance standards. But beware, because I have come across a couple of instances where the faceplate of a five lever lock has been put on a lesser model. If anything looks mis-matched, then investigate further. If you remove the lock from your door, a genuine BS3621 will reveal the following features – The bolt itself will have some sort of anti-saw feature. This may either be rollers running through it or a compound designed to stick to a hack-saw blade (you can tell this by the bolt having alternate layers of metal and black material. You will also find an extra thickness of metal. This is an anti-drill plate that hinders even the best drill bits. Around the top of the key hole you will find a tube that goes through the lock. This is called an anti-pick curtain that prevents lock picks being used. Also inside they have ‘traps’ that also hinder anyone trying to manipulate the levers. In the break ins I have attended where these locks were fitted, the door and frame have always failed before the lock and that is why they are so good.
  • UPVC doors and ‘composite’ doors usually have a Euro cylinder lock. For those who have not read my previous blogs, despite all the hooks, rollers and shoot bolts that go with these doors, it has been demonstrated by the BBC and West Yorkshire police that if you have a standard Euro cylinder lock barrel on these doors, then an intruder can get into your home in just 39 seconds with no power tools at all. That’s less time than it takes some people who have keys, to get in after a night out! It is here that you need to check your insurance policy carefully because BS3621 rated cylinders have only been around for a short time. If your insurance states a five lever lock, it is NOT referring to the amount of hooks and bolts and rollers on a UPVC door. Five levers is regarding a mortice lock. (See above). But if your insurance states BS3621 on all final exit doors then each lock must at the very least display a kite mark and for these locks you will see it just below the key hole. The standard cylinders are held in by a single screw and the metal around them is very thin, making them easy to snap if you know what to do. So, even if your insurance does not require BS3621, you should change these locks as a matter of personal piece of mind.But even within these locks there are various levels of strength. The ones I prefer to use have the top ranking and I have yet to see them in the shops. I use them for the following reasons. The easiest way to get past the standard style of Euro cylinder is to snap it (possible with the correct tools) and even the so called ‘anti-snap’ products have been shown to break if enough force is applied  – remember the burglar is not worried about damage to the door itself. While the anti-pick and anti-drill features of the kite marked euro-cylinders are better than the standard, the lock I use has a dimpled key and this design makes everything harder. It also prevents ‘bumping’ and therefore just about every type of attack the burglar employs is rendered almost useless. I say almost useless because at the end of the day, a very determined burglar will always find a way in, but they know as soon as they see this lock it going to be hassle and therefore are more likely to move on to the next easier target.

Away from insurance issues, if you have a UPVC door that only has rollers to engage when you lift the handles, then this also needs looking at. Rollers can be popped out of position by someone who knows how, so upgrading to a mechanism that has hooks or good size bolts is also something that should be considered.

If you would like to discuss any of information contained in this blog, please call or email. You can find all our details on the contacts page.

Thanks for reading.

admin February 26, 2014

Crime prevention / insurance standard locks / Rented property /

Locksmith Prices Norfolk

Transparency of Prices

AC Locksmiths is committed to giving its customers the best service possible at the best possible price, but I am sometimes asked why locking products can be expensive when compared to the shops, and why locksmiths’ prices vary so much. So, in the interest of full transparency, I will do my best to explain and give you, the customer an informed choice as to which locksmith you should use.

In research for this blog, I have been unable to find one single other locksmith brave enough to advertise a labour rate. This is because they change their rates depending on time of day, day of the week, bank holidays, etc. My rate is a flat cost of £50. I do advertise this as an hourly rate, but have never charged beyond the first hour, so whether I am at your house for five minutes or five hours, the cost is the same. £50 may seem like a lot of money if I am only with you for a short time to get you into your home, but when you take into consideration my fuel and car running costs, time to get to and from your property, advertising, web site running, and all the other little costs that are needed to run a small business, I can promise you there is very little actual profit margin. But to charge more would bring me too close to the competition and I want to be able to give my customers value for money.

