Which deadbolt/ lock type to buy?

Well, first off, does your door swing into the space or out of your space ??? If it is an out-swing door install some kind of latch protector before doing anything else...

Medeco is good, as it is pick highly pick resistant, but it will add expense to everything from the initial installation (it costs more), to duplicating keys and re-keying it in the future if that becomes a thing that needs to be done...

A dead-bolt will begin to help you with your security concerns... But you will still need to take further 'target hardening' precautions to ensure the maximum possible level of security...

Typical fire code drywall is 5/8" thick reinforced with imbedded fiberglass strands... So you have a wall with two sides of sheet rock hung on standard aluminum sheet metal studs... This is the norm for commercial occupancies, but I am not sure if NYC has more intensive requirements these days...

Adding a deadbolt to your door is a step in the right direction... But if you have *A LOT* of valuable equipment that is only the first step of your security battle plan... You NEED an ALARM SYSTEM... A professionally installed hardwired one... You said that you have a one-room open space ??? Make sure that you have your central control box for the alarm system installed as far away from the door as possible... And in the event that it can still be seen from the doorway make sure to have some kind of instant tamper circuit installed which will trip the alarm in the event the box is tampered with while the system is armed... Depending on what you keep in your space you may or may not want a motion sensor of some kind... These have mixed results in commercial spaces as often in retail environments there are often signs hanging that can move when HVAC equipment cycles on and off creating a condition of false alarm... Take that into consideration when your alarm system is designed... Don't cheap out on this as an alarm will alert the authorities to someone attempting to steal your equipment... It may also help ease your insurance expenses a little bit as well...

With walls made out of sheet rock anything you put on the door in way of locks can be easily bypassed by someone with a utility knife or a drywall keyhole saw... If the "boogie-men" know what is inside your space and what it is worth the only way to keep it safe is with an alarm...

I hope that this helps you with your problem...

Evan the Maintenance Man

First off the door is an in-swinging door.

I understand that I the lock is only the first step. (Also the most obvious.)

That is for sure. Since someone can cut around the door and kick it in (I guess.) I figured a good deadbolt would be a better alternative than a police lock. I am defintiely going to get an alarm system. I am researching that as we correspond.

Thanks Evan,

Your advice is great.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a deadbolt lock?

Videoken

Ottawa Canada

I personally favor MEDICO locks as their rrestricted keyway lets you keep tabs on who has a key as only YOU can order duplicate keys.

If the wall between your room and the hallway is made of drywall and the walls between you and other tenents are also made of drywall, your room is not very secure from someone gaining access through one of the walls so while you can put a good deadbolt on the door, a robber especially in the evening or on a weekend can just bash through the drywall and help themselves to everything in your room.

You may want to look for a more secure room to house your video equipment prefereably with brick or cement walls between the room, hallway and neighbors.

You could install an alarm system in the room with fine wire in the walls which will indicate someone is bashing a hole in the wall, but frankly your room sounds as secure as a cardboard box.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but even high density firre resistent drywall is pretty easy to get through if someone really works at it.

Good luck finding an affordable, secure room for your business in New York, NY.

Brian

"videoken" (qqqqqqqchekken_u snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.comqqqqqqq) writes:

$ 20.oo for a key???

If you want to go with a high security lock like the Medeco that's fine but make sure you make the rest of the security chain just as good. I would not use the Schlage since it does not offer drill resistance. Drill resistance is a must for anything above minimal security in a lock. It's just too quick and easy for someone to drill a non resistant lock. A premises like you describe is really not secure at all without a monitored alarm so that would be where I would start if I were you. As far as the drywall don't hope for much security from it no matter how thick it might be. If your equipment is really valuable consider locking it in a good safe or other very sturdy container inside the room. That + a good lock + the alarm should give you enough protection.

if your walls are drywall a simple box cutter will open your space in seconds.

I got a new Medeco lever set for 40 bucks on ebay. I got it cause I felt like buying not because of any illusion of security.

thick it might be.

I think somewhere along the line someone got the impression that I was offering the drywall as a description of a security measure. I do uderstand that anybody can get through the drywall with easily available tools. The whole point of me getting a good deadbolt lock is so that they don't come in through the door. I want to hopefully force them to break the walls if they want in that bad.

