How secure is your white upvc front door?
It is estimated that over 20 million uPVC front doors have been installed in the UK over the years. Almost all of these front doors are fitted with key cylinders known a ‘Euro profile key cylinders’. Many of these upvc front door designs as part of the overall locking device are fitted with a multi point locking systems.
A multi point locking system on a uPVC front door consists of a metal strip on the edge of the door containing a number of protruding locking points that when activated will engage with keepers on the frame to secure the door. The locking system could consist of at least 6 or more of these points which are activated usually by lifting the level handle upwards. The key cylinder is turned to complete the locking procedure.
The following diagram is an illustration of the various locking points found on a multi point locking system.
Types of locking points on multi point locking systems
The multi point locking system when activated can be effective in securing the uPVC doors, however it can be completely let down by the key cylinder itself.
Older Euro cylinders typically fitted to PVC front doors, UPVC French doors and uPVC patio doors contained an inherent flaw. It became widely known that burglars could easily bypass these cylinders in seconds gaining access to the inner workings of the door locking system and opening the door. The most popular method employed by burglars is known as snapping. The process involves basically snapping the end of the cylinder and ripping out the rest of the unit. This attack could be carried out with a few common tools found in most households in seconds. Quite often cylinders have been replaced due to lost keys with a new cylinder of the incorrect size i.e. the length. The end of the longer cylinder now protruding much more than necessary give the attacker additional area to grip the end of the cylinder and snap it off. It is recommended that the cylinder should not protrude any more than 2-3mm.
Example of a extra long protruding Euro cylinder
The problem became so bad that many of the law enforcement agencies have been lobbying the uPVC door makers to address the issue. The race was on for many of the manufacturers to develop new cylinders that got round these problems. Some thought to make the cylinders from titanium which is the hardest metal known would be the answer but the cost was prohibitive. One issue that came to light during the redesign was that the cylinder shape or profile had to remain as before i.e. Euro profile. The reason being that house holders could retro fit new more secure cylinders into older locks.
The anti snap euro cylinder was introduced.
The new anti snap cylinder operates in the same way as older Euro cylinders however if the cylinder is attacked the end will snap off in a predetermined place leaving a significant amount of the cylinder in place and denying access to the locking mechanism. The new cylinders even allow the key holder to still open the lock after the attack.
Statistics have shown that a burglar will spend only a few minutes on gaining access through a door using an array of tools before giving up. The new cylinders may not stop a determined unwanted visitor gaining access but they make it more difficult and slow them down.
If you are purchasing new uPVC doors make sure that the uPVC door locks incorporate the latest cylinders that are anti snap, anti drill, anti pick and anti bump type.
For the ultimate in home door security choose exterior steel doors made entirely from galvanised reinforced steel including the door frame. These exterior metal doors are very strong and will give great peace of mind when fitted to your home.
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