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Door bolt buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You are choosing a surface bolt for a cupboard, a bathroom, or a light internal door, and the listing in front of you says heavy duty without saying what that means. A door bolt buying guide has to settle the job first, then the shape of the frame, then the metal, and then the doors that must not get a marketplace bolt at all. Prices in this twelve-listing set run from about £3.79 to about £14.99, and none of them prints a BS EN 12051 code. The [door bolt comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/door-bolt) holds the listings. Peter F. used those amazon.co.uk listings, updated October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing a surface bolt for a cupboard, a bathroom, or a light internal door, and the listing in front of you says heavy duty without saying what that means.

Our top picks

SAYAYO SAYAYO padlock-hole slide bolt

Best overall

SAYAYO SAYAYO padlock-hole slide bolt
9.2/10about £8.49
View offer
JelKen JelKen 75 mm slide bolt, silver

Best value

JelKen JelKen 75 mm slide bolt, silver
9.0/10about £3.79
View offer
n/a Necked barrel bolt 75 mm, chrome

Rank 3

n/a Necked barrel bolt 75 mm, chrome
8.8/10about £4.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the bolt is for
  2. 2.Straight, necked, or something else
  3. 3.Length and metal
  4. 4.Rules that override the listing
  5. 5.What to do next

What the bolt is for

A door bolt, in the sense these listings use, is a single shoot you slide or turn by hand into a keep, from the side it is fixed on. It gives privacy on a bathroom or bedroom, or it holds a cupboard shut. A gate you leave needs a padlock hole and a padlock. A door that is the way out of the home needs a lock standard, not this category. ProtectUK asks for a BS 3621:2017 lock on a house door and BS 8621 on a flat entrance. A slide bolt does not meet that sentence. If the leaf is the only way out, stop before you add anything to the basket.

Straight, necked, or something else

A straight slide shoots into a keep when the door face and the frame face line up. A necked, or cranked, barrel bends so the shoot can reach a face that is set back. In this set the necked pattern is the chrome 75 mm by 25 mm barrel. A straight 75 mm slide is the light internal size. Putting the straight one on a rebate is how the shoot misses the keep. A padbolt is a thicker bar and a hole for a padlock. The only listing here that states a 16 mm bar, 150 mm long, and an 8 mm hole is the SAYAYO, the top pick, at about £8.49, and the padlock is not in the box. Sheds go to the shed door bolt page.
SAYAYO SAYAYO padlock-hole slide bolt

Testsieger

SAYAYO SAYAYO padlock-hole slide bolt
9.2/10about £8.49
View offer

Length and metal

Size is a retailer guide, not a strength grade. Small bolts suit cupboards. In this set, 75 mm is the light internal size. A 150 mm bar is the gate pattern. Chrome plate is a finish, often brass under the plate. Grade 304 is the claim on the short JelKen slides, the best value from about £3.79, and on the SAYAYO. The word 304 is not the seven-digit corrosion grade. Which listing to open first is on the best door bolt page.

Rules that override the listing

BS EN 12051:2000 classifies use, durability, fire, safety, corrosion and security in seven digits. Fire digit 0 means the bolt is not for a fire or smoke door. None of these twelve listings prints the code, so heavy duty is not a security test. On an escape route the door must open without a key and without more than one mechanism. Fitting, including the pilot hole, stays on the how to fit a barrel bolt page.

What to do next

Match the frame, then the length, then the metal, and refuse the bolt when the door is a final exit, a fire door, or the only lock on the way out. A flush cupboard takes a straight 75 mm slide. A rebated internal door takes the necked 75 mm by 25 mm chrome pattern. A gate takes the 16 mm bar and a padlock you buy separately. Chrome stays indoors.

Common questions

What size bolt for an internal door?
Trade shelves sell a 75 mm chrome barrel for internal doors and cupboards, and that is the light size in this set. A 4 inch title can mean a body nearer 95 mm once the catch is excluded, so measure the stile. A 150 mm bar is the gate pattern, not the bathroom one. Nominal length is a retailer guide, not a strength grade.
Is chrome the same as stainless?
No. Chrome is a plate, often over brass, and a 75 mm chrome barrel of that family is sold as an interior bolt. Stainless in this set is a grade-304 claim on particular slides, not a word you can transfer to every shiny listing. Coastal corrosion is a higher grade again, and these pages do not print it. A 316 padbolt for that case sits outside this set at about £40.55.
Can this be the lock on the front door?
No. ProtectUK specifies BS 3621 on a house door and BS 8621 on a flat entrance. A surface bolt has no street key, and it must not be the fastening on someone’s only way out. It can be extra privacy on a cupboard or a light internal door that already has a proper way to leave.
Is a plain slide bolt enough for a bathroom?
It can stop a casual opening, which is what many buyers want. It cannot be opened from the landing, and a reviewer in this set was shut in when a short slide stuck. An indicator bolt with an outside release is a different product and is not in this comparison. Fit any bathroom bolt at hand height, not only at the top of the door.
When do I stop and call a locksmith?
Stop when the door is a flat entrance, a final exit or a fire door, when an insurer has named BS 3621 or PAS 24, or when you want a mortice and you are not sure the door is about 44 mm thick. Also stop if a bolt has already jammed with someone inside. A cupboard bolt is a household fitting. Those doors are not.

Related pages

Barrel bolt or mortice bolt

Door bolt

Best door bolt: cupboard slide, chrome or gate bar

How to fit a barrel bolt on a timber door and keep

Shed door bolt: padbolt, or two hasps and padlocks

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures on the twelve listings. No BS EN 12051 grade is claimed, because none of the listings prints the code.

  1. DHF: bolts to BS EN 12051:2000 (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Secured by Design: locks and associated hardware (retrieved October 2026)
  3. ProtectUK: security at home (retrieved October 2026)
  4. Secured by Design: secure sheds and outbuildings (retrieved October 2026)
  5. IronmongeryDirect: which type of door bolt (retrieved October 2026)
  6. The Crime Prevention Website: other door locks and bolts (retrieved October 2026)
  7. DHF: requirements for escape doors (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Master Locksmiths Association: minimum security requirements, January 2025 (retrieved October 2026)