What is a French Door Rebate Lock?
What is a French Door Rebate Lock?
French doors are an increasingly more common feature in properties in order to provide breaks between rooms. Typically, French doors are double doors that meet in the middle where they meet and a lock or latch system secures them. Their use is primarily for aesthetical purposes as they offer little security and can be compromised easily. There are several different security mechanisms that you can add to French doors in order to increase the level of security. However, at Wonkee Donkee our recommendation is that you should still only use French doors for internal use and not on the exterior of a property.
What is a Rebated Door and a Rebated Lock?
To answer this question you must first be aware of what is meant by the word ‘rebate’ and how that relates to locks and security. In the construction industry items that are ‘rebated’ have been cut or designed in order to come together when closing. French doors are one of the most commonly used items that are rebated as they close into each other (usually with one side being required to close first).
Rebate locks (also called rebate latches) assist in this process and is what double doors that close together tend to use in order to close the doors easily. As we mentioned earlier, rebated locks offer little to no security against intruders. This is because they are relatively weak and also are usually next to glass panes which can be broken allowing the intruder to unlock from the inside. This is why French doors should only be used for internal doors to divide rooms rather than external entrances to the property.
How do you use a Rebate Lock on French Doors?
In places where there are French doors or similar double doors, you can use a rebated lock in order to provide privacy or a small amount of security. The way in which a rebated lock works is that instead of the latch and lock of the door entering the door frame in order to secure the doors in place, it simply enters into the other door. To put it simply, the doors are secured against one and other. Due to the doors being rebated you will need to ensure that you insert the rebate lock on the second closing door with the strike plate installed on the first closing door.
Are there any other security mechanisms for French Doors?
At Wonkee Donkee, we will always suggest that French doors are not used for the external entrances to properties and only use them internally. However, just because French doors are used internally that doesn’t mean that security features aren’t necessary. As with this the advice further up in this article, rebated door locks are easy to install and are great for privacy locks.
You can also add more mechanisms to ensure that your French doors have increased security. Our recommendation at Wonkee Donkee is to use flush bolts. The reason we suggest this is that they are not visible from the exterior side and they are now available in a range of designs that can fit in with the aesthetic of your doors and be discrete. Finally, they secure the doors against the frame of the door adding an extra amount of security and structure to the doors as opposed to the singular center locks which would be weak to a strong blow.