But what about the locks?  Yes, like all locksmiths I make profit on these, but again not as much as you might think. Sometimes my products are twice as expensive as what you might pay in a DIY store but there are reasons for this. Big name stores have the buying power to buy their items in bulk, gaining them huge discounts. They can also spread their profits across all the items in store, so are even able to price some smaller products very low and counter that with a larger profit on a larger item. I, on the other hand, only have the capacity for smaller amounts of stock, meaning I have to take more time to make orders, pay for more delivery fees and pay more myself as I cannot get the large order discounts. So again, my profit margin is not nearly so great, even though I am charging more than the big name shops. You pay more through me because I have to carry stock that I might not need for six months, but I want to have the right lock on hand when you need it wherever possible. But even if I don’t have what you need on board, that is my problem and unlike some locksmiths, I won’t charge a second time when I return with the correct parts.

I also use the best quality products I can. After all, I give all my customers a guarantee of my work and do not want to be called back against that guarantee. I am also happy for you to source your own locks for me to fit. My running costs come out of my labour, so my customers are more than welcome to provide their own locks for me to fit.

Another query came from an estate agent who asked about a difference in price from a lock I supplied and the one he found on line. The door in question was upvc. Readers of my previous blogs will know I am trying to educate my readers and customers to the fact that most upvc door locks do not meet insurance standards as they are not BS3621 rated. If I replace one of these for a customer, I give them a choice of replacing like for like or upgrading to the insurance standard. But if I come across a kite marked cylinder, I must replace it with another kite marked cylinder because no locksmith worth having would downgrade any customer’s security. So when I replaced a like for like BS3621 rated cylinder, the estate agent looking after the property questioned the cost as he had found a cylinder on line for a fraction of the cost. Needless to say I looked up the lock the estate agent found and discovered it to be a brand I had never heard of and only of standard non-insurance rating, therefore the comparison was a waste of time. When you use a tradesman, part of the cost goes into the expertise of knowledge. I know that my insurance rated cylinders for upvc doors are better than the ones you can buy in the DIY superstore and yes, they are more expensive. But I know they will also do a better job of deterring  break ins.

Before I sign off this blog, I want to give one final example of how pricing can vary; I found a product very similar to one of my locks in a well known DIY store recently and it was nearly half the price I charge. This made me question the price I had set. A day later, I happened to be in another well known (but not as popular) DIY store where I found the same product was over £10.00 more than the first DIY store. That’s more than £10 difference between two big name companies. Now either one is simply overcharging, or the other is off setting losses against other profits because the lock was branded the same and would have come from the same supplier. Less than a week later, I happened to be in a more localised DIY and hardware shop where the same product was a lot closer in price to my own. This last shop was still very big and had a huge range of products to offset profits with, and even though still less than my own price, their profit margin was obviously much more.

And so I hope this explains why sometimes, the products I have on board may be more expensive than similar ones you can buy in the shops. The prices I set are as fair as I can possibly make them and I am not scared to advertise my prices as I believe an honest pricing system backed up by a friendly, efficient service will, and does, bring in recommendations, repeat custom and happy customers.

Thanks for reading.

admin February 11, 2014

Locksmith prices Norfolk / Locksmiths norfolk /

Holiday Home Security

Now that the Christmas season is over, we all seem to be looking towards our summer holidays and Norfolk has no end of holiday homes available to those who want to get away. But as an owner of a holiday home, what could be worse than your home manager or tenants phoning you to say the property has been broken into?

The amount of break-ins I have been attending in Norfolk is on the rise and holiday homes are no exception. As a generalisation, it also seems that many holiday home owners have sub-standard locks fitted. But nowadays, more people want to bring their electronics with them on holiday and what better way to attract customers than to offer better security for their devices than the competition?

If I were heading for a day out on the broads, I would want to know that my laptop, mobile phone ,mp3 player and all the other bits were safe while I was out. So next time you visit your holiday home, treat it as the investment it is supposed to be and check all locks are kite marked to ensure they comply with the strictest of insurance compliance. All windows on ground and at least first floors should have working locks. Sash windows should also have lockable jammers that allow ventilation but not open far enough for small children to fall out.

