Every home owner wants to have the confidence and security that their front door should provide. It serves as an entry point to your invited guests, but it can also be the perfect entry for those who come uninvited – robbers and crooks. That’s where most home break-ins happen – through the front door.
That’s why you should think about your front door security – is it good enough to prevent these break-ins? Statistics show that front doors are the most common way of entry for those who want to steal your possessions. You would have thought that a window is simpler, but the majority are through front doors. Pumping up your front door security should be at the top of your list of home improvements.
Image source: Pauzer Design
Even if the front door looks safe and secure, almost every door has a weak point, too. Thus, you can easily improve your front door security with only a few simple steps. Here are the best ways to improve your home security by increasing the front door security.
Suggestion# 1: Upgrade Your Locks
You should certainly think about the lock of your front door – is it good enough to withstand the pressure from robbers? Some are easily exploitable, especially the older locks that haven’t been changed for ages. Thus, buying a new lock or improving the existing one might be in order here.
And locks can greatly vary in terms of quality and safety. You’ll be surprised just how much of a difference a quality lock can make. A strong door is almost nothing without a good lock, which makes the importance of a lock even bigger.
Preventing break-ins can be very effective by adding a metal door-and-lock reinforcer. This can prevent the burglars from messing with your lock in the first place. These reinforcers can be made from a wide array of strong metals, such as brass, iron, and steel. The stronger it is, the more powerful the protection.
Installing a single-sided deadbolt which only locks and unlocks from the inside is a great choice, too. If you’re looking for one, then the “Design House Single Sided Deadbolt Lockset” can be a fantastic choice. Find more details on Amazon
If you have a 1/2” deadbolt, then you can also improve that. Just add a deadbolt with a 1” thickness. There are many great options when it comes to 1” deadbolts, and we’re not going to recommend a specific product. Instead, we encourage you to take a look at the whole line of products on Amazon and make your pick.
Choose a bolt that doesn’t have the exposed exterior screws. Consider installing a deadbolt that is exit-only. This allows you to lock your home from the inside only.
Suggestion# 2: Reinforce the Strike Plate
The strike plate is the piece of metal that’s used to reinforce the lock additionally. It’s found around the lock where it enters the door frame. The problem with the strike plate is that if it’s not properly installed, or if it’s an old one, it can be susceptible to break-ins. This will allow the burglars to kick down the door easily or just pry it open.
One of the first things you should check is whether the plate is connected with long screws to the door jamb and the door frame. Screws that are too long will bite into the stud and make the lock and door more unstable.
Firstly, you should remove those short screws and attach the striker plate to the door, if you don’t have it already. For this, you’ll have to use 3” or 3 ½” screws and replace the shorter screws. The screws should be long enough to go through the door. But be careful not to overtighten them, which can suck the door frame in with it.
Now that you have the strike plate in place and smaller screws, the door should be tightly secured and protected from possible kick-ins.
Suggestion# 3: Get a Security Screen
Image source: California Security Screens
How about adding a security screen to your existing doors, which can act as an additional door? These are pierced metal barriers with enough space to add extra locks. They are usually installed at the point of ingress, and they protect your door from break-ins and potential burglaries.
Also, if you add the additional locks, that should protect you from unwarranted, invisible, and covert break-ins through the locks. The additional deadbolt and the knob should provide an additional, crucial layer of security. And another great thing about these doors is that they have pierced openings, allowing you to observe everything that’s going on outside.
Choosing the right product is fairly simple – make sure it is durable and strong enough. This one is a great product from Amazon. Make sure the screen is strong and durable enough to support your main doors, and that it has a hole where you can see what is happening outside. This will kick up the front door security to another level.
Suggestion# 4: Add Inexpensive Door and Window Sensors and Alarm
Of course, you should keep your door locked, which is the first line of defense. But how about adding another layer of defense by adding window sensors and alarms? These can trigger the flight response for the burglars and save your home or flat from being broken in.
There’s a huge variety in the window sensor and alarm department. Most of them work wirelessly, though. They are magnetically triggered, and they are usually aligned along the side of the door. The sensor is attached to the door itself usually, and the magnetic field is created between the door. When the field is broken, the alarm is triggered.
And you’ll be able to connect many of these safety devices to your monitored security system. You’ll even receive mobile notifications when your doors are open and see your home directly through the security cameras.
Take a look at some of the best products here.
Suggestion# 5: Strengthen the Glass Surfaces
The majority front doors have glass windows and glass surfaces which can be the vulnerable part of your front door security, if not installed or chosen correctly. You should try with installing bars on your glass doors, which can amp up security. Make sure they’re installed closely together, and you might also want to add a layer of film to increase the security.
This will help you keep the door secure and free from possible break-ins through the glass. And to order a roll of security film, check Amazon, they have some great products.
Glazed and semi-glazed doors allow you to amp up the security by adding decorative metal grills to the interior of the door. Or, you can purchase a protective layer along the back of the door’s glass.
Suggestion# 6: Add Door Reinforcement Hardware
Lastly, you should investigate the hardware of your door. Namely, the lock, and how it is placed and installed. The weak points in the lock can easily be exploited. If the lock is improperly placed, then there might be larger holes in the door, which can significantly decrease the safety of your door. In those cases, you might need lock reinforcement hardware.
Spending hundreds of dollars on fancy deadbolts can be inviting, but it will give you a false sense of security. The truth is that most don’t know how to pick a lock, which makes the physical entries a far more used way of entering and breaking down doors. A well-placed kick or even body slam seems to be the most common way.
But you can easily prevent that from happening by reinforcing your doors and adding reinforcement hardware. They might take up to an hour to install, but the components of the reinforcement hardware will keep you safe from aggressive break-ins.
Door hinges can also be a point of vulnerability for your doors. They are an integral part of the structure, but they can also be a painful point of your doors. If the burglar is unable to target your lock, then they will turn to your hinges. They can dislodge your entire door if enough force is exerted.
Door hinges come in two different varieties: inward-facing and outward-facing. It’s better to go with inward-facing hinges, which tend to be far more effective for protection. They are inaccessible and the burglars will find it much easier to access outward-facing hinges.
Ending thoughts on front door security
There are many ways to improve your front door security. These are just some of the fixes, however, we believe that these are the most effective ones. There are still many more tips and tricks on how to improve the front door security, though, and these are by no means the only ways.
However, if you really want to protect your home entirely, you should be focusing on a multi-layered approach. You can focus on the front door, sure, but don’t ignore the various aspects of front door security, such as hinges, for example.
If you enjoyed reading this article about front door security, you should read these as well:
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- The problems with having a kitchen exhaust fan ventilation
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The post How to improve your front door security without spending a fortune appeared first on Impressive Interior Design.
source https://www.impressiveinteriordesign.com/front-door-security/
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