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How to Never Get Locked Out of Your House Again

by on Aug 31, 2016

Getting locked out of your house is a real pain. In our house, it happens almost weekly to a certain member of our family (his name begins with a ‘B’ and ends with a ‘runo’). And while it’s a great hassle to him, it unfailingly becomes an even greater hassle to everyone in his sphere. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve had to leave the gym, a restaurant, a glorious champagne tasting with friends to bail him out. Because it always seems to happen during bad weather, well past the bedtimes of our children, uphill both ways in the snow, etc., etc. …

We’ve tried every clever and reasonable solution to the problem with no success. All of our neighbors have spare keys to our house (and they never seem to be home in our time of need). We’ve kept keys under the doormat – which is really silly – and we tried one of those ugly, fake rock key holders (and after one save, the key never made it back). 

And so, every time I leave the house and Bruno leaves the house, I wonder if he’ll make it back into the house. It’s funny, but not really.

The inside of the front door of a house with rain boots to the right.

So, we decided to try a little something new. We partnered with the folks at Kwikset to give their SmartCode 916 Electronic Deadbolt a try. The lock comes with a good old fashioned key, for people like me who have good luck with keys. But, it also has an electronic keypad for people like Bruno who can not keep track of a key to save his life.

We installed it a week ago, and I will not tell you how many times it has saved us (that number rhymes with “great”). It has also allowed our 7-year old to let herself into our locked back door after playing with a neighbor friend down the road. This was significant to her, because it spared her the 35 steps she would have otherwise had to take to make it to our very far away front door.

Ah, but I digress. Let’s get back on track.

Install a smart lock

The SmartCode keypad was easy to install. In fact, I did it by myself with only a Phillips screwdriver and the hex wrench that came with the set. It really is as simple as removing your old lock and handle, and following the very simple installation guide that comes with the set. We made a video to show you how easy the process is from start to finish. Have a look!

We’re thrilled with the new setup. It’s nice to know we can just run out the back door and leave the house secure, even if we didn’t grab keys.

And here’s the coolest thing: the new lock syncs with our SmartThings home automation system! We set up ours to automatically lock the door at night, or after 5 minutes of inactivity. Plus we can lock or unlock it from our phones at any time, so if we’re ever out of the house and can’t remember if we locked the back door … it’s not a problem).

A person holds a phone and uses an app with green in it.

This post is sponsored by Kwikset. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Curbly! 

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6 Comments

  1. I have an old triple lock. The top lock has a small hole, while the bottom part has the regular hole. On the side the plate is not separate, but measures about 7-1/2 inches long. Would it be possible to adapt this quickest to my door, as it is solid cedar wood and I would hate to replace it. Thank you.

  2. I took pictures of the lock but I don’t know how to link. Sorry. i only know how to include as an attachment but don’t know how to do that here because it is not available.

  3. Sorry, I just got a Mac and since I am learning how to use it don’t want to install anything but the basics. With so much hacking, etc. I can’t do this. Will just have to ask at the hardware store for their input. If it does work I will order it through your site. Thanks anyway.