It is also important to advertise that your home is protected.  Something as cheap as a dummy CCTV camera should be enough to put off the vandals, while a good alarm system will make sure you are informed via text message if your home is broken into. What’s more, the cost of installing an alarm or CCTV is a valid business expense and therefore the cost can be offset against tax, while giving you an extra selling point when advertising your holiday home, so it’s a complete win-win situation.

AC Locksmiths Norfolk can provide your security needs with a fast and friendly service; so whether you need a burglar alarm in Sheringham, or CCTV in Cromer, we can provide a solution that fits your budget. We cover the whole of Norfolk, from Hunstanton to Kings Lynn, to Downham Market, all the way across to Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth and Caister, along with all the towns and villages in between. We use police and insurance compliant products that are wireless and easy to use. Wireless technology makes the systems fully custom made to suit your requirements as well.

Please use the contacts page to get in touch and arrange a convenient time for a free consultation.

Thanks for reading.

 

admin January 14, 2014

Home security /

Keep Your Home Secure at Christmas

With the big day approaching, no one wants to add to their stress by thinking too much about home security, but it is a time when we spend long periods away visiting relatives leaving our homes vulnerable to possible burglars.

Nothing advertises an empty house more than Christmas lights that have been put up but not switched on, or are on during the day, so make sure your lights have a timer. If you have lights that have electrical leads coming into your house, it is easy to forget to lock the windows where the lead comes in, so double check this has been done, especially on wooden windows, as the lead can be used to pull the window open enough to get a tool in that might be able to manipulate the handles from the outside.

Check your insurance documentation. Many insurers are now stating that locks be rated BS 3621. That means whether your door is wooden, upvc or metal, the lock should have a distinct kite mark. The insurance sellers might not tell you this at point of sale, and most of my security upgrades are the result of people actually reading the policy documents and finding they were not covered. While rare, burglaries do happen in Norfolk. Yale have a mobile phone application that will tell you how many burglaries have occurred in the last month within a mile of any post code you enter. Its free and easy to use so worth downloading. Not to scare you but to just be aware.

Finally, AC Locksmiths would like to wish all our customers and blog readers a safe, secure, and a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

admin December 23, 2013

Home security at Christmas /

Burglaries…What can YOU do?

I cannot stress how important it is to do whatever you can to protect your home.

Although Norfolk is quite low on the burglary scale against the rest of the UK, we still have home intruders and they still go for easy targets. The most recent burglary I attended was a case where an insurance standard lock was not fitted on the door through which they gained entry. The alarm was not switched on, and the door through which the intruders entered was dark and secluded. All ideal circumstances for a burglar. The thieves made off with jewellery, ignoring the laptop computers on their way to the bedroom. Whilst it would have been a pain waiting for insurance to replace computers, the family heirlooms amongst the jewellery can never be replaced.

So here again, are the things you should be looking for when making sure you are as safe as you can be and also covered by most insurers.

If you have a upvc door, the locking barrel should have a kite mark on it. Regardless of the number of hooks and bolts and rollers the door has, this is the weak spot and I can guarantee most people reading this will have the basic barrels that are easy to bypass for those who know how, which unfortunately includes the burglars. Even among the kite marked barrels there are varying degrees of safety and we welcome all enquires along with free security checks.

If you have a wooden door with a ‘Yale’ type lock only, then this must also display a kite mark. You will usually see this on the part that is on the front edge of the door and therefore you will have to open the door to see it. These usually also have a chunky part around the keyhole to resist attack. The official name for these is an Automatic Deadlocking Nightlatch. If you only have a basic nightlatch and no other lock on your door, then you are asking for trouble as bypassing the standard nightlatch often takes less than a minute with no major tools.

