What's the Key? A Website About Locks and Safes

Buying your very own home after years of renting is an exciting and momentous occasion. It brings with it a feeling of security and freedom that is generally very welcome after the previous insecurity and restrictions of renting a home. If you've just bought or you're about to buy your first home, then you no doubt have a list of jobs and improvements that you would like to tackle to make your home perfect.

Security is one of the most important features of a home. Knowing that your family and your possessions are well protected is vital, and you may need to review how secure your new home is and remedy any weak points. In this regard, your local locksmith will be an important person to contact. Here are two simple ways that a local locksmith ​can make your new home more secure.

1. Change the locks

Whether your home is newly built or has had many previous occupants, changing all the external locks should be a priority when you move into your new home. This is the only way to guarantee that nobody else owns keys that would allow them easy and undetectable access to your home. Make sure to replace the locks on the windows as well as doors.

People that may have keys to your home include previous owners, tenants, contractors, and estate agents. While this is more likely to be an issue with an older home, being the first occupant in a newly built home doesn't mean that there aren't rogue keys that have been accidentally or intentionally kept by builders, cleaners, estate agents, or other people involved in the construction and sale of the property.

2. Add deadbolts

Another way to make your new home more secure is to have your locksmith install deadlocks on all external doors. You may feel that this is unnecessary if you have seemingly sturdy locks already in place, but many standard locks are more flimsy than you may imagine and can be forced open by an experienced burglar with relative ease.

Deadbolts offer dramatically increased security and make your doors far more difficult to be forced open. This is because the bolt on this type of lock penetrates deep into the door frame, making it virtually impossible to force open. Deadbolts also require a key to move the bolt, making it impervious to even the most talented lock-picking criminal.