How to choose and install overhead locks for wooden doors?

The decision to put a patch lock on a wooden front door is a good choice. And although overhead locking devices are considered less reliable in terms of protection against unauthorized entry into the home than their mortise "relatives", nevertheless, among them there are also high-quality models that have a fairly high level of protection (3 or 4 classes).

Surface locks are good because their installation does not require something to cut into the door leaf, thereby violating the integrity of the door leaf - this is the main plus. To do this work, it is quite possible to do on your own with a minimum of tools - this is the second plus. And the third advantage is that locks of this type are quite easy to operate, repair and replace.

True, there are some serious drawbacks that such devices "sin" with.

• Unfortunately, such a lock is completely unsuitable for entrance doors that open inside the room. Rather, for honest people who usually do not have the habit of knocking out other people's doors with their feet along with the lock inside the apartment, such locks are quite a worthy argument, but there are other subjects as well. Therefore, it is recommended to put two locks on such doors - both the invoice and the mortise.
• Almost all types of overhead locking devices are oriented towards one side of the door - left or right. If it suddenly comes to mind to change the door that opens in the other direction, then it will no longer be possible to apply the lock from the old canvas.

With the peculiarities of such devices, everything became clear. It remains only to understand the differences in the types of such locks in order to acquire and install the optimal one for yourself.

Among the variety of overhead locking devices you can select only those that have proven themselves only from the good side.

• Cylinder locks. They have many advantages over other structures of their type: low cost, high reliability, variety of models, good maintainability. That is why representatives of this type of overhead locks are the most popular among consumers. They have fixing cylinders in their larva, the number of which determines its resistance to burglary. The more such elements in the larva, the higher the security of the device. Modern cylinder locks are made with additional protection, are equipped with keys with lateral perforation, and their larvae cannot be drilled.

• Lever locking structures. They are highly reliable, but are more often used for metal doors, gates, safes. They are massive and therefore it is completely absurd to use them for wooden products.

• Pin mechanisms. Structurally, it consists of several spring-loaded pins, which are locking elements (bolts), which are located on different sides relative to the unlocking device of the lock. The opening takes place with a special key, which you just need to insert all the way into the keyhole, without turning anything. Closing occurs in the same way. On the inside there is a rotating handle for opening / closing the lock.

• Electromechanical system. In these devices, the latch is activated either by a key from the outside, or by a button from the inside by means of a magnet operating from an electric current with a voltage of 12 V.In cases when it is necessary to keep the door open, the button is placed in the permanent opening mode.

• Electronic variant. The constipation is opened and closed by the key fob, and the entire system is powered by an autonomous power supply. She is not afraid of power outages at home, the lock itself is not visible from the outside of the door. The door will only need to be cut down if someone other than the owners wants to enter the apartment. But such a device also has a very high cost, which not every apartment owner will decide on.

• Barrier brand locks. They are distinguished by the highest degree of protection (fourth). It is almost impossible to open the lock (volumetric coding of the mechanism), break (the case is made of steel more than 5 mm), or unscrew (a very large area of ​​the locking plate).

When choosing and buying the right patch lock for a wooden door you should pay attention to several points as they matter.

• Reliability class. For interior doors, this indicator, most likely, does not matter, but for the front door it is the main one. The best option would be class 3 protection. It should be noted that in total there are 4 protection classes for door locks according to GOST. The lower the class, the less reliable the locking system is considered. Some models of modern overhead locks have a 3 class of protection, characterized by the impossibility of drilling out their larvae. This also includes electromechanical and pin types of locking devices.
• Locking mechanism design. Here, you definitely need to choose the device where the locking element has a tongue. For wooden doors, it is a more suitable option. Either cylindrical or electromechanical models can be selected.
• The principle of the mechanism. The most popular type is mechanical. It is more reliable and quite simple. If you want to put a lock with increased convenience, then electromechanical locking devices are quite suitable.
• Completion with additional elements (latches, blockers, switches and similar options).

For installation of a surface-mounted locking device with a cylindrical mechanism on a wooden entrance door you need to prepare a tool such as:

• an electric drill or its manual analogue with wood drills;
• feather drill;
• chisel;
• hammer;
• ruler and tape measure for markings;
• simple pencil;
• screwdriver.

If the lock is new, then be sure to read the instructions and diagram for installing the device. Installation is carried out from the inside of the doors. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

• determine the height of the lock installation - usually they are installed at a height of 1 to 1.5 meters from the floor; this is also influenced by the following fact: are there small children in the family or disabled people in a wheelchair, if there are, then you need to choose the height that will be available to them;
• attach the lock body to the canvas at the selected height and make notes for the mounting holes and the channel for the larva;
• drill the fastening holes for the self-tapping screws, taking a drill of a smaller thickness than the thickness of the self-tapping screws, in this case the fasteners will be more reliable;
• drill a through hole for the larva, first with an ordinary drill of a small diameter, and then with a feather drill, refine it to the desired size - the central through hole drilled with an ordinary drill will be a guideline, with a feather drill, half the thickness of the door is first drilled from the inside, and the second half of the hole - from the outside; so there is less risk of making a mistake or making a chip from the surface of the wood when the drill comes out;
• install the larva and the lock, fix the case with self-tapping screws;
• after that, you need to bring the bolt tongue to the open position, close the door and mark the place where the striker is attached to the door frame;
• make marks of the holes for the mounting plate;
• drill holes for self-tapping screws securing the bar and install it in place;
• check the operation of the lock.

For information on what kind of overhead locks are and how to choose them correctly, see the next video.