Your Front Door for Dummies

Exterior Door Security

It shouldn't surprise us, but sometimes it just does, that freelancers intent on collecting their pennies tend to get tunnel vision. We see so many of them who zero in on one aspect of a question or problem, yet never "zoom out" for the big picture – a syndrome that can lead to some uninspiring results in their writing. Take, for example, the WiseGEEK.com contributor Amy Hunter, who "gifted" the internet with her thoughts about, "What Should I Consider When Buying Exterior Door Hardware?" Amy went straight to "curb appeal," as real estate people call it, without first considering the greater implications of the question.

Ask any of the more practical people on our staff that question, and you'll learn that there is more to the answer than what Amy seemed to think. While it's perfectly acceptable to address the style, we think the first thing you need to consider is security. Unfortunately, no word rooted in "secure" appears anywhere in Hunter's content. One of our more thoughtful staffers also pointed out that most houses have more than one exterior door, suggesting that the location of the door should also figure in the choice of hardware.

Amy was having none of that. According to her post, your "considerations" (did she also write for eHow.com under a different name?),

"Style and size are important things to consider when purchasing new exterior door hardware."

Hunter's notion of "style" is summed up thusly:

"Typically there are two different styles of door hardware available. The first comes with all of the locks set together. This means that the regular door handle and lock as well as the deadbolt go together. The second is a separate door lock and deadbolt."

Few, if any, exterior locksets have an "all of the locks set together" configuration; almost all have a separate knob and deadbolt for... wait for it... security. Many exterior locksets have a thumb latch instead of a knob, making them easier to open with hands full of grocery bags. Amy must've missed that detail.

From that point onward, Hunter chatters about style ("Craftsman or Colonial") and personal taste; and the rather odd notion that,

"The majority of exterior door hardware is some form of metal."

Wait: there are exterior locks that aren't metal? That's news to everyone here. Hunter says not one word about single- vs. double-cylinder deadbolts, length of the bolt, lock type (cylinder vs. mortise), and other security measures. Once buyers find a secure lock, then they can look at whether or not it's "pretty."

That's a Dumbass of the Day approach to your home's first line of security.

SE - SECURITY