Home Design Articles

Rim locks are also known as box locks. They use a two level mechanism for operation, and while not the most secure type of lock, they have been in use for centuries. In fact, they were one of the first locking devices made. They were originally crafted in Britain and Europe. Production began in the United States in around the 1830’s.

The rim lock is rectangular in looks, which is where the name ‘box lock’ was derived. The first locks were fairly simply made. They are mounted on the inside of a door, with a handle and keyhole also mounted on the outer side of the door. Earlier locks were often intricately designed, thus from the earliest times they were considered decorative as well as helpful for providing some security to home owners.

Earlier locks were made from metals such as brass, wrought iron and bronze. The  more popular locks were those made from brass and wrought iron, and they were the ones that were frequently imported from England and Europe.

These locks underwent many changes during the years, dwindling in popularity during the late 1800’s and till they became popular again during the 1930’s. The decorative appeal of the locks changed much, as fashion and demand dictated. Frequently they sported decorative designs on the face of the lock as well as decoratively made handles.

The handle is often the most highly decorated, with some being small, smooth round knobs and others being an actual handle. The knobs or handles were often made from the same metal as the lock itself, or were fashioned from glass or porcelain. For example, the popular Victorian rim lock was often made from brass with porcelain door knobs, and included a keyhole cover.

Again, while not very secure, they remain a very decorative lock that can add a charming ‘old-style’ appeal to any home, whether they are installed on inner doors, or external doors.

These locks may also be known as surface deadbolts and are positioned independent of the door knob. They can be made with a double or single cylinder design with the difference between the two types being that the single rim lock accepts a key from only one side while the double cylinder will allow the key from both.

These types of locks can be used as a decorative feature for the door with many antique locks available to give the door an old-style look. Similarly the newer rim locks made of polished brass can achieve a more modern look that invites the visitor in with the promise of a shiny clean interior within.

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If you are thinking about buying push button door locks for your home you will need to first of all decide on which type of lock to get. There are two main types, electronic and mechanical. These days most homeowners choose to install a basic electronic push button lock.

Mechanical locks are also great for attaching to doors. The plus with the mechanical lock is that there is very little that can go wrong with them. They are long-lasting, easy to program and easy to use. However, many homeowners find that they do not meet all of their needs as they usually need something with a few more features, so they go for the more programmable electronic push button locks.

The smaller type of electronic push button locks are fairly simple to install. Most come with a couple of user codes already programmed, and they have the option of adding more codes if you need to. Parents often find that it is best to tailor the pin code to each child, for example, giving them a code that is easy for the child to remember. Thus there is often a need to be able to enter quite a few different entrance gaining pin codes into the device.

You will still need to pay attention to the actual locking mechanism, even with a push button lock. Just because they are push button locks, does not necessarily make them more secure than other types of locks, they are merely simpler and more convenient to operate. If you are installing a lock on your external door go for the dead bolt type as these are the most secure. If you merely want to secure an inner door, such as the door from your house to the garage, or the cellar door, you can buy simpler locks.

Perhaps the greatest bonus that comes from installing push button locks is that you do not have to keep track of keys any longer. They will not get lost or stolen, which is an instant enhancement to your home’s overall security.

To get an idea of what type of mechanical door locks are available we might take a quick look at two that are considered quite good.

If you want an electronic door lock you might consider a Lockey Digital Mechanical Keyless Entry Bump Proof Deadbolt Door Lock. All of the reviews for this particular lock are very positive with the completely mechanical lock proving very reliable. The big bonus with this particular door lock is that it requires no keys at all to open the door.

Another mechanical door lock is the Kaba Ilco Mechanical Pushbutton Combination Lock. This particular door lock only contains 5 keys so the number of possible combinations is not as high as other types and you can only press each key once to form a combination limiting it even further. The lock comes in either a left hand or right hand lever door handle so it can be used on all types of doors.

Naturally there are other brands of mechanical door locks such as Schlage, Lockstate, Codelock and Powerbuilt. The locks are available in a variety of finishes from brushed nickel to polished brass and satin chrome so that they can cater to all tastes and won’t look out of place.

