Gate Latch Security

Categories of Gate Latches | Securing Your Gate | Gate Latch Material |
Types of Gate Latches | Chart of Gate Latch Options | The Do’s and Don’ts of Gate Latches

Securing Your Wooden Garden Gate

There are quite a few options for locking your gate. They range from gate latches that have a lock built in to gate latches offering a hole to slide in a padlock, to deadbolts, to slide bolts.

Lockable gate latches. These include a lock as either an integral part of the gate latch, or as an addition to the gate latch (such as a padlock slipped through a hole in the latch). These range from the most basic old-style gate latch that you tie a pull-string to, to highly engineered latches that have a lock as a part of the design. We have key lockable gate latches that have keyed cylinders either on one side, or on both sides.

See 360 Yardware’s selection of lockable gate latches.

Deadbolts

(Since we wrote this page, we’ve added a full page dedicated just to deadbolts on gates. Read it here.) 

Other background reading….

Sometimes you fall in love with a particular gate latch and it isn’t lockable, but you need some measure of security on the gate. A deadbolt is a really good option. Installing a deadbolt requires some tools and skill, but it looks and functions well. Generally, the deadbolt is installed in addition to a latch. You can likely find one that has the same finish as your latch.

There are two options for deadbolts: single cylinder or double cylinder. Single cylinder means that there is a knob on the inside of the gate and a keyed side on the outside of the gate. If you need to lock your garden gate from both sides, a double cylinder deadbolt is the ticket. You’ll have a keyed side on both sides of the gate. If you only need the security occasionally, you can leave the deadbolt disengaged until you need it. Deadbolts are slightly technical as far as installation goes–there is some boring that’s required in the internal guts of the gate and jamb.

See 360 Yardware’s selection of deadbolts. Almost all deadbolts can be ordered as a double cylinder deadbolt.

Another possibility for a lockable gate latch is to use the deadbolt as a latch. The benefit is that you only need one piece of hardware. The downside is
that you’ll need a key to open the gate from the street-side of the gate (or both sides of the gate if you choose a double cylinder deadbolt). You’ll also always need to latch the deadbolt by hand, rather than having a gate latch that’s self-latching.

Slide Bolts, Barrel Bolts, etc. Whereas deadbolts are operable from both sides of the gate, slide bolts, barrel bolts and others like them are installed on the inside (yard-side) of the gate. They are installed as an additional measure above or below a non-locking gate latch. To engage the lock, you slide the barrel into the catch and it prevents the gate from being opened from either side. These types of bolts are surface-mounted to the face of the gate.

See 360 Yardware’s selection of slide bolts and barrel bolts.