Door lock: why it is needed

Among the many door accessories door lock holds a special place - it serves for security. Moreover, it protects not only the door leaf itself, the walls and furniture from damage caused by excessive opening of the door, but also prevents injuries that may be caused by a sudden slammed door.

But sometimes the opposite is required - to fix the door in the closed position so that it cannot be opened from the outside. For this are the stoppers door handles.

Types of door locks

Floor clamps and limiters

There are different types of stoppers installed on the floor. Some of them hold the door leaf in a predetermined position, others simply do not allow it to swing open enough to damage the decoration of the walls or the furniture behind the door. Among them are stationary and mobile products.

By stationary include:

• Magnetic retainer. The principle of its operation is simple: a small metal plate is screwed onto the door leaf in its lower part, and the stopper itself with a magnet is attached to the floor in the place beyond which the door should not swing open. When the door is opened, the plate is magnetised to the stopper and remains in this position.

• Door stop. This is the simplest product that does not fix the door, but does not allow it to open more than necessary.

Mobile floor clamps are much more diverse:

• The simplest door stopper in the open position is a regular wedge with non-slip basewhich can be made in the form of a toy, a cool figurine, etc. You could see an example of such a stopper in the picture at the beginning of the article.

• Another type of floor stopper is put on the lower end of the door., and its not sliding feet rest on the floor on either side of it.

To open or close the door, just press with your foot on the stopper floor for the door, thereby releasing it from the groove. There are other configurations of such devices, but they all work on the same principle.

Wall clamps

According to their purpose, they can also be divided into limiters for opening and closing the door:

• The first ones are small details of various forms and styles, which are fastened to the wall with screws and do not allow the door to beat against the wall. It can be simple and magnetic. Their installation is justified in the case when it is undesirable to spoil the expensive parquet with the device of floor stoppers, or if a “warm floor” is laid under the floor covering.

• Devices such as the open door stopper, which is attached to the upper casing, are more functional. In the tilted position, it does not prevent the door from closing, but if you turn it 90 degrees down, it will create an obstacle for the door to be completely closed. You can be sure that even with drafts or childish pranks there will always be a gap between the door and the box, which will not allow the kid to pinch his hand.

For reference. You should not be afraid that floor or wall stoppers will damage door finishing. They are made of soft materials or supplied with a rubber lining at the point of contact with the door leaf.

Hook locks

If you only need to protect children or pets from a slamming door, you can put a C-shaped stopper made of rubber, elastic plastic or other soft material on its upper or side edge.

If you need to hold the door leaf at the right angle, pay attention to the following device. It consists of a metal case, which is screwed to the door, and a brake pad.

To push the brake shoe and lock the door from opening, you must press the foot pedal. And to remove the fixation, it is enough to raise the brake pad by pressing the lever.

Locking device locks

For interior doors

Locks are seldom installed on interior doors, but if the room needs to be restricted to access, door handles with a stopper are usually chosen (see. Handles for interior doors). These handles are equipped with a latch that holds the door in the closed position with the help of the tongue that enters the opening plate on the box. No less popular are the magnetic latches.

But the latch without a stopper will not allow the door to open only from drafts, but if it is required that outsiders do not enter the room, a door latch with a lock is needed - a rotary knob securing the tongue in the closed position. It is installed on the doors of bathrooms, as well as other rooms with limited access.

Another thing - the entrance door. They tend to shut at the most inopportune moment, for example, when you take out the garbage (see How to open the door without a key). The door lock knob will not allow this to happen by holding the lock tongue inside the mechanism.