Horley Locksmith

If you have a UPVC/composite or wooden door, it is most likely that you have a euro cylinder lock. It is important that the euro cylinder lock on your door is fitted correctly. The cylinders vary in size (length) based on door thickness and the type of handle. 

Doors with euro locks which are the incorrect size are prone to LOCK SNAPPING, which is a very common method used by burglars, and is very quick with very little skill or tools. 

To prevent the risk of Lock Snapping, make sure your door locks fit the door correctly and consider installing anti-snap locks on all external doors. 

There are many different types of Euro cylinders available costing anything from £10 to £80.  All have different features and levels of security. Why would you want to spend so much more money on one compared to the other?   Check out below to help understand the some of the differences between cylinder types.

The basic 5 pin cylinders are the entry level cylinder for doors and although they do the job to lock and unlock the doors they are often cheaply made and don’t have the same security benefits of the more expensive cylinders. These are suitable for internal doors but should never be used on external doors (unless additional security is added).

The next step up from these ‘basic’ cylinders are the 6 pin ranges. These cylinders are ok but most are extremely basic without much in the way of security to prevent drilling, picking and snapping. 

These are very commonly used on the UPVC doors as they are extremely cost effective however a lot of them are extremely cheaply made so care needs to be taken when purchasing these cylinders. 

There are 2 types of kite-marked cylinder on the market today, one star and three star. 

These cylinders are an older tested cylinder range that give all the security features internally within the cylinder, anti bump, anti pick, anti drill but they don't have the anti snap protection. If used in conjunction with security handles then these cylinders can meet the 3 star rating but not with the more standard of UPVC handles. It is recommended that the 3 star rating is achieved for all external doors.

Cylinders with this rating are the top level cylinders, they have been tested for all the security features the 1 star cylinders have but also the anti snap as well. This gives them the 3 star rating on their own so there is no need to spend more money on additional security handles.

It is recommended that you install 3 star kite-marked cylinders on all your external doors to get the best level of protection.