To stop someone from kicking in your door:
- Install a Grade 1 lock on the door
- Install a deadbolt strike plate to reinforce the lock
- Use longer screws on the door frame
- Reinforce the door frame itself
- Install a metal or wooden door that either has no glass or has only shatterproof glass in the windows
- Add shatterproof film to your door’s side windows and sliding glass doors
- Upgrade the door’s hinges
Being safe inside your apartment or house is one of the most reassuring feelings in the world. In fact, it’s paramount to your peace of mind and living a fruitful and rewarding life.
Protecting your home from the inside begins with reinforcing the doors from the intruders who will stop at nothing to get inside.
Read on to learn exactly what you need to stop someone from kicking in your door.
Burglaries seem to be the most common reason for someone breaking in to your home and the statistics are clear…
55.7 percent of burglaries involved forcible entry, 37.8 percent were unlawful entries, and 6.5 percent were attempted forcible entry.
ucr.fbi.gov
The truth is, unless you reinforce your door or have a specialty door installed – it’s fairly easy for it to be broken down and for you to become a victim of home invasions.
How To Reinforce A Door
Doors are easy to break into because if you apply a tremendous amount of force on one of the hinges or locks, it will eventually swing open.
Those hinges and locks are the weak points of many exterior doors.
The contact points – the places where the door is secured to the frame – are the most vulnerable.
If these points aren’t beefed up; there could be a chink in your armor. Don’t worry, though – every part of the door can be upgraded to keep you safe and secure in your castle.
*Do keep in mind that there are ways to bar the door that could possibly keep you trapped inside if you needed to get out in a hurry.
On the outside chance that you’ll need to escape someday, or if there is a fire, you should pick security items that allow for bracing the door while also giving you the freedom to get out if the situation requires it.
Install Grade 1 Locks For Better Security
Having new locks installed is one way to reinforce the doors. There are three deadbolt grades, and they can each resist more force and weight than the last.
A grade 1 lock is going to be the one you want. It can withstand 360 pounds of force and several direct strikes from a sledgehammer before opening.
In today’s world, technology has breached over into the locking mechanism world. Wifi and cellphone-operated locks are now as commonplace as video doorbells.
Make sure to choose locks that work with and without help from electronics as electric locks can be used against you if you are without electricity.
Lack of power could keep you from opening the doors and using any emergency signaling equipment.
A Deadbolt Strike Plate Will Reinforce The Lock Area
Having a large metal strike plate around the deadbolt is another excellent way to reinforce the door and door frame contact point.
The plate keeps people from prying the point between the door and frame. It will also take more strikes to disable the lock and open it from the outside.
Be careful to pick the appropriate size plate for your door and deadbolt.
An oversized strike plate covering the deadbolt and doorknob will keep precise force from being placed on the contact points.
If enough force isn’t generated in the correct spot, there will be no opening it. The plate spreads out the force of the blast and will make the door function as one gigantic piece.
Longer Screws Are A Great Defense Against Invaders
When it comes to home building, the bottom line is the most important thing to a builder or contractor. This means that some will cut corners and use short screws to secure doors to frames.
I recommend that you replace the existing screws with 2 inch or 3 inch screws to ensure that they will reach the studs on the other side of the door frame.
If there’s a screw at a depth of one inch inside a stud, you couldn’t kick the door off the hinges with a rented mule!
Beef Up The Door Frame For Maximum Security
Often, taking the time to add a door reinforcement kit, such as Door Armor MAX, around the door frame will keep it from being broken open by the bad guys that are trying to get in.
Let’s face it – the more security measures than you can implement to secure your your door the harder it will be for someone to try to get in.
The Door Armor MAX metal panels are a fantastic addition that will keep people out unless you open the door for them.
Get Serious About Getting A New Door
It’s possible that the door itself could be weak and therefore a security problem.
Check your door for imperfections, and if you find it lacking, there are thousands of companies out there who make strong metal or solid wood doors that will fit perfectly in your home.
Steel is the way to go if you are serious about your security. Oak is also a great option if it is a solid piece.
Steel doors allow you and your family to sleep soundly, knowing there is a physical barrier between you and those would-be robbers
SteelShieldSecurity.com
Buying a 3-inch-thick steel door will keep you safe from RPG blasts and any other ordinance that you might encounter, although when it comes to home safety, that might be a bit much!
Shop around and find the door that will work for your home. Choose something that will fit your situation without having to make insane upgrades to your entryway.
Windows Are A Weak Point Of Any Door
If there are windows in or alongside the door, they can be used as a weak point to get inside.
Just like with hinges and bolts, there are metal inserts that can be added to keep the window from collapsing inward if someone tries to get in.
Also, there are unique doors available that have bullet and shatterproof glass. There’s more information about securing glass doors later on in this article.
The Hinges Also Require Reinforcement
If the lock is well covered, the next place that a person will attack is the hinges.
Hinges are easy to upgrade as they can be bought in thicker pieces and installed deeper into the door frame to prevent breakage.
There are also several upgrades you can add, such as a removable security bar, that will protect the hinges from moving forward at all.
Can You Kick Down A Door With A Deadbolt?
A deadbolt is a type of lock that has a bolt made of steel. When engaged (locked), the bolt inserts into a strike plate, which is located inside the door jamb.
