Locked Out – Who you gonna call?

One of the most common problems I come up against is people accidentally sliding the snib that activates the latch on a Yale-type lock. Because people do not realise they have done this, the door is hard to close and is then slammed shut and forgotten about until the key holder returns to find their key does not turn the lock.

Once the door has been closed with the latch activated, the only way to de-activate it is from the inside; the key will not work until this has been done. Locksmiths carry tools to manipulate the inner latch from the outside, but the door needs to have a good size letter box, and some light on the subject is particularly useful – as locksmiths may use mirrors to help see what they are doing. The pressure put on the latch when the door has slammed, can make the snib very stiff to manipulate.

Sometimes the only way to get past this problem (this really is the last resort) is to drill out the front part of the lock, and remove it before taking up a heavy masonry chisel and smashing the rear part of the lock off from the outside, which runs the risk of damaging the door as the fixing screws are ripped out.

The way to avoid the possibility of this happening is to invest in a British Standard auto-deadlocking night latch. These have the same, general operation as the standard night latch or “Yale” type locks, but with a few differences; Firstly, they are more resistant to picking, drilling and other forms of attack, making them much more secure. You can only use the latch mechanism when the bolt is retracted, making all the above problems go away in one fell swoop, and because of this, the normal sliding snib is replaced by a push button that can only be operated when the bolt is being held back, so no accidental operation.

The other great thing about these locks is their longevity. In my time as a locksmith, I have attended mechanical failures of mortice locks, upcv cylinders and standard yale locks on a fairly regular basis. In fact, most of my work involves replacing faulty locks of the above types, but so far, I have only had to get into one British Standard Night latch, which I am thankful for because the toll on my tools was impressive, making it a great bit of kit to deter unwanted intruders.

While these locks are not cheap, they can save the cost of a more expensive door repair should the accidental snib slide happen to you.

Thanks for reading.