I rent a room in a private home and cannot change the doorknob, but I would like to be able to secure my room from others staying in the home. Is there a way to secure an outward opening interior door that does not have a lock?
Doors – Outward opening bedroom door without a lock
doorsinteriorSecurity
Related Solutions
See the lock insides? That's a metal sleeve, with an inside sliding piece. That inside sliding piece is connected to the latch bolt. Push it to the left, and voila!
Some additional details. This is what you see when you remove the knobs, shaft and escutcheons from a knob set. The central shaft, which is has a flat, vertical cross-section, goes through that D-shaped hole. Turn a knob either way, and the top or bottom edge of the bar pushes against that sliding piece to open the latch. (Hence bib's suggestion of using a large screwdriver to act as that shaft.)
I believe the smaller hole on the right is for a lock. Push a button on the (interior?) escutcheon and a round shaft is pushed into that hole, preventing the sliding piece from sliding. Low-tech, but quite functional.
It's called a "Thumb Turn Cover", "Door Latch Guard", or "Cylinder Guard" and installs under your thumb turn mount plate, so it should be a DIY job.
It took me a very long time to pick out my security door for this reason, it's very hard to find one that blocks potential reach-around disarms for less than $600. The most secure ones I saw all ensured that the openings within an arm length of the latch were all too small for someone to just stick an arm in. Similarly, the only built in cylinder guards I saw weren't really deep enough to prevent a reach around.
For me, the point of the security guard was so that my girlfriend could open the front door to talk to someone if needed, but not worry about them trying getting into the house. As adding a cylinder guards would won't protect against this for a quick moving intruder you may want to consider a "Screen Door Grill" or "Screen Door Pet Gill" installed on the interior side at lock height instead. They mount with screws, so you could DIY it.
Related Topic
- Doors – Position of door stop vs lock striker plate
- Doors – What kind of lock set do I need for this door
- Doors – the best type of door/barrier for a 96“ H x 48” W uncased opening
- Doors – Is a backing stud on the lock side of a door against an intersecting wall necessary
- Doors – Door knob lock not moving when turned to lock
- Doors – How to “lock” a bathroom door without drilling or spending too much money
Best Answer
I would search Amazon for "portable door locks" and add a long-shackle padlock to this type of device
You need the padlock because the majority is accessible from the outside. The whole thing will obviously be visible and not resistant to detrmined attack.
The lower photo shows how it locks into the door frame, preventing the door opening in its usual direction.
This works because an inward-opening door that an occupant wants to secure while asleep is essentially the same case as an outward opening door you want secured when you are elsewhere. The added padlock prevents passers opening the lock.