does your front door automatically lock?

NativeMom

Mon, Oct 06 2008, 8:35 pm

We can set our lock to lock automatically, which we usually do. I've actually left keys in the lock on the outside and only remembered when My DH walked in holding my keys....

mummiedearest

Mon, Oct 06 2008, 8:48 pm

ours does when we set it to. I would like to tell this story as a warning to others:

a couple of weeks ago I stepped out to check the mail, closing the door behind me so the kids wouldn't come out and fall down the stairs. as this was the middle of the week and we only set it to lock automatically on shabbos, I was surprised to find that I couldn't get back in my house. my son does not know how to turn doorknobs yet, and my daughter can't even walk yet, so they couldn't let me in. after a few minutes of panic, I smashed the window in the back door to let myself in.

if you have children who cannot let you in, I suggest you not get one of these locks. b'h I was able to break in, but I don't know anyone on the block who would have been home at that time, and I would have had to leave the kids there in order to borrow a phone and would have had a longer wait for a locksmith to come.

mumoo

Mon, Oct 06 2008, 11:19 pm

the house I grew up in? Three doors, all locked, with locked deadbolts and storm doors also locked. After everyone was home for the night, the chain went on as well.

My house now? Four doors, like Avraham's Ohel, and everyone unlocked and wide open- all day. The side door is open because one ds likes to come in there when there is "too long of a line" at the front door.

The basement door is open because it is too long for another ds to go around to the stairs to come up, so he just goes out the bottom door and up the back porch. Which means the sliding patio doors must be open.

The front door use to never close unless it was slammed, but since we had it fixed, no one closes it at all, lest it lock (no twisty thing like Queen has) because kids are in and out all afternoon. And now the new storm door's handle has broken off, locking me IN in the process, so we had to push out the locking bolt to keep it from closing all the way.

mandksima

Tue, Oct 07 2008, 7:08 am

mumoo wrote:

The front door use to never close unless it was slammed, but since we had it fixed, no one closes it at all, lest it lock (no twisty thing like Queen has) because kids are in and out all afternoon. And now the new storm door's handle has broken off, locking me IN in the process, so we had to push out the locking bolt to keep it from closing all the way.

Hmmm...sounds a lot like me. We don't have a doorknob on the front of the door, just a decorative pull handle. We actually took off the deadbolt because one day I came home and the door was jammed by some freak of nature - the gust of wind created by me pulling the door shut on the way out somehow pulled the deadbolt swing arm forward so the front door could only be opened a few inches. There was no way to undo it. I had 2 strong men come over, climb over the backyard fence (not too high) and see if my back door (a 3 door sliding door) was open. It was not. They somehow lifted out the back door from it's track and came in and opened the front door. My front door is ultra crook proof and my back door is easy access.

amother

Tue, Oct 07 2008, 8:25 am

Not only are those kind of door/locks annoying, but can be harmful. My son's babysitter has a door like that, and his little fingers got stuck, and the door locked... I couldn't even open the door!! I had to ring the bell 3 times, and tell them over the intercom to come open the door...

raizy

Mon, Nov 03 2008, 10:52 pm

no keys for me. my other house I was locked out daily my dh or his boss had to come and rescue me. I always forgot the key at home . then I decided to put it in my wallet. who ever forgets their wallet at home. it worked. but then I moved.

and the bell didnt work. and the key was at home and I came home from the mikveh. and I didnt have a key.... and I didnt have a cell phone and it was late summer night... I screammed and knocked... I went from the fire escape up the stairs but at that moment my dh decided to go looking for me in the front... what joy...finnially he heard all my banging and opened up....mind u this was the first time in the new house.... what a way to start the night...

the next day we got a combination lock...and a new bell that worked. end of story and we lived happily ever after.

MyKidsRQte

Tue, Nov 04 2008, 9:12 am

Id love for my door to be self closing never mind self locking. When my husband or kids leave the house they seem to forget to pull the door shut behind them Sad

The worst is they cant imagine why I close the door & if I lock the door they think Im nuts-go figure.