Multi-point locks for aluminium doors

A tall aluminium or uPVC door held by a single lock bows in the middle and lifts at the corners. A multi-point lock (MPL) drives bolts into the frame at the head, the cill and one or two mid-points from a single lift of the handle, then deadlocks with the key.

The parts

• Gearbox — the centre case with the main latch and deadbolt, driven by the handle and cylinder.
• Extension bars — carry the drive up and down the door edge.
• Locking points — hooks, rollers or shootbolts along the bars that engage the frame.
• Keeps — the frame-side plates the bolts land in. These take the load, so they must be screwed into a reinforced part of the profile.

Getting the throw to match

The critical numbers are the backset (handle spindle to door edge), the PZ (spindle to cylinder centre, usually 92 mm), and the overall length / point spacing. These are set by the door profile system. Order the MPL for the profile you are using — a generic bar rarely lines the points up with the keeps.

Hook, roller or shootbolt points

• Hooks pull the door tight into the frame and resist it being forced away — best for security doors.
• Rollers compress the gasket and adjust for seasonal movement — good for weather sealing.
• Shootbolts at the head and cill lock a leaf solidly, essential on the fixed leaf of a double door and on tall single doors.

Handles and cylinders

Use a heavy-duty lever set rated for MPL operation and a cylinder to the right PZ length — measure from the fixing screw, not the whole cylinder.

Send the profile system, door height and whether it is single or double, and we will build the lock set.