It is important for everyone to find the best way to secure a door because they are likely to be the most important part of your home’s security. There are many things to consider about your door’s security, including how you use it, how many other people use it, and the amount of risk the property is currently facing. If you are looking for better security while living alone, you may feel you are more vulnerable to burglary because so few people visit the home. But if you live with a large group of people, access control and convenience may need to be balanced with new security. Regardless of your situation, your doors play a tremendous role in your home security. It’s imperative that you have the right type of doors in San Diego to prevent burglary or other types of intrusion. We’ll cover the best ways to make your front entry door more secure.
Install a Door Lock
A high-security lock is going to offer a variety of protections. It is the best way to secure a door against surreptitious and covert entry methods. As long as you are choosing from trusted door lock brands and choosing one of their high-security products, you will be on the right path to secure your door. Understand that security comes from the deadbolt and not the door handle (even if it has a keyed lock). So make sure that your deadbolt can withstand the appropriate amount of force. The strength of the lock, in this instance, comes from the type of metal it is made from and how much metal is used. Even if the lock uses hardened steel, it may be largely hollow, so it will not be as strong as thicker locks.
If you are looking to upgrade your locks to smart locks, it is important to know the differences between smart locks and traditional locks. The key always comes down to knowing if you are using the wrong lock for a particular door. But as long as you are using the right lock, all you need to be cautious about selecting is a lock with picking resistance (which will translate into bump key resistance) and hardened metal construction (which will result in cutting, drilling, and kicking resistance). With these characteristics present in your selected lock, you will have a lock that provides the best way to secure a door.
There is a wide range of door locks you can choose from, including:
Deadbolt Lock
This is the most common suggestion for strengthening the security of your entry door. Parents often recommend this to children moving out on their own for the first time. A deadbolt lock is a stronger lock that can replace your current lock or add to a latch. A deadbolt is impossible to open without rotating the key. The common alternative, spring locks, can be picked open by applying force to the bolt. A deadbolt can still be picked, but it’s much more difficult to do.
Varieties include double-cylinder deadbolts, which are keyed on both sides, and single-cylinder deadbolts keyed on one side. Whichever type you choose, make sure it has a grade 1 security rating, and follow the next suggestion below to connect it securely and solidly to the frame.
Five Lever Mortice Lock
Almost all burglars and intruders will try to enter a residence from the front door of a property. Needless to say, this is your priority door when it comes to home security. All the same, if you have other entrance doors, you might want to consider using the locks on those too. Not all burglars give up if they can’t break in via the front door, which is why all entrance door security is important.
Mortise locks are a category of home security locks that are usually installed in a pocket on the door of many homes, residential buildings, and apartments. The door on which the mortise door is to be installed requires a minimum thickness of at least 2 inches for it to be fully effective. In as much as a mortise lock reduces the integrity of the wooden door, many security experts still agree that mortise locks are stronger and much more versatile than their boring cylindrical counterparts.
Mortise Locks Can Be Secured From Both Ends. One of the advantages of installing a mortise lock on your doors at home is that you can lock the door from both sides. This makes it ideal for front doors, providing security both when you are in or out of your home. Another security benefit of mortise locks is that it has to be opened with a key from the outside and a latch from the inside. This unique feature makes it suitable for entrance doors. Mortise locks can be locked from the outside during the day and from the inside at night, thus providing your home with 24-hour protection.
Multipoint Locking System
The most common lock for an exterior door is a standard deadbolt, but it’s not the only option. Multipoint locking systems provide an added layer of security to your front and back doors. Multipoint locks extend most, if not the full height of the door and have multiple locking points along the edge of the door. The extra locking points strengthen your home’s security by providing a tighter seal along the length of the door, top-to-bottom. This compression also makes the door more weathertight than a standard door, which makes it more energy efficient.
With a standard locking system, your primary lock is in the center, usually a single deadbolt. In that case, the top and bottom of the door don’t have integrated locks which leaves the door more vulnerable to a break-in.
Night Latch
A night latch is a lock commonly found on home front doors; they are mounted to doors that open inwards and mounted to the inner surface of the door. When the door is closed, the night latch automatically latches the door shut. The door can be kept from latching closed by keeping the door 'on the latch,' a phrase you may have heard of.
Night latches are very simple security. They are very easy to use; open the door with a key and shut the door behind you. When they are combined with other locks, latches can offer an extra level of home security. A deadbolt and latch combo is a great example. Because of how they are mounted, they're also a good option for securing double doors, which are particularly at risk of getting kicked in.
Repair or Replace Hinges
A weak hinge can allow intruders to get access to your home. Because they can deteriorate after years of use, they need to be maintained and repaired as needed. The door jamb and the hinges play an important role in front door security. Reinforcing them is usually not a complicated process, so in most cases, you can do it yourself without the help of a professional. The first thing you should do is make sure the screws of the hinges are at least 2 1/2 inches long. This is extremely important. Screws shorter than 1 inch are a serious security threat, so you definitely want to replace them. It’s just a few minutes’ works, and it costs almost nothing.
