How Long-Throw Gate Locks Improve Side Gate Security
Learn how long throw gate locks enhance side gate security by providing deeper locking strength, improved resistance, and reliable protection for your property.
When we think about protecting our homes and businesses, it’s easy to focus on the ‘main’ entrances – the front and back. However, many properties also have side entrances, or at least side gates. These might bring you into your garden, or, if this is a business, it might take you to the back entrance or to where you keep your storage. Either way, you need a quality, reliable back gate lock.
As many of us have discovered over the years, though, it can be tough to find the right side gate lock. Some side gates are quite specific in their dimensions, so a standard gate lock from a local hardware store might not be suitable. This is when a long-throw garden gate with lock mechanisms might make most sense. To help you understand the value of a long-throw back gate lock, we asked Lock & Key Bradford – expert locksmiths in the UK – for further insight. What are the main benefits here?
Side Gates Need Secure, Strong Locking Solutions Too!
It’s so easy to assume that your side entrance is so low-priority that it doesn't need high-quality security. It’s an easy assumption to make, but it can also be a pretty expensive assumption, too!
Side gates are out of sight and often out of mind. They are generally used far less commonly than front and back entrances, so to many of us they can seem like a less important entrance to secure. However, criminals are always looking for a point of weakness – and if they feel as if your side entrance gate gives them easier access to your property, rest assured, they’ll use that.
Side gates need to be securely locked and protected – in fact, some might argue they need an even higher standard of back gate lock than other entrances. Since they are usually blind-spot entrances, they can serve as the hidden pathway into your building. Your front and back entrances are more frequently used and visible, and generally benefit from additional protections, such as high-quality door locks beyond the gate itself. With a side entrance gate, though, you might only have that singular gate as protection.
So, do not dismiss the importance of a high-quality side gate: it can make a real difference.
How High-Security Long-Throw Locks Enhance Your Protection
When you are shopping around for gate locks, you might find the term ‘long-throw’ being, well, thrown around, if you’ll excuse the pun. What does that mean? What is a ‘long-throw’ back gate lock?
Generally, a long-throw gate lock provides extra length in the gate's design. This is perfect for gates that are on the thicker side or have a longer distance between slats. Many locks might not fit a thicker or wider gate, but long-throw gate locks use longer bolts and have thicker mechanisms to make sure they can spread across the slats.
Remember, you need the bolts of your lock to hold firm and stay strong when the gate is locked. You need to know that the lock cannot be easily manipulated or moved aside. If your gate is on the thicker end of the scale, or it has wider gaps between sections, you need a long-throw gate lock.
Deeper Bolt Penetration
An easy way to get rid of a gate lock is to check how deeply embedded it is in the framework. If a gate lock does not have thick enough bolts, it will not penetrate properly. That means the bolts come unstuck more effectively, making it easier for someone to simply extract the lock mechanism and walk in. If you buy a long-throw back gate lock, you get deeper bolts that penetrate further into the frame.
That results in deeper penetration and greater security, reducing the risk considerably.
Tamper Resistance
Another benefit of using long-throw back gate lock mechanisms is their resistance to tampering and manipulation. Locks without the same thickness and girth would be easier to remove and break.
With a long-throw gate lock, they tend to be much more durable physically. Thus, they are hard to pull out of the gate or to unscrew and remove. It would take more physical effort and time for the criminal to remove your gate lock. That extra layer of security gives you peace of mind that no one can simply undo your gate lock.
Physical Durability
Long-throw gate locks are, generally, very durable from a physical standpoint. They tend to have thicker designs and are thus less likely to fall apart under physical impact.
Thinner, lower-profile gate locks are generally much easier to force through and move aside. With a long-throw gate lock, though, that is not as likely. It stands strong when someone hits the lock with tools or simply with sheer brute force. They hold firm in the face of external damage, including from major weather events like storms – speaking of storms…
Weather Protections
Most long-throw back gate lock designs are also weatherproofed. As such, they are far less likely to experience problems like rusting and corrosion – at least not in the short term. Eventually, that coating might wear off, but most long-throw gate locks are designed to provide long-term protection against weather-related wear and tear.
Especially in the UK, having a gate lock that won't wear down due to our weather is essential. Otherwise, you need to keep maintaining and eventually replacing these worn-out, broken-down locks.
Looking For Extra Security On Side Gates? Get Long-Throw Locks
Look, any gate lock is better than nothing – but if you are going to invest in peace-of-mind home or business security, invest properly. Get a long-throw gate lock, especially for wide/thicker gate types.
Your side entrance can become an easy target for criminals looking to break into your home if you make access easy. Get some additional protection in the form of a long-throw gate lock, and you should soon feel much more confident that your back gate lock or side gate lock will hold firm.
Whether your worries are around longevity, compatibility, or overall security, long-throw locks give you the peace of mind you are looking for.
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