When buying a new home, what is one of the first things you do? Pick out rugs, new furniture, bedding? For us, we always buy new locks. Locks are your first line of defense when keeping your family protected, but often we don’t put that much thought into them. How do you know you have picked the best locks for your home?
I have a secret weapon to make sure I have found the best locks to help me feel more secure in my home. BHMA Certified® locks have been tested for security, durability, and finish. Each BHMA Certified lockset and deadbolt is rigorously tested in each of these categories based on industry standards that set progressive levels of performance requirements for residential hardware.
We enjoy traveling and split a lot of our time between our home and lake house. Keeping both places protected for my family and our pets is so very important to me. I need to know that no matter where we are, our belongings and homes are secure. This all starts with picking out the best BHMA certified locks for the door.
What is BHMA?
The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) is the only organization accredited by the America National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop and maintain performance standards for door hardware. Any product bearing the BHMA Certified® Secure Home™ label has been tested and audited according to these standards—the highest in the industry—to ensure product quality.
What do the Ratings Mean?
Security is how well a lock or deadbolt can withstand impact, whether from a possible intruder or extreme weather conditions.
Durability is how well a lock or deadbolt functions after repeated, long-term use. It also measures how well a lock or deadbolt operates with excessive weight on the door.
This is our front entry where we redid the entire room from floor to ceiling (yes we redid the ceiling!). When planning this area I wanted something functional and beautiful. I wanted guests to be able to enter the room and have a place to sit and remove their shoes. A closet for their coats to be stored away inside and buckets for hats, mittens and scarves since we live in Minnesota and it seems to be cold more than it is warm. Part of planning this space was also making sure we had quality locks that would hold secure and keep me, my children and our pets protected.
How to Pick the Best Locks for Your Home
Where and how the lock will be used determines which rating system you want to look for. In high traffic areas such as the front door, I feel more secure with a Best rating for all three categories. With other doors, I focus on a Best rating for finish and I don’t need as high of marks in the other categories. This label infographic may help.
Best Locks for Your Home Video
Now that you know what the ratings mean, how to use the BHMA Certified® Secure Home™ label, and what it looks like, you can add it to your list of items you need to address in your home renovation or new home purchase!
This post is so informative, selecting the right locks is so important.
I will keep this in mind. I have wanted to upgrade our locks.
This is good info to know. I want my house to be safe so I will be upgrading my locks.
This is something we really take for granted but should put more thought into! Thanks for all the info.
I have been wanting to get better locks for our doors. These look really nice.
Great information. This is something homeowners shouldn’t ignore or disregard, safety should always come first.
I’ve to get locks for my new home. Thanks for sharing these tips. I’ll keep it in my mind. Also, I loved your wall collage!
We recently replaced our locks and I’m glad that we chose ones that are highly rated.
Having the right lock on your doors is really important. We have a few on our front door. We’d rather be safe than sorry.
Thanks for sharing this! We all need to feel safe in our own homes!
I’m obsessed with the farmhouse look, too and we actually upgraded our locks last year to match the look. Thanks for the info about the locks.
I have been thinking about upgrading my locks. I’ll definitely have to keep these in mind!
Great to know about this. We definitely need to choose the of quality locks that will keep us safe.
I have never heard of BHMA before! You have shared some great info here in this post. I’ll keep these tips in mind surely 🙂