It's 5 AM, and the paper just arrived at the end of the driveway; well, not quite at the end, it's more in the shrub next to the driveway where you found a stack of papers last summer when you finally got around to cutting the shrubs back. Sporting your most comfortable pair of slippers and a bathrobe, you venture out into the 12 degree February morning to grab that paper.
You retrieve the snow covered paper from the shrub and make your way back to the door, Locked. Maybe your wife left the slider open when she took out the dogs last night? Locked. Maybe the kids left a basement window unlocked? No such luck. Your phone is sitting on the table next to your freshly poured coffee. You check under the mat for a key, gone, one of the kids used it last week and never returned it. You knock on the door, no answer, ring the bell and realize its not working either. What more can you do to get the attention of your family and get back in your house? You look to the right and think ill go over and knock on Greg's door he's always super helpful. Then you realize he's away on a skiing trip. If you go to the left and knock on Karen's door you will never hear the end of it, either will the rest of the HSA. So, you do the only logical thing left. You take your slippers off and start throwing them at the bedroom window. As it flies through the air, you start questioning what lead up to this; Why didn't I remember to unlock the door before leaving? Why didn't check to make sure Jimmy replaced the key under the mat? Why do I bother getting a physical copy of the paper when I can just get the news on my phone? How long will it take to freeze in this weather? Why didn't I listen to my wife when she asked me to call South Shore Lock and Key to get an electronic lock installed last week?
Although not all of us have experienced being locked out in such dramatic fashion it can happen to the best of us. Leaving a key under the mat is great but its the first place a thief looks and if its not replaced after use its useless a second time.
I recommend a electronic lock on the most used entrance of your house. I personally have a Schlage FE575 PLY 619 ACC on my house. Schlage is a high quality brand that is affordable for most budgets. Since I only have one entrance that can be unlocked from the outside I wanted to be sure I had something reliable and easy to use without compromising on security. I just leave it locked all the time although you can unlock it from a thumb turn on the rear so it stays unlocked for high use or guests. I have several 4 digit codes programmed to it, one for each family member so its easy to remember. We had an incident this fall at my house and it required us to move temporarily and several visits from insurance agents, contractors and adjusters. I programed a temporary code for them and when they arrived I could just give them the code instead of meeting there. With commercial Grade 2 construction they are tough, rated for 500,000 openings and have a 3 year warranty. You can press the top button and the numbers glow blue for easy use at night. No Wi-Fi or external electricity needed to operate. It runs on batteries and will tell you they are running low about a week before it dies. It also has a back up lock cylinder that can be keyed to your existing locks in the house. They come in several different styles and finishes, the one pictured is a Plymouth in Satin Nickle. If its time to upgrade give us a call 781-312-8539.
-Paul Troy
Lockout are very stressful and disastrous but if you have professional locksmith around then you need not to take stress about these problems. Nowadays, locksmith experts are available 24*/7 for customer support so if you have their contact details then you can seek their help whenever lock crisis occur.