Another s/o locking doors--key on the inside

notreallyirish · November 2013

I thought it was strange when we bought our house in New Orleans that all the locks required keys from the inside too. It was not an old house or anything, so it can't be blamed on old quirks. And it was in the suburbs so it wasn't super duper high security. Everywhere else I've lived there was just a knob/handle thing on the inside to turn the lock. I thought it seemed dangerous to have to have the key on the inside because you could get locked IN your house in a fire or other emergency if you couldnt find the key. DH said it was dangerous to have the knob because someone could break a nearby window and just reach in to unlock the door.

Anyway, what are your locks like? Does anyone else have keys on the inside?

JCM · November 2013

2 of our 4 door leading to outside have regular deadbolts (the kind with the knob) & the other 2 are double key deadbolts. The double key deadbolts are at the glass "french style" doors so someone couldn't break the glass & reach in & unlock the door just like your DH said. We keep the key close to the door but not close enough to reach in and get it. We put them in the same place every single time so incase of a fire we can find it, unlock the door & get out quickly. Our house was built in 2007 & the builder put regular deadbolts on all the door leading outside & DH & I changed them as soon as we closed & had them re-keyed to match the other keys.

notreallyirish · November 2013

JCM said:
2 of our 4 door leading to outside have regular deadbolts (the kind with the knob) & the other 2 are double key deadbolts. The double key deadbolts are at the glass "french style" doors so someone couldn't break the glass & reach in & unlock the door just like your DH said. We keep the key close to the door but not close enough to reach in and get it. We put them in the same place every single time so incase of a fire we can find it, unlock the door & get out quickly. Our house was built in 2007 & the builder put regular deadbolts on all the door leading outside & DH & I changed them as soon as we closed & had them re-keyed to match the other keys.

This makes sense. Two of our outside doors were glass and one was near a window, so maybe that explains it.
You seem to have a good system with your keys. Despite DH saying the knobs werent safe we ended up leaving the keys in the doors most of the time.

penguingrrl · November 2013

I've seen the keyed inside locks, but they are against fire code where I live. Too risky for the key to go missing and someone to end up trapped in a fire. If I lived somewhere with them I would change them right away. I'd rather the risk of a break in than the risk of me or my family being stuck in a fire.

zbeesma86 · November 2013

no keys on the inside- top and bottom lock on the front door and garage door. deadbolt and a normal knob lock.

the thought of getting locked in my house seems scary- are you going to buy new knobs so that doesn't happen?

notreallyirish · November 2013

hls19 said:
no keys on the inside- top and bottom lock on the front door and garage door. deadbolt and a normal knob lock.

the thought of getting locked in my house seems scary- are you going to buy new knobs so that doesn't happen?

We've moved since then, so not a problem now. Like I responded above, we generally left the keys in the door, so it was almost like having the knobs.

joyfullyfound · November 2013

No key on the inside here, just one of those twisty locks.

rockyrollgirl · November 2013

No

jnksmom · November 2013

Ours are just regular deadbolts. My grandparents have a lock that needs a key inside also. My grandpa installed it when my great grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and lived with them. She would wander out of the house not knowing what's he was doing and they were afraid she would walk out I to the road and get hurt. They have never changed it and that was over 20 years ago.

notkateanymore · November 2013

We have one with a key and one not. I don't leave the key in at night bc I heard of some sort of things thieves can do to get in when the key is in the door...but who knows if that's really true. But we would go out the front door in a fire, if possible, since it's closest to the bedrooms and that's the one without the key.

Allycat11 · November 2013

I can not ever remember seeing keys on the inside.

wesleycrusher · November 2013

Lurker chiming in but shortly after we moved into our house we left the key in the lock on our back door and someone broke the window on the door then unlocked it and got in. So it does happen, although I don't know if It would have been any different if the key wasn't there cause it would be easy enough to climb through the broken wondow. But having the key there definitely made it easier. It was in the evening and we weren't home. We never leave the key in now plus have a security system.

Eta: grammar

shortstuff15 · November 2013

I have never seen, or heard of until now, a modern house with keys on the inside. Way crazy older houses that have been condemned or are historical sites, yes. Houses that people actually live in, no. If I were ever to live in a house with those types of locks, I would be changing them the second I received my keys and before I even moved in.

notkateanymore · November 2013

LOL Who knew this was so inflammatory for people.

bumpuser924057 · November 2013

Our house had keyed deadbolts on the inside when we bought it and we had to change them after the home inspection because they aren't up to code. And we don't live in a crazy old condemned house or a historical site, just a plain old 1960s tract home. Go figure

.

shortstuff15 · November 2013

thecheshirekat said:

Our house had keyed deadbolts on the inside when we bought it and we had to change them after the home inspection because they aren't up to code. And we don't live in a crazy old condemned house or a historical site, just a plain old 1960s tract home. Go figure .

I wasn't saying that anybody who had them lived in old houses, I was just saying that those are literally the only houses I've even seen them in! I don't doubt that they exist, I just wouldn't want them in mine!

peacelove&mama · November 2013

We have the little knob you turn and a deadbolt on the front and side doors.

jllmb79 · November 2013

joirish said:

I thought it was strange when we bought our house in New Orleans that all the locks required keys from the inside too. It was not an old house or anything, so it can't be blamed on old quirks. And it was in the suburbs so it wasn't super duper high security. Everywhere else I've lived there was just a knob/handle thing on the inside to turn the lock. I thought it seemed dangerous to have to have the key on the inside because you could get locked IN your house in a fire or other emergency if you couldnt find the key. DH said it was dangerous to have the knob because someone could break a nearby window and just reach in to unlock the door. Anyway, what are your locks like? Does anyone else have keys on the inside?

We also have these locks. We actually had to install them to meet the security requirements of the US Department of State to live out side the US and work for the US Government. I hate them. We also have to have a weird lock on our slide glass door. The only pro is that my 2.5yr old can't escape.

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