I understand that the room is not really secure even if I get a good deadbolt. But the room is what it is. I am getting a security system. And theft insurance. I probably won't be putting security alarm wire in the walls. But I want to make sure (As much as I can.) That the thieves don't come in through the front door. I was going to get the police lock, but I figured that would be overkill considering how insecure the walls are. (As many have pointed out.)

My man 'key' had it when he responded earlier:

So what I want is the best (Right) lock for my door and frame setup.

Can someone please give me an example of a 'good lock'? I am looking to make a purchase soon.. When I started researching it got confusing fast. The only thing I could really figure is that I wanted a grade 1 lock.

A good alternative please?

videoken

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Yes I will offer some specific makes / models

My personal favorite is a Schalge 500 series Deadbolt AKA SUPERBOLT (B560,B562 (double)) although they are currently out of producton they can still be found on some shelves and if you ask on here SOMEBODY will have one . The keyway is covered by a harded streel plate and provides reasonable drill resistance. Add that to a restricted key and you will be ready to go. try lori 80 or 90, Assa V10, Primus, or many other Restricted keyways, a UL listed cylinder migth be considered over kill because of the drill resistant cylinder cover. The only negative I can think of is it requires a 2 1/8 in hole (Same size as a kwickset) and somepeople dont like a hole that big in their door. There are some other features that this model has that are not found in other dbs, 4 screws holding the lock to the door vs 2 ,2 screws + a retaining ring holding the cylinder to the face instead of 1, hardened steel face vs brass,

This model has been replaced by the 600, 700 ,800 series DB and in my opinion they are not even close to the beefyness ( is that a word?) of the

There is a model made by Multilock mentioned in another post that is also a very strong lock..

Medeco makes a good product , and you will pay for the name, Miwa (USA) makes a very strong DB with a magnetic key that would prove very difficult to pick / good drill resitance and kind of a puzzle to take apart/ put together.

Do a web search for a Miwa dealer near you.

Thank you keyman55, this is the kind of information I am looking for!

videoken

There's no need to. Use a motion detecter. Make sure the system is a monitored one. Everybody has heard a burglar alarm going off with nobody paying any attention to the siren.

For a high security lock installation I would be a good idea to go with a UL-437 compliant lock. By doing so you take out alot of the work in selecting a model since standard compliance saves you from having to research each and every attribute. The Medeco is the only one of the three you mentioned that is compliant. There are other standards but most of them are more stringent. The most important thing you are getting by adherence to that standard is drill and pick resistance as well as resistance to forcable attack. It sounds like you are the only one who will have keys so key control is probably not the most important thing here. I'm assuming that your deal for the space allows you control of the keys since you are installing your own locks.

Most if not all of the Medeco dead bolts would be fine. If you want the Schlage then go with the Primus available in the B800 series and if memory serves also in the B700 series, but double check that to make sure. Don't forget the extra protection of locking your items up in another container within the room.

Medeco and Mul-t-lock are really the "kings" of the city now, and the majority of our service calls are spent installing their product. If you want something cheaper Arrow is pretty common in the city as well and make some excellent products. Personally, I like the Mul-t-lock d/b over the medeco because of the way, when properly installed, the ball bearings on the bolt interlock with the high security strike so the bolt can not be pried apart from the strike. Also, the going price for Mul-t-lock keys in the city is anywhere from $6.50 to $8.50 per key, dont' pay more. One more tip, if you are getting a mul-t-lock, insist on having the locksmith install one with an 006 keyway, this way you can get keys cut anywhere they do mul-t-lock. Any smith that won't install one with a regular keyway I would run away from, they are too desperate for business that they need to install one with "their" keyway so you have to go back to them to get copies (probably at $20 a copy instead of $7).

good luck

-snip-

One more tip, if you are

There are benefits that come from a restricted keyway. The customer just needs to decide if they need the key control or not.

Mzone, thanks for your help. I am probably going to go with mul-t-lock. I might have to ask an area locksmith for a recommendation. Any last words of advice before I choose?

videoken

What area of Manhattan are you in? We are in Brooklyn, I might be able to reccomend someone to you.

My studio is right around Penn station.

videoken

Oh, I forgot. The landlord said he will have the deadbolt installed for me. I was thinking about getting the lock at metropolitan hardware or one of the bigger places. (I figure I will probably get a little better price/selection.)

Thanks,

videoken