The other locks found on wooden doors are mortice locks, often called “Chubb” locks. These are the ones that sit inside the door itself. Many people read in their insurance about 5 lever locks and confuse this with the upvc multi-point locking systems. The five levers are actually inside the mortice lock. You can get 2 lever locks, suitable for bathrooms, etc, 3 lever locks suitable for internal doors and then 5 lever mortice locks for final exit doors. If you have a 3 lever lock on your outer door, it will be vulnerable in many ways. They are easy to pick. They are easy to drill. The bolt does not come out as far as a 5 lever lock and they are therefore easier to lever open. The supplied keeps are never as robust either. Kite marked British Standard 5 lever mortice locks are designed to be difficult to pick. They have anti-drill plates. The bolts extend further and are protected against hacksaws and the keeps are strong with long screws to help ensure against being levered open.

If you have any doors in dark areas, invest in a powerful sensor light, and dummy CCTV cameras are a great deterrent. But a real CCTV system can be tailored to most budgets and burglar alarms can now send a message straight to your mobile phone alerting you to a break in, allowing you to be aware instantly that someone has triggered it. Even if you have pets that roam free, modern alarms can be set so that animals do not trigger them, while larger humans do.

Finally, many say to me that if a burglar wants to get into your house, then he will and unfortunately this is true. But he also wants to be able to get out fast without cutting himself on broken glass, so a solid lock on your door is still the best deterrent.

 

admin December 23, 2013

insurance standards / kite marked /

Locks and Insurance standards explained

Which lock?
While some of the following may sound obvious to some readers, I do still come across many instances where I am asked the questions I will answer here and hope that everyone finds at least some of it interesting.

Firstly, the three most common types of lock;-

  1. The Rim cylinder, often referred to a “Yale” type lock. This usually has a circular housing on the outside of the door, with a mechanism on the inside that is operated by a knob or lever, called a “nightlatch.”
  2. The mortice lock, often referred to as a “Chubb” lock. This lock is positioned into the door with a key hole on both sides. It can be just a key operation, in which case it is called a “mortice deadlock”, or it can have a latch as well, with door handles – In this case it is called a “mortice sash-lock.” The keys are usually cylindrical with a square piece on the end into which is cut the shape that will match the levers inside.
  3. The Euro-cylinder. This is found on upvc, composite (wood effect), aluminium and a very few wooden doors. The key is similar to the rim cylinder, the lock barrel is shaped as a circle with a rectangular piece coming down. There are oval versions of this but they are not common in Norfolk.

BSI and insurance standards.
If your door only has a rim cylinder and it is your door of final exit, then it must have a BSI kite mark to satisfy most insurers. This means it should have an automatic deadlocking system. You can identify this system by looking at the nightlatch. Where the latch part comes out, you will see a smaller spring loaded protrusion. As the door closes, this strikes the keep and makes the latch shoot out further and makes a barrier that stops burglars “slipping” the lock to gain entry. Often these also have a key hole on the inside to lock the nightlatch, making it impossible to open the door using the lever. This means that if a burglar breaks into your home through a window, they still cannot take large items out the front door. Finally, around the front of the key way on the outside of the door, a strong housing over the disc will deter drilling attempts.

If your door is protected by a mortice lock, then it must be a five lever mortice lock. You can get two and three lever mortice locks but these should only be used for internal doors and cupboards. A BSI kite marked five lever mortice lock will have certain features that are not obvious or even seen. Firstly, there is the anti-pick curtain. This sits just inside the hole where the key goes in. It stops standard lock-picking procedures. You will not see the anti-drill plate which is an extra piece of metal on both sides that protects the internal working parts from attack via drilling. Standard drill bits will blunt before getting through these. The bolt will be hacksaw protected by either internal rollers or a thick rubbery material that grips the saw blade. The keep that sits in the frame of the door, will be deep and fully metal. These locks are so strong, if the door is forced, the door, frame or both will normally split before the lock gives.

The Euro cylinder on upvc doors is the only lock that, so far, does not have to have a BSI kite mark to satisfy most insurance companies. When your insurance company asks if you have a five lever lock, they are NOT referring to upvc doors – this is a very common mistake. We believe every upvc door should have a kite marked euro cylinder as it has been shown several times that they are easy to attack in several ways. BBC West Yorkshire have shown it is possible to break in, with no power tools, in less than a minute, regardless of the amount of hooks, rollers and bolts on upvc or composite doors.
There are many ways to help ensure standard cylinders are harder to attack, but investing in a kite marked cylinder and more robust handles is, in our opinion, the best way to go. Sooner or later, the insurance companies are going to start calling for improved cylinders on upvc doors anyway, and at that point, the cost is likely to go up.

