Oval Cylinder Keyed with Turn

When it comes to meeting fire safety regulations, especially in HMOs, flats, guest houses, care homes, and commercial buildings, using an oval cylinder with thumbturn is not just good practice—it’s essential. These locks allow keyless internal egress in emergencies such as fires, while maintaining secure external key access. In properties with multiple occupants or vulnerable users, they offer peace of mind for landlords, building managers, and residents alike.

To ensure a fully compliant and professionally finished installation, you'll need a few additional components:

• A oval profile lock case to match the shape of the cylinder barrel and allow correct fitment within the door leaf
• Oval escutcheons or oval cylinder pulls to surround and protect the cylinder, offering neat aesthetics and reinforcing against tampering
• Door handles on oval lock backplates for visual continuity and to provide smooth operation in high-traffic settings such as office doors or corridor exits

These items work together to complete a fire-safe locking solution—minimising the need for keys during emergencies and allowing fast escape from the inside. If you're renovating older properties or retrofitting commercial spaces, these components can help you remain compliant with building regs, fire safety standards, and insurance requirements.

Whether you're a facilities manager specifying for care environments or a contractor updating older commercial stock, thumbturn oval profile cylinders combined with the right architectural ironmongery offer a practical and regulation-friendly upgrade.

Before replacing or upgrading your oval cylinder with thumbturn, it's important to get the sizing right—especially when working with older or non-standard door setups. These cylinders are typically found in aluminium and timber doors with oval profile lock cases, where compatibility is essential for a secure fit.

🔧 How to Measure Your Oval Thumbturn Cylinder:

1. Remove the cylinder from the door by unscrewing the central retaining screw in the faceplate.
2. Measure from the centre of that screw hole to both ends:

• External side (key-operated)
• Internal side (thumbturn)

This gives you two measurements, e.g. 35/35 (70mm overall) or 40/30 (70mm offset). Both are common sizes in UK commercial and residential settings.

📏 Popular thumbturn cylinder sizes include:

• 35/35 (70mm)
• 40/40 (80mm)
• 45/45 (90mm)
• 40/30 (70mm offset)

If your existing lock case supports an oval cylinder, it's best to match that profile to avoid modifications. However, many new projects now opt for Euro profile cylinders instead—especially in uPVC, composite, and steel doors.

🔄 Euro Profile Cylinder as an Alternative:

Oval profile systems are increasingly being phased out, and for good reason. Euro profile cylinders offer a range of modern benefits:

• Multipoint lock compatibility – Perfect for front doors, patio sliders, and security-rated doors
• Advanced protection – TS007-rated, anti-snap, anti-pick, and anti-drill technologies
• Wider variety of finishes – Ideal for modern décor schemes where brushed steel, nickel, or black hardware is desired
• Easier upgrades – Common sizes make it simple to switch to higher-security or smart lock versions in future
  

While oval cylinders with turn are still a reliable solution for legacy systems and fire escape compliance, consider Euro cylinders for new builds, insurance upgrades, or higher security needs.

👉 Need help measuring or choosing between oval and euro formats? Contact us and our technical team will be happy to advise.