Apart from a functioning home alarm system, upgrading entrance doors and locks is the smartest way to increase home security and decrease the likelihood of crime where you live. Many erroneously believe that all entrance doors and locks are the same, or at least don't vary to a great extent with regard to safety. In fact, there is much you can do to improve your home's primary barrier to theft and robbery by choosing the right exterior doors and locks.
While a determined thief will gain entrance wherever he wants, you can take important steps to make it difficult enough to gain entrance into your home that a potential thief will not want to bother with your home. Start with the entrance doors to give added home security.
Most homes come equipped with a basic, inexpensive front and back doors that are quite easy to bust open. A good exterior door should be made of fiberglass, metal, solid wood, or solid wood core. Avoid the hollow stuff. The prices range, with solid wood being the most expensive.
Next, you can take relatively inexpensive steps to upgrade your door and lock's strength. Start with the door hinge. Each hinge generally has three to four screw holes. Each door generally has three hinges, making a total of nine to 12 screws holding your door to its frame. Often the factory screws provided are no more than two inches long. Spend a few dollars and replace them with three-inch screws. After doing this, those hinges will not be going anywhere. Be sure that the hinges are on the inside of the door. This is not always the case. And also consider securing the doorframe itself with a handful of three-inch screws around the doorstep and frame that go into the wall stud itself.
Next, you can place a door enforcement steel covering over the door where the door knob is locate. This steel slip is put into place with the door knob off. After the knob is put back in place the door has just become much stronger at a relatively vulnerable area of the door.
You can also add a double dead bolt. Double dead bolts use keys on both sides to enter. This way, a potential robber cannot simply break through a window in the door and unlock the dead bolt from the inside with his hand. Also the deadbolt should be of a high quality metal with no exposed screws. The bolt itself should also be longer than the standard one inch. It is simply not long enough to withstand blunt force against the door.
Lastly, if you have glass in the doors or glass sliding doors, be sure to reinforce and secure them. Consider replacing the glass, either the small panels or the large sliding door itself, with a more durable polycarbonate glass. Install a couple of key locks in your backyard sliding doors. Also, place some sort of door jam into the sliding track to prevent the doors from being opened from the outside.
Whether you have a home alarm system or not, reinforcing your exterior doors and locks is always the best practice when it comes to home security. Start with these suggestions and dramatically decrease the chances that an intruder will want to break into your home.
While a determined thief will gain entrance wherever he wants, you can take important steps to make it difficult enough to gain entrance into your home that a potential thief will not want to bother with your home. Start with the entrance doors to give added home security.
Most homes come equipped with a basic, inexpensive front and back doors that are quite easy to bust open. A good exterior door should be made of fiberglass, metal, solid wood, or solid wood core. Avoid the hollow stuff. The prices range, with solid wood being the most expensive.
Next, you can take relatively inexpensive steps to upgrade your door and lock's strength. Start with the door hinge. Each hinge generally has three to four screw holes. Each door generally has three hinges, making a total of nine to 12 screws holding your door to its frame. Often the factory screws provided are no more than two inches long. Spend a few dollars and replace them with three-inch screws. After doing this, those hinges will not be going anywhere. Be sure that the hinges are on the inside of the door. This is not always the case. And also consider securing the doorframe itself with a handful of three-inch screws around the doorstep and frame that go into the wall stud itself.
Next, you can place a door enforcement steel covering over the door where the door knob is locate. This steel slip is put into place with the door knob off. After the knob is put back in place the door has just become much stronger at a relatively vulnerable area of the door.
You can also add a double dead bolt. Double dead bolts use keys on both sides to enter. This way, a potential robber cannot simply break through a window in the door and unlock the dead bolt from the inside with his hand. Also the deadbolt should be of a high quality metal with no exposed screws. The bolt itself should also be longer than the standard one inch. It is simply not long enough to withstand blunt force against the door.
Lastly, if you have glass in the doors or glass sliding doors, be sure to reinforce and secure them. Consider replacing the glass, either the small panels or the large sliding door itself, with a more durable polycarbonate glass. Install a couple of key locks in your backyard sliding doors. Also, place some sort of door jam into the sliding track to prevent the doors from being opened from the outside.
Whether you have a home alarm system or not, reinforcing your exterior doors and locks is always the best practice when it comes to home security. Start with these suggestions and dramatically decrease the chances that an intruder will want to break into your home.
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