Waco, TX Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

, Code of Ordinances ch. 6, art. VI, div. 2 (Buildings for Residential Occupancy) sets minimum hardware standards for every residence for which a building permit was applied for after December 2004. Section 6-376 requires exterior swinging doors to carry a single-cylinder deadlock with a turnpiece and a minimum one-inch throw; the rule reaches carport doors (a garage without a door) but not doors leading into a garage that already has its own garage door. On paired doors, the inactive leaf needs flush bolts or throwbolts with a five-eighths-inch throw at head and foot, and exterior doors with exposed pin-type hinges need non-removable hinge pins or safety studs on at least two hinges.

Section 6-377 covers sliding patio doors: the lock bolt must be hardened steel (or have hardened steel inserts) capable of resisting 300 pounds of force in any direction, mounting screws must be inaccessible from outside, and double sliding doors must interlock at the meeting rail. Section 6-378 requires window locks capable of withstanding 150 pounds of force without the window lifting free of its frame. Section 6-379 requires every garage door, of whatever material or operating style, to be lockable by throwbolt, flush bolt, deadbolt cylinder, padlock and hasp, or an electronic power-operated mechanism with automatic locking.

Section 6-380 separately requires reflective or illuminated (20-watt) street-visible address numbers. The building official reviews permit applications and inspects construction to try to ensure compliance (§ 6-364); a board of adjustment and appeals (building) hears hardship or alternate-materials appeals under § 6-365.