More often than not, the deadbolt and locks that secure your door either aren’t strong enough to resist force or haven’t been installed properly.
This means that when a burglar wants to get in, they know that all they need to do is apply some force (like a kick) against the lock, and it will swing open.
Don’t be fooled into a false sense of security just because you have a deadbolt lock. Doors with deadbolts can definitely be kicked in unless they are installed and reinforced correctly.
Does Putting A Chair Behind A Door Work?
You’ve seen it a million times on television shows and movies. A person wedges a chair under the doorknob and – voila – people suddenly can’t get into the room.
I have to admit, I’ve done this myself whenever I’ve had to stay in a hotel room alone.
In real life, putting a chair behind a door only slows a determined person down. Don’t count on a chair to be the only thing between you and a would-be attacker.
Instead, using strong locks, door jammers and reinforcing your door frames should do more to help keep you safe.
Best Way To Secure A Door From The Inside
One of the best ways to secure a door from the inside is to install a barricade system, like the Nightlock Door Barricade.
A barricade system like this consists of a door brace that attaches to the floor (some, however, attach to the door).
When someone tries to force open the door, they can’t. The door barricade is as immovable as any load-bearing wall in your home.
Door barricades can be locked. In addition, they usually have various places on the barricade that allow you to swap out the attachments so it will fit any door type.
Barricade systems can be a bit invasive, and there is a lot of work that needs to be done to make them work correctly.
A barricade is going to work best when it is part of a larger, more than one floor hinge, system that combines other door safety measures.
Are Smart Locks Worth It?
If you’re considering adding a smart lock as add on to your security systems you may wonder if it’s worth it?
Or maybe you already have a smart lock and you’re worried that it can be easily hacked.
Well, like most products, there are pros and cons to smart locks so let’s go through those.
Pros of Smart Locks
- No need to fiddle with keys any more. Smart locks are used via the app on your phone and/or a code.
- They can be connected to your home security system, camera, etc.
- You can use the app on your phone to lock or unlock your doors. No need to hide a key under the flower pot any more.
Cons of Smart Locks
- It’s more expensive to purchase and install than a deadbolt.
- Most smart locks require their batteries to be changed every now and then.
- You have to make sure that the smart lock you purchase will work with your door’s orientation (left or right locks).
- It will not prevent a door from being kicked in.
- Smart locks can be picked and hacked into.
If you haven’t yet purchased and installed a smart lock I would recommend that at this time it’s not a smart idea – especially if you are living alone. A dead bolt would be a more secure option.
Are Glass Doors Easy To Break Into?
The short answer is yes. Doors with glass panels and glass sliding doors are easier to break into simply because the glass can be broken.
So how can you keep your beautiful glass doors (and the views they provide) but still keep yourself and family members safe?
- For sliding glass doors you can use a bar made of metal or wood that fits along the bottom rack of the sliding door. This prevents the door from being slid open.
- Most sliding glass doors come with security pins – if yours does not have one it would be wise to have a handyman drill a hole through the door frame to put a pin in.
- Another option for any glass door is to apply shatterproof film which is just another way to make it harder for anyone to break in.
How To Secure A Garage Door
You can do your best to try to prevent someone from breaking in to your home through your door but one “door” that many people forget about securing is the garage door.
It’s really pretty easy for someone to break into your garage which can give them easy access into your house.
So here are some tips on how to secure your garage doors from burglars and home invasions.
- Don’t be one of those easy targets – in other words don’t leave your garage door open unless you are out there working. Don’t leave items outside your garage door.
- Lights are a good security measure – whether you use motion detection lights or ones on a timer – just use lights. An intruder is less likely to break in under bright lights.
- Cover your garage door windows – some garage doors have windows. You want to cover them so that intruders can’t see inside. You can do this with cloth or some other material or you can even frost them.
- Install a garage door monitor – these tools give you an app on your phone that send you an alert if the door is opened.
- Put the remote opener in your purse – most everyone clips the opener onto their visor or puts it in their glove compartment in the car but it’s just too easy for someone to steal that and use it to open your garage door.
- Garage door locks for manual garage doors – if your garage door does not operate with a remote, there are locks that you can use to secure the door when it’s closed. It’s an extra step – but it’s worth it for your own security.
- Secure your interior door to the garage – Many homeowners forget or ignore securing their interior doors that leads into their garage. Doing so is just another barrier to keeping someone out of your home and keeping you safer.
- Security cameras – many homeowners these days have a security camera in their home but neglect to put them in the garage.
Beyond The Door
Barricading and making sure that the windows and exterior doors and other points of entry to your home are secured is very important but it’s only one part of the safety equation.
The other is home security .
Having a good home security system like SimpliSafe or ADT can give you even more protection and that feeling of protection that so many single women look for.
Conclusion
Doors should be reinforced to keep anyone from breaking in. They are weakest where they connect to the door frame.
To reinforce a door, start with new locks that can withstand several blows and a large amount of force. Next, take the time to add extra metal plates to the inside of the door and longer screws to the hinges.
Then, purchase metal plating to reinforce the area between the window and the door to keep someone from ripping the door open with a crowbar or hammer.
Lastly, check your local hardware stores for upgrades like a faceplate and grade 1 deadbolt.
Also, check your door over for potential flaws and consider replacing it if it has a lot of imperfections or is otherwise compromised.
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