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If you are at all concerned about security, of you just want to be able to let of people into your home without handing out keys to them all then you might want to look into getting a key safe fitted outside your home in a concealed area. What is a key safe I hear you ask. Well its simply a little secure box with a combination lock which you attach to a wall on the exterior of your home in which you store your keys. Its means that you can give access to your home to anyone you like by giving them the access code to your key safe.

If you have a large family this could be particularly helpful if you can’t be bothered to get keys cut for everyone. When the kids no longer live at home and could turn up at any time you just give them the code and you don’t have to be at home to answer the door when they decide to visit. Getting a large number of keys cut is not only an inconvenience but you won’t be able to keep track of them and if you lose them it could be something of a security hazard. Not only that but if you don’t have a security key safe then you might be tempted to leave a key under a plant pot to give people access and this isn’t going to be ideal if you want to keep your home secure.

Any great use for this device is that key safes for the elderly allow you to let carers and family into the house of an older relative who can’t answer the door themselves. This is a perfect use of the key safe and can allow the aged to remain independent in their own homes for far longer than would otherwise be possible.

If you are wanting to keep your house secure or allow easier secure acces then look into getting a secure key box for your home.

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Liberty, an American safe manufacturing company out of the rugged state of Utah, has been manufacturing some of the finest home safes on the market for over 20 years.  Liberty gun safes are a bit more expensive than the typical model you’d find in, say WalMart, or your local sporting goods store, but there’s nothing typical about their products.

Every Liberty safe is built with a superior level of burglary and fire protection.  The degree of protection varies a bit, depending on the model and the associated price.  For instance, the Centurion will provide 30 minutes of fire protection, along with Liberty’s base security design (which is superior tomost of their competitions’ elite models), and will cost you around $1500.  Perhaps their nicest model, the Presidential, will run you somewhere in the neighborhood of $5500, but it’s been test for 2.5 hours of fire protection, and offers some of the most advanced security features in the industry.

Some features you may want to consider are, the overall weight of the safe – generally the heavier the better, the capacity of the safe, along with what you’ll be storing in it – you should always by bigger than you think you need to allow for future growth of your valuables.  You’ll also want to look for relockers for redundant security against advanced attacks, hard plates to break safe cracker drill bits, the number of bolts surrounding the perimeter of the door, as well as the fire prevention engineering, like Palusol sealing and effective fireboard integration.

All of these features combine add a level of protection that Liberty puts their name behind…and their money.  They offer one of the best gun safe warranties in the business.  Lifetime coverage is included in all of their models, which includes free repairs, freight and replacement if the safe is damaged by fire, break in, or faulty manufacturing.  One of the greatest aspects of their warranty is that its transferable between owners – this is something you hardly ever see in the gun safe industry.

If you’re valuables are worthy of securing, then they’re worth securing properly.  Invest in a Liberty gun safe, and achieve the the ultimate in security peace of mind.

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Figuring out the best place to install and use your safe in the home can be a somewhat daunting task.  Rather than fret over the decision, take a little time to research and make an informed decision.  Safes do not necessarily have to be an eye sore in your house nor do they have to be kept in the garage.  An excellent type of safe for hiding your valuables is a floor safe.

A floor safe can be used in a variety of different circumstances.  The floor safe provides an additional degree of both intrinsic disguise and built in fireproofing.  Being surrounded on all but one side by concrete, the floor safe allows you to minimize damage points in the safe.  This is not to say that built in fireproofing features including with the safe are not also necessary.

Many people find that covering their in floor safe is actually quite easy.  A floor safe can be covered by any number of common floor coverings.  If it in the basement of your home, you can cover the safe with old carpeting or a piece of plywood.  A safe that is not frequently accessed can be covered by additional furniture or storage units.

For floor safes in a traditional room, consider the use of a nice rug or carpeting to hide the safe.  Locate the safe underneath a desk, table, bookshelf, or other natural furniture item in the home.  This type of safe really warrants itself to your own creativity in implementation.  Really the main thing to worry about is the ease of access that you require if you need to reach the contents you are protecting.  Use your own design choices to hide the safe from plain site, and eliminate the opportunist intruder from even knowing you are hiding your valuables inside the house.

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