Security question!

[fedup21]

We have had several burglaries round here recently and the police came knocking to see if we had heard anything and recommended not to leave keys in the locks or nearby in a key pot as burglars will smash the window and use the keys to get in/out easily.

I have always been paranoid of being trapped in the house on fire or filling with smoke and me or the kids not being able to get out of the doors are locked and the key isn’t nearby though!

I suppose a burglary is more likely than a house fire but it still makes me nervous!

What do other people do??

Our keys hang on a hook on the other side of the coat hooks in the hall so arent visible from the door

Same as dementdpixie for our front door keys.
All other window keys have their specific homes and are ALWAYS returned there when not in use - that way, everyone in the house knows where to find them.
Some are in little pots, with lids, so that the contents are not visible through the glass, and these are not on the window sill but are nearby.

Put a keyhanger on the inside of the door or the frame, but be sure it's out of view. Directly above/below the door lock even.

I don't double lock my front door. Exit routes in fire situations shouldn't require a key for access, you should be able to get out using a thumbturn or similar.

Keys live in my handbag which comes to bed with me.

I'd rather be burgled than have my family die in a fire because we can't get out.

My door only has a key to unlock it. There is no way for it to be secure without locking it

Have you got a plastic front door, that can be opened from outside without a key unless it has been deadlocked?

I'm not fond of them. Walk-in thieves often try the door and see what they can grab.

If you need to put a key for emergency exit, put a cup hook on the hinged side of the doorframe (not the opening side where it can be seen or grabbed by a visitor) preferably high up where it us out of the line of sight. Not near the letterbox as there are ways of reaching through.

Don't hang a huge bunch of keys there, just your emergency key.

Usually when you are going out (not in an emergency) you will have your house keys with you so don't need the one on the hook.

You can also hang window keys on the window frame, hinge side, high up, concealed by the curtains so out of sight and out of reach of anyone outside.

OP, you can also use glow in the dark tape, or see if you can get a glow in the dark hook, for the emergency key, then you'll see it more easily in the hall. We keep our keys in my coat pocket, on the coat stand just behind the door so we could grab them easily but they're not visible.

Have you got a plastic front door, that can be opened from outside without a key unless it has been deadlocked?

No, it’s an external wooden porch door with a keyhole and a key.

Thanks for all the replies-I think a hidden hook and key is the way to go. Maybe inside the house rather than in the porch.

The main front door locks (Yale) when closed but also has a little button/switch lock thing as well.

You can get various sorts of nightlatch (not all are made by Yale)

You won't find better than "British Standard BS3621" locks.

Nightlatches meeting this specification are widely available, they can be deadlocked when you leave the house and meet insurance requirements. When not deadlocked, you can open with a knob or pull to exit in an emergency without a key, or to answer the door. They cannot be opened from outside without a key. Apart from a few expensive exceptions, they are made for fitting to wooden doors and will fit the hole left by a standard "yale" with minor modifications.

You will notice the outside "keyhole" is rather big because it is armoured against attack. They can't be opened with a credit card.

Best practice with a wooden door is to have a BS nightlatch for convenience, and a BS deadlock as well. One a third up from the bottom of the door, one a third down from the top. This is about shoulder height and kick height.

The benefit of a deadlock or deadlocking nightlatch is that when deadlocked, a burglar or small urchin who has got in, say through a window, can't open the door to let in his associates, or to carry out your suitcases that he has filled with your possessions. He will have to climb out through the window.