Article - Security & Locks

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=120 BGCOLOR="#DDDDDD" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1c869700.jpg" border=0 width="105" height="112" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <A HREF="index.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="White Knight Home Repair Home Page"><U><B>Home Page</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id17.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U><B>About Us</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id21.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Main Job Photos Page"><U><B>Job Photos</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id50.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Security Locks"><U><B>Customer Comments</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id50.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Security Locks"><U><B>Featured</B></U></A><A HREF="id50.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Security Locks"><U><B> Article</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id42.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sponsored Links"><U><B>Sponsoerd Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="24156900.gif" border=0 width="86" height="144" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000" background="1c6f4cd3.png"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="856" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#0099CC" BORDERCOLORDARK="#000099" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 236 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1c383bc0.png" border=0 width="131" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <B><IMG SRC="248bcd80.png" border=0 width="700" height="216" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Article - Security & Locks</B></I></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="3" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="155" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFCC00" BORDERCOLORDARK="#CC0000" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 327 ><NOBR><div> <B>Article History</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id50.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Security Locks"><U>Security & Locks</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id50.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Security Locks"><U>(06-2006)</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id49.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Decks"><U>Decks</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id49.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Decks"><U>(03/2006)</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id35.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Egress Windows"><U>Egress Windows</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id35.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Article Egress Windows"><U>(01/2006)</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Featured Article</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Home Security Locks & Keys</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>By Myron Judkins </B>  <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#660033" FACE="Arial" >June 13, 2006</FONT></div> <div> <B>Owner of White Knight Home Repair (Spokane, WA)  (</B><A HREF="http://www.whiteknighthomerepair.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.whiteknighthomerepair.com"><U><B>www.WhiteKnightHomeRepair.com</B></U></A><B>)</B></div> <bR> <div> How secure is your home?  How easily could someone get into your home? Could someone get in without you knowing, while you are home?  These are all scary questions.</div> <div> So lets look at some common sense things you can do to make you more comfortable and secure.</div> <bR> <div> Dead Bolt Locks</div> <div> Dead Bolt lock has been the standard of security for years. I am surprised how many homes don’t have them.  Or they only have locks on some of the doors.  The cheapest locks are just that, cheap.  I highly recommend going with at least a mid grade lock, if not a premium, or commercial grade lock.  Some stores will even re-key the locks to fit your existing keys for free.  Next don’t skimp on the installation. I have found many locks that don’t extend fully.  That means that the bold is not “locked” and can be slid back with a knife blade.  The next problem I see is that the receiver is only attached to the door jam. The jam will break and splinter with very little effort. So the best lock is worthless unless it is installed properly.  I usually have to use extra hardware to put 2 - 4 inch screws that secures the latch to the wall studs.  This usually takes some finesse to angle the screws and not pull the door jam out of shape, sometimes it requires the removal of the door trim and shimming the frame, but you can be sure that the latch will hold up to as much as the door.</div> <bR> <div> Garage door</div> <div> The garage door is only as secure as your car. The remotes should be kept out of sight and your car should be locked if it is parked outside. As an added precaution, I recommend that you secure the door from the garage to the house with a lock and deadbolt. This will provide much more personal safety for your family, and is convenient if it is keyed the same as your front door, then just keep it locked at night. </div> <bR> <div> The Keyless entry</div> <div> Many garage doors have a keypad; you can also get electric deadbolt locks with a keypad. This is great if you have hired help, or if you, or your children forget their keys. I have often (as a Repair man) been given codes to keypads.  Here are my tips</div> <div> 1-     Never Use A Year as the code.  Ok, I am guilty of this too, but I have found that every single code I have had told to me, is a 4 digit code that starts with “19” so at any of these keypads, I could guess with less then 100 combinations.  I recommend using a 5-digit code of your device allows. And maybe a birthday, or combination of birthdays/ anniversaries, or ANYTHING other then a year.  Like 12741 (Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941) Easy to remember, hard to guess. </div> <div> 2-     Most newer devices let you have multiple codes.  So one for the family, and one for others, like relatives, the maid, the handyman, the carpet cleaners etc. This way the temporary one can be easily changed if there is a change, or you feel uncomfortable with who may know it.</div> <bR> <div> Hiding a Key</div> <div> Many people hide a key. I’m surprised how many keys are hidden on top of the door trim, or under the mat, or in or under the flowerpot. I like to hide key to the garage, somewhere in the back yard, then a key to the house, somewhere in the garage.  I have quit hiding the outside key since I updated my garage door opener and all my kids know how to use the keypad. My key to the house is on a ring with NO GOOD Keys hung on a wire under my tool bench.</div> <bR> <div> I feel a lot more secure knowing that my habits and security is a little different, and better then average.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#660033" FACE="Arial" ><B>About the author:</B></FONT> Myron Judkins is Owner of White Knight Home Repair, a specialty contractor and handyman. He is a 3rd generation contractor, and also Webmaster of his business website ( <A HREF="http://www.whiteknighthomerepair.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.whiteknighthomerepair.com"><U>www.whiteknighthomerepair.com</U></A>.) Please leave article in tact with links to the website when publishing this article.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>