When our locksmiths attend burglary repairs, the way in is rarely exotic. It is a euro cylinder that snapped in seconds, a back door that was never deadlocked, keys lifted through a letterbox, or a window left on the latch above a flat roof. Search "home security checklist" and you will mostly find American articles selling camera subscriptions; this one is different — a ten-minute walk-round of a British home, built from what actually fails, with a score at the end and fixes ordered by cost. Set a timer and bring a tape measure.
Minutes 1–3: the front door
- Cylinder rating (uPVC/composite doors). Look at the lock face where the key goes: a Kitemark with three stars or a Sold Secure diamond scores the point. No marking = the snapping risk covered in our anti-snap guide. Score 1 point for a rated cylinder.
- Cylinder protrusion. Side-on with the door closed: more than about 3mm of cylinder past the handle is a grip for mole grips. 1 point for flush or near-flush.
- Timber doors: read the faceplate. Open the door; a Kitemark and "BS3621" on the lock's edge plate scores. "5 lever" alone does not. 1 point.
- The letterbox test. Stand outside, open the flap, look and reach. If you can see or touch keys, a key rack, or the inside handle/thumbturn, so can a fishing rod. Move keys out of the hallway tonight. 1 point if nothing within sight or reach.
Minutes 4–6: back and side doors
- The forgotten door. Burglars prefer the door the street cannot see, yet it is routinely the oldest, weakest lock in the house. Run the same cylinder/faceplate checks as the front. 1 point.
- The deadlock habit. A multipoint door is only deadlocked when the handle is lifted and the key turned; pulled-shut is merely latched. If anyone in the house "just pulls it to" at night, you have found your cheapest fix — it is free. 1 point if the door is genuinely deadlocked every night.
- Patio and French doors. Grip the sliding panel and try to lift it; movement enough to walk the door off its track is a classic weakness, fixable with anti-lift blocks. French doors should bolt top and bottom on the first-closing leaf. 1 point.
Minutes 7–8: windows
- Key-operated locks on the ground floor. Most insurer wordings expect them; most modern windows have them. The real question: where are the keys, and are the locks ever used? 1 point if ground-floor windows lock with a key and do lock.
- The climbing route. Walk the outside looking up like a burglar: a flat kitchen roof, a porch, a wheelie bin against the wall all turn a first-floor bathroom window left ajar into a door. Bins behind a gate; upper windows shut when out. 1 point.
Minutes 9–10: the outside story
- Side gate. Bolted — high and low, ideally padlocked — or decorative? A gate that opens with a shove gives private working space at your weakest door. 1 point.
- What the shed is announcing. Ladders and tools on show are kit for breaking into your own house. Lock them up; treat the shed door to a proper hasp and closed-shackle padlock. 1 point.
- Lighting where it matters. One motion light over the side/back approach beats four ornamental ones out front. 1 point.
Your score, honestly read
10–12: genuinely well-secured; keep the habits. 7–9: typical — one hardware gap and one habit gap; close both this month. Under 7: the encouraging truth is that low scores rise fastest: the free fixes (deadlocking nightly, moving keys from the hallway, bolting the gate, hiding the ladder) cost nothing and can be done before bed tonight.
Fixes in order of cost
- Free, tonight: deadlock every door properly; move keys out of letterbox reach; shut upper windows when out; bin behind the gate; ladder away.
- Small money: anti-lift blocks for the patio; two gate bolts; a motion light; window keys cut for locks that lost theirs.
- The serious-value upgrade: rated anti-snap cylinders on every external uPVC/composite door — the highest security-per-pound purchase on this list — or Kitemarked locks on timber doors. A locksmith can do every door in a single short visit.
None of this requires a subscription, a hub or an app. It requires ten minutes, a tape measure and one honest walk around your own home.