Another way you can reinforce the hinges is to install hinge bolts below and above them. Hinge bolts are small metal bolts that sit in a hole in the jamb when the door is closed.
If you have an outward opening entry door, the hinge pins are accessible to anyone from outside. So crooks can easily remove them and get into your house. Besides making your front door more resistant to kick-ins, hinge bolts also prevent burglars from lifting your door out even if the hinge pins are removed. You’ll find our best tips to secure an outswing door here.
If you want to reinforce the door frame, we recommend that you go with one of the ready-to-use kits. These sets usually contain metal jamb and hinge shields and also a secure deadbolt strike plate that fits most standard doors.
A durable jamb reinforcement kit significantly improves security by making your front door much more resistant to force attacks. However, keep in mind that it doesn’t protect your door against more sophisticated attacks, such as key picking or bumping (that’s why you should install a secure deadbolt as a first step).
Install a Peephole
Having a peephole can give you an extra layer of protection by allowing you to inspect the people at your door before you open it. Implementing peepholes or monitoring technology in your home is an incredibly important part of maintaining a feeling of safety in your home.
Safety starts at the front door. While most homes come with some option for peep sight, if you don’t have one, you’ll want one, and if you already have one, then you might do well to have some higher technology to supplement it with.
Getting a peephole installed is one of the cheapest ways you can protect your home. It’s not a security system or a new lock, but it’s a great step towards feelings of safety for very little cost and very little difficulty on installation. Peepholes usually sit at eye level and utilize high-resolution glass to give you a glimpse outside without having to open the door or expose your face.
While you might pay monthly fees for a security service or pay extra on your electric bill for cameras to watch outside, peepholes add nothing to your monthly utilities. They’ve been around for centuries and, as such, appeal to a lack of technology and subtlety. They’re also low maintenance in this way and don’t often require upkeep.
Install a Strike Plate
This piece of metal will allow you to reinforce the door jamb to quickly improve your door’s security. When a door is closed, the bolt is held by a metal plate, the so-called strike plate. It’s attached to the jamb, and there’s a hole in it: the bolt extends into this opening. The strike plate is an extremely important part of the deadbolt locking system. If you install a good-quality deadbolt that locks into a poorly made (or poorly attached) strike plate, your front door remains vulnerable to force attacks. Therefore, reinforcing your deadbolt strike plate is a very important step to making your front door more secure.
The first option is to replace the original screws of your old strike plate with new ones that are at least 2 1/2 inches long. These long screws securely attach the strike plate to the jamb, so there’s a much higher chance that your door will withstand a forced entry attack.
Another option is to replace your old strike plate with a so-called box strike plate. It’s basically a very durable strike plate with a steel cup instead of a simple hole. The bolt locks into a cup that’s much stronger than a flimsy hole. A box strike plate is an inexpensive item, but it has a great impact on your front door security. Make sure you choose a model that comes with long anchor screws.
Replace the Door
If you’re working with an old door, no amount of reinforcements will help. While replacing your door may sound like an extreme thing to do, nothing is worth more than the safety of your home and its occupants.
Nothing says front door security more than a better front door. And by better, I am talking about the material that the door is made of and the process used to manufacture it. Not all doors are made the same. In fact, there is a major difference between interior and exterior doors. This has to do with the core of the door. Interior doors have hollow cores. This makes them lighter and more fragile. Exterior doors should at least have a solid core. For even better protection, a door can utilize an iron or steel core. Doors with metal cores have metal inserts that add more strength than simple hardwood. And if front door security is a large concern, you could go as far as to commission a vault door from one of the best safe companies.
The role of doors in home security cannot be understated. After a certain amount of fortification, the door is going to be the most likely part of your security to fail. Though front door security might start with locks, it is still a matter of protecting your front door. And having a strong front door will do an obviously decent job of improving front door security. It is an obvious and important consideration. It just happens that this type of upgrade is one of the more expensive and invasive changes. When you choose a front door for the purpose of security, you will either have to sacrifice aesthetic choices or invest more heavily in a custom door that fits both the look and security you would like.
The material of your entry door also has much to do with the security of your home. Fiberglass entry doors anymore are so aesthetically pleasing that homeowners sometimes mistake them for wood even as they use them every day. But they differ from wood in that they’re incredibly durable. There’s very little chance of any burglar kicking down a fiberglass door. Unlike steel doors, they’re also less likely to be weakened by bending. Fiberglass doors have even been found to be stronger than many metal doors. If you need a strong entry door that will stand up to an attack and protect your home, the answer is fiberglass.
At US Window and Door, we understand how important your home’s security is, which is why we offer high-quality entry doors with expert installations to keep your home safe. Schedule an in-home estimate* today to receive a quote and learn more about receiving a custom door for your home.
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