Laws/H&S surrounding locks on doors?

Richard Dower

Anyone have insight/links to what are the standards for insurance + H&S standards....fire escape etc.?

The doors are imo not very secure, i want to change or upgrade the locks....obviously i'll need permission and i'll pay for it myself...any advice is welcome:

The doors are just yer bog standard bedroom door lock/key type....sur anyone could get those kind of keys anywhere,

foggy_lad

Richard Dower wrote: »

Anyone have insight/links to what are the standards for insurance + H&S standards....fire escape etc.?

The doors are imo not very secure, i want to change or upgrade the locks....obviously i'll need permission and i'll pay for it myself...any advice is welcome:

The doors are just yer bog standard bedroom door lock/key type....sur anyone could get those kind of keys anywhere,

Ask the LL to replace the lock with a mortice lock and it should be ok. that lock if is is the type for internal doors is not very secure.

Citycap

Richard Dower wrote: »

Anyone have insight/links to what are the standards for insurance + H&S standards....fire escape etc.?

The doors are imo not very secure, i want to change or upgrade the locks....obviously i'll need permission and i'll pay for it myself...any advice is welcome:

The doors are just yer bog standard bedroom door lock/key type....sur anyone could get those kind of keys anywhere,

Any reputable locksmith will explain the best locking system available that will meet insurance company requirements etc.
For some reason the builders do not install locks that will meet insurance and fire safety regulations.
If your locks don't meet insurance company requirements it could invalidate your policy

Richard Dower

Citycap wrote: »

Any reputable locksmith will explain the best locking system available that will meet insurance company requirements etc.
For some reason the builders do not install locks that will meet insurance and fire safety regulations.
If your locks don't meet insurance company requirements it could invalidate your policy

Went into Ryan's locksmith....he's been in the biz for over 30 years, coming out Monday for an inspection/quote.

Richard Dower

foggy_lad wrote: »

Ask the LL to replace the lock with a mortice lock and it should be ok. that lock if is is the type for internal doors is not very secure.

Thing is...the main entrance into the apartment is one of those crappy bedroom doors :eek: , no way i could have the only lock/security be one of them bog standard bedroom door keys.

Mr. Ryan showed me them tumblers job...looked well secure, so deffo need to upgrade that main entrance door pronto!

foggy_lad

Richard Dower wrote: »

Thing is...the main entrance into the apartment is one of those crappy bedroom doors :eek: , no way i could have the only lock/security be one of them bog standard bedroom door keys.

Mr. Ryan showed me them tumblers job...looked well secure, so deffo need to upgrade that main entrance door pronto!

Whatever about the main door into the apartments you should get a good mortice lock for your door and the LL should cover this cost as those internal house locks are not secure.

L1011

That door would be kicked through in seconds (speaking from experience, albeit for fun before removing said door and replacing it), albeit that'd likely be heard/noticed quicker than someone defeating a 2 pin lock.

How on earth is that the main door though? Is the block converted from a house?

ted1

Richard Dower wrote: »

Thing is...the main entrance into the apartment is one of those crappy bedroom doors :eek: , no way i could have the only lock/security be one of them bog standard bedroom door keys.

Mr. Ryan showed me them tumblers job...looked well secure, so deffo need to upgrade that main entrance door pronto!

The main door should be a fire rated door and being a fire rated door it should be secure

foggy_lad

MYOB wrote: »

That door would be kicked through in seconds (speaking from experience, albeit for fun before removing said door and replacing it), albeit that'd likely be heard/noticed quicker than someone defeating a 2 pin lock.

How on earth is that the main door though? Is the block converted from a house?

For the apartmant/flat to be considered for use by the RAS scheme the external doors would have to be fire doors and up to a certain standard of fire resistance.

Victor

All we can see there is a door handle. Door handles and locks are not the same thing.

The_Conductor

Any chance you could show us the side-on of the door?
If its only the equivalent of a bedroom door- as you're implying, it would definitely have to be replaced- as its wholly inappropriate.

P. Breathnach

There is little point in having a high-security lock on a low-security door.

I'd be far more concerned about the apparent quality of the door.

Richard Dower

MYOB wrote: »

That door would be kicked through in seconds (speaking from experience, albeit for fun before removing said door and replacing it), albeit that'd likely be heard/noticed quicker than someone defeating a 2 pin lock.

How on earth is that the main door though? Is the block converted from a house?

Coverted 3 bed house...

