PINS AND SECURITY

Imagine, its 11:00 PM and you are in your house, sitting on your comfy couch in the living room. The temperature is perfect like the usual 23 degrees that you set in the house. You’re watching your favorite show while the kids are sleeping. Your wife is somewhere in the house (well sometimes you just lose her in the house which leaves you in peace.)

You always remember to lock your doors and secure the house the way you usually do, park all the cars in the garage and shut all of the lights and activate the alarm. At this point, the “outside” is completely isolated from the inside of your home.

Everything is quiet, when all of the sudden you hear the alarm sound says “back door open” at the same time you hear the alarm counting backwards. You jump of the couch and yell out “who is this!!” as you prepare yourself for a conflict. You approach the back door area; pass your kitchen with a baseball bat in your hands, ready for self-defense.

The door is open, you don’t see anyone around, and you check the house, your wife and the kids. Everyone is safe and sound. After making sure that there is no threat in the house, you start to wonder who opened the door and how?

Well, you’re not the first to experience burglary. In fact many of our customers shared this type of concern with us explaining that their neighborhood is usually safe and that they never imagined this type of scenario playing out before their eyes. They are simply afraid that anyone can just pick their lock while they are sleeping.

Your average lock contains pins inside of it, usually 5 pins inside the cylinder (bottom pins) and 5 pins inside the housing (top pins) when inserting a key the bottom pins align on the key grooves and slide upwards. If the key is correct the 5 bottom pins and 5 top pins create a clean sheer line between the cylinder and the housing which allows the lock to turn. There are many types of locks in the market so you should always strive to get the best security for yourself. It’s worth it. Here is why: if your lock pins (bottom pins) are rounded edge pins then they will be easier to pick. If your pin edges are sharp and pointy they will be harder to pick. When you try to apply tension you look for that extra space to push the pins into so you can raise them one by one. Sharp pins won’t have that extra space, meaning when you raise one or two you won’t feel much clicking and therefore you would have to wonder around looking for a soft spot. There are many ways to pick a lock; therefore better pins make a safer lock.

So if you wonder whether your locks are prone to “easy picking” simply give us a call and we will be happy to assist you with that question. Burlington Lock Service is always there to help you secure your house and keep you worry free.