Bathroom Locks

A bathroom lock is a privacy mechanism, not a security one. It combines a latch with a deadbolt thrown by a thumb turn inside the room and an emergency coin release outside, so the door can always be opened from the landing if someone falls ill or a child locks themselves in.

Getting the specification right

Two measurements matter: the backset, which is the distance from the door edge to the centre of the spindle, and the centres, which is the gap between the spindle and the turn. Both must match the handle you have chosen. Complete matched sets are listed in bathroom door handle sets and handle packs.

The turn and release can also be bought separately in bathroom turns and release cylinders. For bedrooms use a bedroom lock set, and for keyed or external doors see sash locks and dead locks.

What a bathroom lock has to do

A bathroom lock is a privacy set, not a security lock. It has to hold the door shut, lock from the inside with a thumb turn, and open from the outside in an emergency without a key. That last requirement is why a bathroom set is not interchangeable with a bedroom key lock: in a bathroom you need to be able to get in, and in a bedroom you need to be able to lock people out.

The parts of a bathroom doorway

A complete bathroom door needs the lock case, a handle pair from door handles or bathroom door handle sets, the turn and release from bathroom turn and release cylinders, three hinges from door hinges, and the cover plates if the handle sits on a rose rather than a plate. Buying it as one line is what a bathroom handlepack is for.

Choosing the door as well as the lock

Clear glass is the wrong choice for a bathroom. Use a solid leaf from unglazed doors, or if you want light, a frosted glazed door or a reeded glazed door. Moisture is the other consideration: a factory-finished leaf from fully finished internal doors is sealed on all six faces, which is why it copes with a shower room better than a door finished on site.

Can a bathroom lock be fitted to any door?

The leaf needs a solid lock block at the right height. Hollow core doors have one built in, so the lock has to be fitted at that point rather than anywhere on the edge.

What if the bathroom door sticks in winter?

That is almost always moisture in an unsealed edge rather than the lock. How to stop doors swelling and sticking covers it.