Richard Dower

The_Conductor wrote: »

Any chance you could show us the side-on of the door?
If its only the equivalent of a bedroom door- as you're implying, it would definitely have to be replaced- as its wholly inappropriate.

I'll throw up a side view later, as stated below...maybe its not the lock but the door that needs changing. New doors come with good locks as standard.

Gatling

Richard Dower wrote: »

I'll throw up a side view later, as stated below...maybe its not the lock but the door that needs changing. New doors come with good locks as standard.

Can't see your new ll allowing you to change the doors

foggy_lad

Gatling wrote: »

Can't see your new ll allowing you to change the doors

It would be the LL doing the changing to meet minimum allowed standards.

Richard Dower

Gatling wrote: »

Can't see your new ll allowing you to change the doors

If i can prove they dont meet fire + H&S standards i would do it through RAS....i'd have no direct contact with him, if he approached me i'd direct him to RAS.

Gatling

What's the door made out of is the that cheap ply and cardboards type door or is it actually solid

Richard Dower

Gatling wrote: »

What's the door made out of is the that cheap ply and cardboards type door or is it actually solid

Cheap ply....those wans you breath on they fall down, as somone said...easily kicked in. My previous flat of 4 years had the same doors...utter garbage!

Gatling

Richard Dower wrote: »

Cheap ply....those wans you breath on they fall down, as somone said...easily kicked in. My previous flat of 4 years had the same doors...utter garbage!

Crap in saying that my apartment front door doesn't even fit you can fit your finger between the door and the frame when its closed the same at the bottom of the door

Richard Dower

Gatling wrote: »

Crap in saying that my apartment front door doesn't even fit you can fit your finger between the door and the frame when its closed the same at the bottom of the door

These doors if you kicked them your foot would go through....you'd need a bit more force if you kicked the lock area. I'd say the area of the door frame where you lock would need a steel reinforce plate job as well.

Victor

Ask for an environmental health inspector from the council housing department to inspect the premises.

They might not deal with fire standards, so you would have to talk to the fire officer.

quietsailor

OP, you posted on here before about the difficulties of finding an apartment, just bear in mind if your LL is financially stretched they may not be able to afford the cost of replacing those doors with a fire rated door with full spec external locks.

If that's the case the LL will have to ask you to move out as the property does not meet RAS/Local authority standards yet they can't bring it to those standards.

You could be creating a lot of trouble for yourself in the long term, yes it would be great to have the absolute best of everything in an apartment, it's better to have the apartment to live in though

P. Breathnach

quietsailor wrote: »

OP, you posted on here before about the difficulties of finding an apartment, just bear in mind if your LL is financially stretched they may not be able to afford the cost of replacing those doors with a fire rated door with full spec external locks.

If that's the case the LL will have to ask you to move out as the property does not meet RAS/Local authority standards yet they can't bring it to those standards.

You could be creating a lot of trouble for yourself in the long term, yes it would be great to have the absolute best of everything in an apartment, it's better to have the apartment to live in though

That's a "like it or lump it" attitude. If people generally operated on that basis, then there would be no point in having standards at all.

djimi

Id sooner have the hassle of moving again than lying awake at night knowing that someone could open my front door with a feather...

Richard Dower

Update here - Ryan's called a did a survey: http://ryanslocksmiths.com/

I was mistaken about the door type, they are in fact solid doors and fully fire safety compliant. He checked the locks frame etc. and everything was upto code....so what he suggested is if i want piece of mind re; security to get an extra lock on the door and a spyhole thingy, a bolt on the backdoor etc.

Nothing major, just see now if the LL gives his blessing.

quietsailor

P. Breathnach wrote: »

That's a "like it or lump it" attitude. If people generally operated on that basis, then there would be no point in having standards at all.

Oh I do know that, he can still report the LL and get the place fixed up - eventually - what I was trying to warn him of was that the LL may not be able to repair it immediately and might take the apartment off the market, then the OP is faced with going through the whole process again of finding an apartment which they seemed to dislike the 1st time around

Edit: Just saw the OP's post about the door being ok, it all worked out

jd

We're having a fire safety audit in the complex at the moment, it's quite thorough. So while our doors are compliant re fire safety, it was suggested that anyone who fitted an additional chub lock should buy a cover to put over the keyhole!

Richard Dower

My LL has said he'll pay for any extra locks i want put in...so that's cool :-)

The_Conductor

Richard Dower wrote: »

My LL has said he'll pay for any extra locks i want put in...so that's cool :-)

That is decent of him. I'd suggest a good mortice lock, and a spyhole.