In the five years we’ve lived in this house, I’ve been locked out maybe half a dozen times, most notably in the second trimester of pregnancy with a full bladder. That’s why, when the nice folks at Schlage offered a free electronic keypad door lock to test out as part of a blog tour, I jumped on it. Punch a code instead of fumble for keys? I’m all over that!
Here’s how the Schlage people describe the lock:
The keypad allows access via a four-digit code that can be customized so members of your family, guests, nannies, and service providers can all access your home using different codes. Each code (up to 19 on each lock) can be easily set up for a new person or deactivated if you no longer want someone to have access to your house. No more keeping track of spare keys, sending your children to school with a key around their necks, or changing the entire lock if you have a flame out with a nanny. Schlage Electronic Keypad Locks also provide relief from the rare occasions when you are locked out of the house or your child arrives home unexpectedly – without you there.
I love the concept, and since I changed the deadbolt myself when we bought this house, I thought I’d have no trouble installing it. The day the new electronic keypad lock arrived, I asked Beloved to take care of Lucas so I could install it. It only took me a moment or two to remove the old deadbolt, and then I realized that the new lock wouldn’t fit on our door. To make it fit, I’d have to make the deadbolt hole bigger. They provide easy instructions on how to get this done with the help of your local hardware store, but that’s where I lost interest. I’d love to have the fancy new electronic keypad lock on the door, but we just don’t have enough time right now to be taking apart the front door. If I wasn’t living my life in stolen 15 minute segments away from the baby, I probably would have gone ahead with it.
But then I felt bad. The nice Schlage people sent me this really nice lock set, and one of these days I’m actually going to install it. Just not right now. I briefly debated blogging as if I had installed it, but I would have felt bad about that. Suffice to say that it really is a nice lock and a great idea. I’ve wanted one of these for some time, and can’t believe that I was lucky enough to get a free sample and can’t make enough free time to actually install it. The antique brass finish matches perfectly with our existing door handle, and I really think this would be simpler than stashing spare keys with friends and family members and ferreting them away in secret hiding places that I inevitably forget the moment I need one.
And now my to-do list includes enlarging the deadbolt hole in the door. I’m sure I’ll get around to it one of these days.
(Disclosure: Mom Central offered a free sample lock and a $20 Amazon gift certificate for being part of the Schlage lock blog tour. I’m not sure they got their money’s worth out of me, and I apologize for that. Blogging with three boys seems three times more challenging than blogging with just two did!)
So how is it powered? Battery? Wired in? If wired, what happens if the power goes out? If battery, are there lots of warnings about low battery power?
It does sound like a cool idea. Even cooler would be a remote control like for my car 🙂
Oh, do you have any idea how many times I’ve tried to click open my front door with my car key fob? For that, I’d drill THREE new holes in the door!
It’s battery powered, with a 9V battery. (Not included, my only complaint, now that you mention it.) And I did say to Beloved as I was opening it, “Uh oh, something ELSE that might start complaining at the most inconvenient possible time when it runs out of juice.”
If you aren’t going to use it, we’ll take it!
We had an electronic keypad (self installed, not sure if it was Schlage, but we’re not handy so it says A LOT that we installed it) at our old house and we LOVED it. Having a code was great. The only draw back was it that it froze up in really extreme temperatures, like the -40 C temps Winnipeg is famous for, and you were out of luck if you didn’t have the door key. Not cool for the house sitter looking after your menagerie of pets while you’re away.