RED DOOR LOCK

The Best Way to Choose a New Front Door

If you’re in the market for a new front door, then you should  consider 3 elements before making your purchase: price, material, and style.

Price: How Much Should You Spend On Your New Door?

Unless you’re on a shoestring budget, we recommend investing   $300 – $800 on a front door. If you’re planning to install it yourself, you could probably afford to get something in the higher end of that range. If you’re going to have the door installed by a professional, then the price could be between $500 – $2000.

Material: What Should Your New Door Be Made Of?

When it comes to materials, you have quite a few options to choose from. The most common are fiberglass, wood, steel, and iron. There isn’t a “right” choice here. If there was, then there wouldn’t be so many different options. Each type come with pros and cons, but if you want something as customizable as wood, but with steel-like security, go with fiberglass. Fiberglass has an insulated core, and is naturally more durable than wood. Although it is slightly more expensive than wood, the insulation will help you keep heat from escaping in the winter, and cool air from escaping in the summer.

Style: What Look Is Right For You?

If you’re not quite sold on Fiberglass, that’s ok. Sometimes it’s best to check out some real world examples of your options. Take a look at Jennifer Noonan’s 14 Eye-Catching Options For Your Front Door and then come back…we’ll wait.

Back? Great! As you can see, doors can look great in glass, iron, and wood. If you’re still unable to decide, start with a color that fits your house best. Yes, we understand that most materials can be pained to your liking, but imagine it they couldn’t be for a moment. Once you have an idea, go out and look at different door styles in person. Sometimes pictures can be deceiving. To truly make the right call, you need to touch and feel your prospective new door.

Bonus: Security

It’s true that fiberglass is more secure than wood, but if you really want to protect your home from intruders, you should have a lock installed by a professional locksmith. Once you choose your new door, check out the locks we have available.

Not sure what type of lock you need? Don’t worry, we can help! If you’re serious about securing your new investment and keeping your home safe, then contact All American Locksmith today!

holding keys and water bottle outside

Can’t Remember Where You Put Your Keys? 10 Tips to Retrace Your Steps

If you’ve ever had to endure the panic and frantic search for lost keys, then you know just how frustrating it can be trying to locate the small metal objects that grant you access to your vehicle or home.

Maybe you’re going through it right now and trying not to panic, or you find yourself in this situation more times than you’d care to admit.

Whatever the reason you’re here, we have 10 tips that will help you retrace your steps and locate your keys with less chest tightening and more focus.

 

  1. Pause, Breathe and Relax – Being tense and worries are only going to muddle your thought process more. Once you need to find your lost keys, you need to breathe and relax so you can think clearly and see what’s right in front of you.
  2. Start Where the Clutter Is – If there are places in your home, purse or at your desk that are piled with clutter, you should start there. These areas can easily become a vacuum for loose objects and hide them with ease. Don’t just make more mess and overturn everything – start to clean and organize the space. You’ll be surprised at what you might find.
  3. Check Small Spaces – Keys are pretty small objects especially if not attached to a chain with other items. That means they can easily slip into small cracks and crevices. Get low and check behind spaces or dig your hands deep down into the couch cushions. Leave no space untouched.
  4. Call Around for Lost & Found- If you just left somewhere it makes sense to call and ask if anyone has turned the set of keys into the lost and found. Oftentimes in a rush to check out and leave you may leave them behind and they’ve been sitting safely in the same spot the whole time.
  5. Use Your Memory- Close your eyes, relax and draw from your visual memory to remember the steps you took throughout the day. Try to actually visualize the keys, it might stir up key clues to finding the last place you had them.
  6. Do a Walk-around- Literally, retrace your steps. Do exactly everything you did prior for the day again, in the same way, while keeping an eye for a stray key somewhere along the path.
  7. Recruit friends to help- Looking for keys is a grueling process. Getting a fresh set of eyes out there on your search could be helpful.
  8. Write it Down – If calling up memories of the day doesn’t work, you might do better literally writing it down. Grab a pen and paper and start to write out all your steps for the day in hopes something important will come to mind.
  9. Double Check – Once you’re coming to the end of your attempt to locate your keys, go over everything above one more time. A second check might surprise you and reveal something you didn’t see before.
  10. Call a Locksmith – If you have no desire to worry about your lost keys and you need immediate access or if you’d rather put your worries in the hands of a professional equipped to help you gain access to your home or car again, call a locksmith!

 

All American Locksmiths provides trusted, prompt lockout services, new locks, and more throughout Connecticut & Westchester County. Contact us today!

 

woman locked out of car sitting on floor

What to Do When You Get Locked Out of Your Car

It happens to everyone at least once. Maybe you’ve left the car to grab the mail. Maybe you were distracted when you parked, thinking about work, what to make for supper and whether that cloud means a thunderstorm is coming. (In some rare cases, the lockout could be the fault of a child or a pet.) Whatever the reason, you’ve found yourself locked outside your vehicle, and you realize you’re not going anywhere anytime soon. What do you do?

If there’s a child or pet involved, call 911 immediately.

If necessary, in high temperatures or unsafe situations, you may need to break a window even before help arrives. Choose a window away from any human or animal occupant of the vehicle. If you have some tape available, apply some to the window, which may help keep some the glass from scattering.

Check all the doors, including the hatchback, if it has one.

It may seem obvious, but locksmiths and firefighters who are often called to help report that in many cases, one door was actually unlocked. (Plus, it saves you the embarrassment later.)

If you’re really handy and there’s a hardware store nearby…

This is likely to be out of most people’s technical skill portfolio, but there are ways for “clever-with-tools” people to open a locked vehicle. Popular Mechanics provides some instruction here. Important tip: never use a “slim jim.” They won’t work on most modern cars, and you could damage the vehicle.

Call a professional.

Most of us aren’t MacGyver, and unless we’ve locked ourselves out of our vehicles in the parking lot of a Home Depot, we don’t have access to the right tools. Hopefully, we do have access to a phone, either our own or one we’ve borrowed (if you’ve been unlucky enough to lock your phone in the car.)

In Connecticut, All American Locksmiths provides fast, mobile locksmith service, ensuring that you don’t have to wait too long to get back into your car, and can be on your way quickly. We provide mobile, 24/7 car lockout services, car key replacement services, chip car key and keyless remote programming, transponder chip keys and keyless remote replacements in western, southern, and central Connecticut.

 

Contact us today!