Fitting a cylinder night latch
Summary: Fitting a cylinder night latch or Yale lock
Fitting a cylinder night latch is one of the easier Diy jobs, follow the instructions below.
A cylinder night latch, of which the Yale lock is the most common sort, is an easily fitted lock that locks itself automatically when the door is closed. It is fitted to doors which open inward. The cylinder night latch can only be opened with a key from the outside but can be closed, and locked, from the inside using the locking button. It has to be said that the cylinder night latch is not the most secure of lock and is one of the most easily forced. Its " grown up", more secure partner is the cylinder rim lock with a deadlock. These locks are fitted in the same way but can be "dead locked" by turning the key 
twice which makes sure the locks bolting mechanism cannot be forced back into the lock. 
Usually ( Complain if it does not) a cylinder night latch comes with fitting instructions and even a template for marking the door. An important point to remember when fitting all door locks and latches is to hold the drill level when you make any holes. If any holes, especially key holes, are drilled at an angle through the door the two faces will not line up and the key or knob will be very tight which leads to a malfunctioning lock in no time.
The tools you need are below. There are two positions for a night latch to be fitted, depending on the size of the latch. The larger latches are set back from the door edge by 60mm with the smaller latches being set back 40mm.
Mark a suitable height for your latch, the usual height is about 1500mm from the ground but there are no rules. Look at the instructions for the diameter of the hole you need to drill in the door to put the night latch through. A flat wood bit, or an auger bit will be used for this hole but make sure you drill the hole from both sides of the door with a level drill. If you push a drill bit this big through the door it will split the timber coming out the other side. Insert the cylinder, through the front plate , and onto the door. Fix the mounting plate to the back of the door . The cylinder will fix to the mounting plate with the two long screws provided.
Put the lock body over the mounting plate and mark round the door edge overhang. Chisel this out using a sharp chisel. Try the lock in postion and chisel out more from the recess if necessary. Drill pilot holes for the screws which attach the body of the lock having checked the length of the locking bar. If the bar is too long it can be easily cut with a hacksaw. Fit the lock body and tighten.
Push the new lock towards the door frame and mark the height and position for the latch. Place the keep against the frame and mark out ready to chisel out the required amount of frame. Chisel a little at at a time rembering you can always take more out, but you can't put it back. Sit the latch in the recess and screw in.
As well as the video below, you can go to our video section on security and watch a film on how to fit a cylinder lock.
All project content written and produced by Mike Edwards
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