Many people are unaware that upstairs windows require locks by most insurance companies as well. These are often cheap and easy to fit, but it is always worth an assessment by a locksmith to make sure you have the best, or even to see if there are any locking designs that are more aesthetically pleasing than the bulk standard held in DIY stores.

Also, many people do not realise that most good locksmiths will also be willing to fit security lights and alarm systems. With wireless technology, these are now getting just as easy to fit yourself, but again, for more in depth security, a locksmith or alarm specialist should be consulted.

Should you have any questions about your particular locks, home security or anything in our blogs, please do not hesitate to contact us via the contacts page, or, by calling  07846 643176.

Thanks for reading.

admin June 24, 2013

insurance standards / kite marked / locks /

Saving money reminder

Time has flown since my last blog and lots have happened. Christmas has been surprisingly busy with an increase in window locks, (I will talk about this later) and a house move which has reminded me how much family pulls together when needed. Also this site is undergoing a few tweaks which we are really excited about. Hopefully, this will make us stand out even more.
But, back to the house move. As soon as we had a move date, the usual worries started about the cost of it all, particularly the removal van. As we were not moving very far, we thought a large van and a few trips would suffice. Looking back, I can honestly say that without some very hard work from our family we would have taken a week rather than a day to get done. This has set me to thinking about how, in my experience, many of us are so caught up in our own lives and issues, we do not stop to think about our siblings until those big days like house moves, weddings, etc, and while it is great to be there for these occasions, many of us do the dutiful visits but then go through the same routines. The point I am trying to make is this, if you have siblings, parents, cousins, friends, neighbours, even work colleagues, start talking to them about the more everyday things that cause problems or you could do  with advice on. Find out who their energy suppliers are, who their plumber is, who their locksmith is, do they know anything at all that could make your own life easier and do you know anyone or anything that could potentially help them. If someone in your life is elderly,you could check they are having essential things like boiler services done (without trying to take their independence away) and that they are coping as well as they like to think in an ever more complicated world.
And finally, my advise would be  – you could club together to save money. We say we charge £45 per hour for labour, but I have nearly always found that doing multiple lock jobs, gives me enough profit to be able to waiver any labour cost beyond that first hour. Therefore, if you wanted to upgrade your own locks, you should talk to your neighbours first and see if they want to improve their own home security. Providing the whole job was within a reasonable distance, the labour cost would not only be shared, but reduced as well. This is a policy that could be extended to all trades and should be. After all, most of the trades persons labour charge is to cover things like petrol, tools, etc. If that trades person only has  to travel once, then their own costs go down, a saving that may be passed to the customer.
So, look at your jobs that need doing, talk to your friends, neighbours and family to find out if they are in a similar position and if so, see if you can get the work done cheaper between you. If nothing else, you will be that little bit closer to all.
This talk will also enable you to start your own directories of trusted traders that can be relied on for quality work at reasonable prices.

Now, back to those windows. Insurers are increasingly insisting that upper storey windows have locks as well as the ground floor. Check your own Buildings and Contents policy and then check your windows. I recently astounded myself with how easy it is to gain entry to an unlocked casement window with only rudimentary tools. I am also aware of entire estates of newer build properties that have the wooden double glazed windows. These are often built with lockable windows downstairs but non-lockable upstairs. Check now, because there must be nothing worse than the break in followed by the bad news of invalid insurance.

Finally, some bad news. It is with regret that we are going to  increase labour rates at the start of the new financial year in April. This is due to continued motoring costs and the need to cover such a large area. The increase will be between £5 and £10 ( still to be costed and finalised), but we do intend to continue our current policy of keeping labour rates the same regardless of time of day or day of week.

admin January 20, 2013

insurance / Locksmiths norfolk / saving money /

1 2