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How to fit a door chain

Updated: October 2026

You have a screw-in chain on the table and a timber front door, and the pack has either no instructions or screws that look short. How to fit a door chain on that door is a question of the lock rail, an opening of about an inch, and taking the chain off again when you are not answering. This page is the timber sequence. Prices and model choice stay on the [door chain comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/door-chain). Peter F. used DIY Doctor, Insight Security, Age UK and the UK review notes saved on 19 October 2026. These chains were not fitted in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a screw-in chain on the table and a timber front door, and the pack has either no instructions or screws that look short.

Our top picks

Yale Yale WS6 door chain, polished chrome

Best overall

Yale Yale WS6 door chain, polished chrome
9.2/10about £8.80
View offer
KAFENDA KAFENDA spring-button door chain

Rank 2

KAFENDA KAFENDA spring-button door chain
8.4/10about £12.99
View offer
SOL SOL chrome door chain, pack of two

Best value

SOL SOL chrome door chain, pack of two
8.0/10about £4.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Before you drill
  2. 2.Fix the plates
  3. 3.Set the gap and test it
  4. 4.How to use it after it is on

Before you drill

Lay the chain on the closed door and find the solid rail beside the lock, not the thin middle panel. DIY Doctor keeps the fixing about 50 mm in from the edge. That 50 mm is a fitting guide, not a British Standard. If a bradawl meets a void, stop. A hollow door, a fire door or a split frame is a locksmith job. KAFENDA states 20 mm screws. XFORT reviews describe heads that snap. The top pick, the Yale WS6, has reviews that say the supplied screws are for solid wood. Insight Security, like DIY Doctor, wants at least 25 mm into sound timber. If the leaf is uPVC or a hollow composite, use door chain for a uPVC door.

Fix the plates

Hold the plates so the chain is slack when the door is shut and taut after a small opening. Mark with the door closed, then check the chain still reaches. Yale and SOL buyers both found fewer links than the photo. If it does not reach, the chain is short for that gap. Do not angle the screws out of the timber. Drill a pilot in hardwood and drive screws of at least 25 mm until the plate sits flat. Ainkou's note says the locking-pin opening faces away from the door seam. If a head snaps, move the plate onto fresh timber on the rail. Do not keep KAFENDA's 20 mm screws. What to buy before you drill is on the door chain buying guide.
Yale Yale WS6 door chain, polished chrome

Testsieger

Yale Yale WS6 door chain, polished chrome
9.2/10about £8.80
View offer

Set the gap and test it

DIY Doctor's rule of thumb is about an inch: enough to speak, not enough for a shoulder. That inch is a fitting guide. ERA's TS 003 description allows up to 76 mm on guard after the attack impacts, and 25 mm at release. Those numbers belong to the test. If the chain opens much wider than an inch, it is long for a caller check. If you cannot see a face, it is short. With the chain on, try to lift the slider back through the gap. If you can, move the frame plate. A spring button, on the KAFENDA, must still be out of reach. Then have someone push the door. FAST-FX and LIAMGUS reviews describe chains that bent when a child opened the door on the chain. If the plate lifts, take it off.

How to use it after it is on

West Yorkshire Police say you identify the caller through a window or a door viewer before you open onto the chain. Age UK's sequence is Stop, Lock, Chain and Check. When the caller is a carer, or you are going out, take the chain off. Insight Security says the same, because emergency access and your own exit both suffer if it stays on. On a uPVC door you still lift the handle, turn the key and remove it, which is Avon and Somerset's double-lock note. Call a locksmith when you cannot find a solid rail, the frame is split, or the door is a fire door. A bar or a handle loop, if the chain is the wrong device, is on door chain vs door restrictor.

Common questions

Where on the door should the chain go?
On the solid rail beside the lock, about 50 mm in from the edge, which is DIY Doctor's guide rather than a British Standard. Avoid the thin panel in the middle of the door and the very edge of the frame. If you cannot find solid timber, do not drill a hopeful hole. That door needs a different device or a fitter.
The supplied screws snapped. What now?
Stop. XFORT reviews describe heads that snap and a shank that is hard to get out. Do not keep driving the stub. Remove it if you can, or move the plate onto fresh timber still on the rail, and use a sound screw of at least 25 mm. If the door is hollow where the screw broke, this timber method is finished.
Can I leave the chain on overnight?
No. Age UK and Insight Security both say take it off when you are not using it to answer the door, because a carer or the emergency services may need to get in, and you need to get out. West Yorkshire Police do not treat a chain as the lock that secures the door. Use the lock overnight, and put the chain on only for the caller.
The chain does not reach. Is the door wrong or the chain?
The chain is short for that gap. Yale and SOL reviews both say the photo had more links than the chain that arrived. The SOL two-pack is the best value at about £4.99, and that shorter chain is one of its written limits. Measure with the door closed before you mark holes. Forcing the plates further apart, or screwing into the edge so the chain just catches, gives you a fixing that will pull out.
When should I stop and call a locksmith?
Stop if you cannot find a solid rail, if the door is a fire door, if the frame is split, or if a screw has already snapped in a void. Also stop if the door is uPVC or a warrantied composite and you were about to use this timber sequence. A locksmith or the door supplier can say whether a chain belongs on that leaf at all.

Related pages

Door viewer

Door chain

Best door chain: Yale WS6 against the narrow XFORT

Door chain buying guide: screws, length and TS 003

Door chain for a uPVC door: warranty and the fixings

Door chain vs door restrictor: which device to buy

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 dated 19 October 2026. TS 003 is not treated as a burglary lock, and Secured by Design is quoted only for the live Yale WS6 table on that date.

  1. West Yorkshire Police: door and window advice (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Avon and Somerset Police: door security (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Age UK: doorstep scams (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. ERA: certified solutions and TS 003 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. DHF publications, including TS 003:2012 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. DIY Doctor: fitting a door chain (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Master Locksmiths Association: door chain security (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Yale WS6 on amazon.co.uk (retrieved 19 October 2026)