Safety & Security Tip #4 - My Favorite Lock
Now that we have a door, we are going to put a lock on it. Please remember that locks only work when we USE them and you need to CLOSE the door. =) Please teach your children young as well. This is the ultra, elite residential lock set that I would recommend to everyone if money was not an object. There are so many things that I love about it that I am going to list them all:
It is a Schlage. I am not usually a brand name person; however, Schlage means quality and when it comes to home protection, I don't mind spending more.
It works with your smart home and you can lock and unlock it for people that may need in your home that you want to grant temporary access, but don't feel comfortable giving a code to. Perhaps, your kids are with a babysitter, but you don't want to go through the hassle of assigning a code to her/him and your children are too young. This feature, along with a Ring Doorbell type device, will allow you to lock and unlock the door at the proper time. My friends also use them to snoop on their teens. ;)
It is Ansi Grade 1 which means it is the most secure locking device made for a residential environment.
It has alert modes! Yes!!! It alerts you if the door has been left ajar, unlocked, open for too long, someone is tampering with it, or it has been forced open. You can tie it to your security system and BOOM, bye-bye bad guys and girls!
It is KEYLESS. This is wonderful because you can't lose the keys. You won't be tempted to "hide" them in plain sight. They won't be given to others who could potentially copy them. If you are me, you can't lock them in the trunk. :/
The touchscreen is fingerprint resistant. Have you ever seen one with the keys worn off? [insert facepalm here] Everything is flat to ensure that won't be an issue and they won't see where your kids' sticky fingers opened the door. It is smudge proof. Can they do that to an entire house???
The latch, deadbolt, and throw size are all variable, making it universal in size. Have you ever bought a lock, gotten home, and it didn't fit? Then, you have to leave the place unsecured or put the old one back on? If so, you will appreciate this.
I prefer paddles for outside and levers for indoors due to safety for ease of entrance and egress reasons.
It can hold THIRTY different codes. You should not even need that many.
I also like the oil rubbed bronze. That is my personal preference as I think it looks good with nearly everything and doesn't show fingerprints. This is the Lamborghini of locks. You will need the lock, a smart home hub, smart phone, and I recommend either a FireStick or Show with a video enabled doorbell like Ring as well. For your front door set, a mid-range hub, and decent Show, you will spend approximately $800, but security and piece of mind are priceless. I will go over some lower tech options as well. (Y'all can blame the guy who asked what I *recommend* for spending all your hard earned cash.) You may also need a range extender depending upon where you place your hub.
Edit: It ended up being more than the $800 when links were added because new tech was released. I love new toys, so I had to share! You can also get a lower generation or even refurb on Ring, but I would not on the Schlage lock.
