Last Updated on 8th July 2021 by
What does Security mean to you?
If recent surveys are correct to some 70% of customers looking to purchase new doors are windows believe that Security is the number one priority which is not really surprising to any of us here at the GFD Group of companies because we deal in doors and we know because our customers tell us – “that when front door is closed and the world is locked outside you know your family is safe”.
Some of the most Frequently asked questions we receive – after styles, colour, installation etc are based around what do the “security terms” that are common place within the industry actually mean and how do they apply to the customers intended purchase – this request comes as no surprise because with every industry from time to time standards change, new products become available and testing techniques change. The three most common points for which our customers request clarification are –
What is a lock / cylinder and which is best?
What does multi -point locking actually mean?
What does PAS 24 stand for?
Here at GFD Group we always want to give as our customers as much assistance as possible because we know that the purchase of a new front door is a pretty big financial investment – at GFD we have a number of on line specialist door sites Timber Composite Doors, Global Door, Fusion Door, Composite Door Prices or if it’s just accessories your after Eurosecure so all of our customer’s questions are important and the more assistance we can give the happier we are that we will have satisfied customers so dealing with the three noted topics our guidance / clarification –
What is a lock / cylinder and which is best?
The easy answer – the bit where the key goes into to secure your door handle
When you have a multipoint locking system this lock cylinder is the part that controls the operation operating simply by inserting the key and turning.
The lock cylinder is part of your door that any potential burglar is most likely to target by snapping or bumping the door cylinder (using a bit of brute force the technique for which is readily available on hundreds of “YouTube” links) dependent upon the lock cylinder fitted to your door the would be thief’s chances of gaining entry can be rated from easy to all but impossible.
Easy if you have an older less sophisticated lock.
All but impossible if you have the Ultion lock the 3 star, diamond rated cylinder that achieves the highest possible accreditations for any euro (multipoint lock) cylinder on the market and which comes as standard on every door the GFD Group of companies sell (it’s also available along with spare keys through our Eurosecure outlet) The Ultion which during the last twelve months become the cylinder of choice for all security conscious individuals comes with some pretty unique features when compared to the competition –
Ultion succeeds in 7 ways that 3 star locks don’t
What does multi -point locking actually mean?
When you look at the side of any modern door you will notice a metal strip that runs from top to bottom – engage and turn the handle /key in the lock when the door is open and you will see hook shaped deadlocks emerge top and bottom from this metal strip these same hooked deadlocks are the multi-point locking system that engage with matching slots in the door frame when the door is closed –
There was a time when the mortice lock (the one that was fitted into your timber door was considered the supreme lock but they do not come close to the performance of a multipoint lock because when a mortice lock was forced the “keep” would break away from the frame, whereas the Multipoint locks take the pressure differently and disperse the load to avoid this type of failure.
What does PAS 24 stand for?
For the majority of consumable items in life someone or some body has come up with a standard to ensure that the item in question fulfils all of its specification criteria and the door industry is no different – PAS 24 is a specific accreditation for enhanced security and is a requirement for composite doors in order to meet building regulation which is recognised by both Police and Insurance companies. Prior to the latest update of this standard PAS 24; 2016 the majority of composite door manufacturers complied with the requirements however this latest revision of the standard which Building regulators are asking to be adhered to right now has changed the rules somewhat.
The previous standard meant that it was too easy to make large holes in many of the composite doors on the market, hence the improved test which requires a more rigorous “cut through” test performed on the door.
At GFD Group HQ we have commented on these changes in previous blogs commented on these changes notably one on our Timber Composite Doors web site entitled “and now you’re gonna believe us” highlighted the impact they would have upon the industry.
The Timber Composite Doors features Solidor doors which as they have 48mm Solid laminated timber core have no problem handling the cut through tests, and therefore achieving PAS24: 2016 with no problems.
To conclude – it is invariably true in this life that “you get what you pay for” you would not buy a Rolls Royce with a one litre engine or an inferior paint job so why accept a quality door with an inferior lock cylinder or multi point locking system – conversely you would not fix expensive locks to a door that was past its sell by date. When choosing a new door quality counts – it does not have to be the most expensive to have achieved the correct certification always look out for the CE Mark (the abbreviation of French phrase “Conformité Européene” which literally means “European Conformity”. The term initially used was “EC Mark” and it was officially replaced by “CE Marking” in the Directive 93/68/EEC in 1993) and PAS24 -2016 certification and you can pretty much be assured of a quality purchase.
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