What we install

Three things decide it: what the door can take, how people need to get in, and whether anyone needs to manage access remotely. Get those right and the brand matters much less than the internet suggests it does.

TTLock locks are what we fit most often for rentals and multi-unit work — the code management is genuinely good, and with a gateway you can issue and revoke access without being there. Yale and Nuki come up more on owner-occupied homes where the priority is a familiar brand and a clean look rather than fleet management.

The right choice is the one your household can use every day, not the one that looks best in a brochure.

PIN code. The default for most people. Codes can be permanent, timed to a date range, or one-use.

Fingerprint. Fastest for people who use the door every day. Not ideal as the only method for a property with changing occupants.

Card or fob. TTLock calls these IC cards — RFID/NFC. The right answer for anyone who finds a keypad awkward, and easy to hand over and take back.

Mechanical key. Kept as an override on the locks that support it. This is the answer to "what if the battery dies".

App and remote unlock. Needs a gateway. Lets you open the door, or issue a code, from anywhere.

We do not fit a smart lock to a door that is not sound enough to hold one, and we do not fit one where the existing mechanism means the smart lock would be the weakest part of the door. In those cases the honest answer is that the door needs attention first, and we will tell you that at survey rather than after taking payment.