You come home from a nice dinner with your family and discover your front door has been kicked in. Immediately you feel a sense of helplessness. Your family's home, privacy, and dignity have been violated.
Burglary is a concern for every home owner. Statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that 65 percent of burglaries occur from forcing in an exterior door. However, many property owners seem clueless when it comes to understanding how to improve their doors' security features.
There are three weak points in a door assembly: the jamb, the locks, and the hinges.
The jamb is the vertical frame of the door where the bolt extends and is the weakest part of the door assembly. A burglar can force open a wood frame door by causing the jamb to split. You can reinforce this by adding a steel plate along the inside length of the door jamb. This will prevent the wood frame from splitting and bowing by someone attempting to gain entry.
The area around the lock is another weak point if a burglar applies enough force. You can add a steel plate around the lock mechanism which will help prevent the door from splitting. It will also prevent someone from removing the lock from the door.
The screws which attach the hinges to the door frame can be easily broken. One way to improve their durability is to replace them with 3" long screws. Adding another steel plate along the length of the frame opposite of the jamb will give the hinges more durability. This will also prevent a burglar from tampering.
If your residence has wood doors on the exterior, consider replacing them with a metal door. Although wood doors look nice, metal doors are more durable. Besides being weather resistant, metal doors cannot be splintered or broken down as easily, making it more difficult for a burglar to gain entry.
One overlooked area is how to identify persons outside your door when you're at home. Installing a peep hole allows you to identify someone with out opening the door. You can also install a metal security screen door. This would allow you to open your primary door without leaving you vulnerable to a potential attack. It would also help reinforce your door's security by creating an additional barrier to break through.
But probably the most overlooked weak spot is the lock mechanism. There's no point in having a solid door assembly if your locks are cheap or loose fitting. Many residential locks are inexpensive and low quality, making them easy to pick or bump. Replacing them with high grade security locks will decrease this risk.
Be sure your new locks have at least a 1" solid bolt that extends into the jamb. Door knob locks aren't enough. Chain locks are worthless.
And remember, if you just moved into a new house or apartment, you need to immediately replace your locks if you haven't already done so. You also need to replace your locks if they disengage easily, feel loose, or if they aren't properly installed.