interior door locks

[engineerone]

lost in another place on this very site, i mentioned a bathroom door lock i had fitted which allowed relatively easy locking internally, but some thought that a bolt lock or similar might well be the answer.

so i thought i'd start the process of looking at the discussion from a different angle.

not long before my folks died a couple or so years ago, we had various things fitted to make their lives easier. these were proposed and suggested by the local council disability department. some ideas are sensible, but others a bit silly.

my old man had prostate cancer, and a heart problem, and one of the side effects of the treatment was an ability to get stuck in the loo. which is fine, as long as the person is not stuck behind the door.

so we put in two half doors, and made them pull outwards rather than push in wards. although they have a slide bar, they are none the less easier to open if someone is stuck inside.

so i would just ask you all to consider when putting new doors in, or changing the locks on certain doors, if you have small kids, or elderly relatives, at least ask the question. "how can i get in there if anything happens, and the door is locked??"

paul

[wizer]

On all the bathroom door locks I have fitted, you can use a flat bladed screw driver (or kitchen knife) to open from the outside. Or am I missing the point?

[pewe]

On all the bathroom door locks I have fitted, you can use a flat bladed screw driver (or kitchen knife) to open from the outside

Very sensible.

There was a situation with a colleague I used to work with a few years ago where his wife slipped getting out of the bath and hit her back on the corner of a cabinet. She had injured her spine and could not stand up and crawled to the door.

She could reach the handle, just, but could not reach the slide bolt above it. She managed to make herself heard by shouting for help, but the only other person in the house was her elderly father who did not have the strength to force the door, so he had to call the police to break the door down. In the meantime the wife spent 25 minutes lying in agony on the bathroom floor.

When my colleague returned home, the police told him off for having fitted 'too secure' a lock to the bathroom door, especially with the elderly father living in the house.

I suppose there is a possibility of being 'overly cautious' and spending a lot of money being safety concious, but there are simple things which can make all the difference at little extra cost.

But 'it'll never happen to us' springs to mind.

[paulchapman]

I don't know why people find it so necessary to lock the bathroom door (except, perhaps, when there are visitors). Most people are so ugly, nobody would want to look anyway ;D

With all the slippery surfaces, it's probably the most likely place in the house for there to be serious accidents. Also, if you leave the door open when showering, the bathroom doesn't get all steamed up and cause problems with mould and stuff, so it saves you a lot of work in the longer term. A win-win situation really

Cheers

Paul

[pewe]

Most people are so ugly, nobody would want to look anyway

where have I heard that before ... oh yes, it was the first (and only) time my wife walked in when I was showering. ;D
And we have no lights in the bedroom either - so not chance of shocks off the light switch - or other things

[engineerone]

bloody stupid when you think that more people die in the home, we do not have the thought police around, yet drive 2mph too fast and you are publicly castigated and can quickly lose your livelihood.

what i was trying to say was it is important to think about the unintended consequences of what you instal.

as for the toilet lock, most men make so much noise, who would want to burst in anyway ;D

just think that if you have small kids, you protect pills with cupboard locks, but then put locks inside the loo

but actually, it is worse if you have us olders with a few problems, cause we get really p****d off being told off ;D ;D

paul