Upgrading Security and Patented key Protection

In today’s world, lock picks and “bump-keys” can easily be obtained over the World Wide Web. Although it is illegal to mail these items through the US Post Office, there are other carriers who will ship these items unquestioned. It is also very difficult for the US Post Office to know what is in every package.

Upgrading the security of your home or office means installing locks built to take abuse from burglars, seriously deter lock picks and “bump-keys”, and protect you from someone getting a duplicate key to your home without your knowledge.

Gater’s locksmith Inc is a dealer for Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Schlage Primus and KeyMark. Medeco and Mul-T-Lock offer the best deadbolts for home and small business. Both deadbolts offer a metal strike box to reinforce the frame where the bolt locks. The strike plate assembly is the other half of the deadbolt locking system. It cannot be ignored unless the doorframe is steel and poured concrete, or the deadbolt is installed into a pair of doors Dade County Approved for hurricanes.

Protecting someone from duplicating your home or business key is achieved by choosing a patent protected keyway. The four brands mentioned above offer this protection. Only an authorized agent on file can obtain a duplicate key. All duplicate keys are audited and signed for. Mul-T-Lock has a card system, whoever holds the card can get a duplicate key.

If by chance another locksmith has the same keyway, and agrees to duplicate your patent protected key, the locksmith risks prosecution under federal patent laws, and also jeopardizes his dealership rights with the manufacturer.

Sliding Patio Door Security

Whether you are upgrading the security of your home or resetting the existing locks to a different key, another issue needs to be addressed. The weakest link in the security of any home is the sliding glass door. Unless you have a high-end sliding door, such as Pella or Anderson, the factory installed locks on standard sliding doors offer very little if any security. In Florida, both panels on a sliding patio door move and lock independently. The most effective way to lock these doors is to lock one sliding panel against the other. This is commonly achieved with a patio-hinge lock, often called a “DixieLock” or “Sid Lock”. These names, as I understand it, come from the inventor, Sid, who owned the Dixie Lock Co in Miami.

An additional step for sliding glass doors is to install a film, much like window tinting, on the glass of each slider. There are window films designed to stop “smash and grab” robberies at retail stores. This same film can be applied to a sliding glass door. This product can be obtained through a window tinting company.

Gater’s Locksmith will supply and install the best lock suited for your sliding patio door. The patio-hinge lock mentioned above fits on 90% of the patio doors we encounter. For the other 10%, different types of patio door locks are considered.