Hey everyone! I recently moved into a new place and the yard/back door has a pretty basic latch. I can easily add a padlock on the outside to lock it, but that means it can't be unlocked from inside the yard. On the flip side, if I put the padlock inside, it can't be unlocked from the outside. I'm trying to find a latch and lock system that allows me to lock/unlock from outside with a key and also unlock/lock from inside with a knob or button. I've seen a few online that require a key on both sides, which is not what I need. Here's a picture of the current latch to give you an idea of the setup: https://imgur.com/a/nXhdxWq. By the way, there's also a significant gap—do I need to fill that? Any recommendations or advice would be super helpful, thanks!
1 Answer
For those types of locks, you might want to check if there's a small hole on the latch mechanism. Sometimes you can run a string through it, enabling you to pull it from the other side of the gate. That way, someone could just pull the string to unlatch the door when they're coming in. It's a bit of a workaround but could help if you're in a pinch!
I see what you're saying, but doesn't that create issues with locking? If your brother comes in through the yard and locks it from inside, there's no way to unlock it from the outside anymore. Best to have a proper locking mechanism for security.