ᐅ Triple-point locking system for a ground floor apartment entry door?

Dear forum,

We purchased a condominium from the developer, and the work on the apartment is almost finished. The handover will take place in the next few weeks. The apartment is on the ground floor and has a hobby room plus a bathroom and a second entrance door in the basement.

Currently, we have planned standard single-point locks for both entrance doors on the ground floor and basement. We are now considering whether it would be better to equip the ground floor entrance door with a triple-point lock (the basement door must remain a single-point lock for technical reasons). The additional cost for the triple-point lock on the ground floor would be about 700 EUR (net), as the door leaf would also need to be replaced.

What would you recommend – leave it as it is with single-point locks on the ground floor and basement, or at least upgrade the ground floor entrance door to a triple-point lock?

The door manufacturer advised us to leave it as is, as statistically, burglaries on the ground floor are more likely to happen through windows or the patio door rather than the apartment entrance door (due to the high public traffic on the ground floor). The risk of burglary through the apartment entrance door increases with the floor level.

Thank you very much for your feedback!

PS: As far as I can tell, almost all apartments in this building project have standard single-point locks installed. Maybe we are just being paranoid...

Locking is only one part of the security rating.
What is the door now? For entrance doors (depending on the area), I would choose a certified RC2 rating.
Windows and patio doors are much more vulnerable. A suitable protection class helps, as well as lighting with motion sensors and possibly a camera. The last two options can be difficult in a condominium owners’ association since they affect common property.
Why are you doing this retroactively? It would be much cheaper during construction. This way, you end up paying twice. Depending on the protection class, different anchoring in the masonry is also required...

rick2018 schrieb:

Locking is just one part of the security rating.
What is the door now? For entrance doors (depending on the area), I would choose certified RC2.
Windows and patio doors are much more vulnerable. It also helps to have an appropriate security rating, lighting with motion sensors, and possibly cameras. The latter two can be difficult in a condominium association as they affect common property.
Why are you doing this retroactively now? It would have been much cheaper during construction. This way you’re paying twice. Depending on the security rating, different fixings in the masonry are also required...

The entrance doors have a profile cylinder lock and burglar-resistant hardware ES1 according to DIN 18257, plus a security door plate with core pull protection and lock cylinder on the outside covered with hardened metal. I don’t know which RC class that corresponds to.

The windows and patio doors have burglar resistance class RC1N with mushroom cams and lockable window handles. We have a constant power light outlet next to each window and patio door for future motion sensors (no cameras).

In general, the area can be considered quite safe. We are building with a developer, so there are limits to special requests both in terms of selection and price.

Edit: I just noticed that ES1 corresponds to RC2. See the table attached.

ES 1 only refers to the security fitting, not the entire system (e.g., the door).
Your windows and patio doors are the weakest points. RC1N is misleading—it's not even RC1.
Security and the feeling or need for security are different things. Fear is a poor advisor.
If it doesn’t interfere with the appearance, I would install an internal locking bar in the basement. Leave the doors as they are and focus on securing the vulnerable windows and patio doors with glass break sensors, motion detectors, etc. But use common sense. Don’t try to build a fortress. Actually, for a security concept, you are already too late.

rick2018 schrieb:

ES 1 refers only to the security fitting, not the entire system (e.g., the door).
Your windows and patio doors are the weakest link. RC1N is misleading. Not even RC1.
Security and the feeling or need for security are different things. Fear is a poor advisor.
I would install an internal security bar in the basement (if it does not look disturbing). Leave the doors as they are and focus on securing the vulnerable windows and patio doors with glass break sensors, motion detectors, etc. But use common sense. Don’t try to turn it into a fortress. Actually, you are already late when it comes to a security concept.

Okay – thanks for the honest feedback. Do I understand correctly that you would install a locking bar at the bottom and leave the door as is at the top? Or would you use a triple locking mechanism at the top?

We consider a full security concept for a condominium to be excessive for our needs.

Leave the doors as they are. In the basement, add a locking bar.
The security concept doesn’t have to be elaborate. And as mentioned, it’s too late for that now (with reasonable effort).