Single Cylinder Deadbolt: A single-cylinder deadbolt is the most common type found in residential homes, with a standard keyed entry on one side and a thumb latch or flip on the other. This is the type of deadbolt we typically recommend for homes.
Double Cylinder Deadbolt: A double-cylinder deadbolt, which is also known as double-sided deadbolts, requires the use of a key on both sides of the door. They were very common in older homes especially if there is glass by the door. The fear was that a robber could break the glass and unlock the deadbolt gaining entry. In theory this sounds great but there are some series problems with this. Firstly, many buglers don’t like breaking glass because it creates a lot of highly suspicious noise. Secondly, it’s considered a fire hazard. You want to be able to get out of your own house in case of fire. You don’t want to have to search for a key in a panic. Panicked people also use more strength and could potentially break the key. Lastly, many home owners decide to leave a key in the interior side of the deadbolt. Effectively creating a single sided deadbolt. If someone were to break in and grab the key, they would have easy access to your home. You would then want to have your locks rekeyed creating another expensive and headache if someone would break the glass. For all of these reasons, we do not recommend double sided deadbolts.
Interchangeable Core Deadbolt: If you look around shopping malls and stores you might see locks that look like figure eights. These are SFIC or Small Format Interchangeable Core Locks. They can be rekeyed without moving the hardware. This makes rekeying them take a fraction of the time then rekeying traditional locks. They require special hardware and the locks are more expensive making this cost prohibitive for most residential customers but it is a great option.
Smart Lock Deadbolt: These locks are becoming more popular every day. However, we here at Lock Alchemy notice that many people install these locks not knowing everything about their door, the lock, the software, and the app used to control it. Our recommendation is to tread lightly if you’re going to a DIY install. Do your research. Some people think that locksmiths fear electronic smart locks will put them out of business. In fact, they require very precise installs and their failure rate provides a lot of service calls for locksmiths.
There are even more types of specialty deadbolts.
