The front door is the most common entry point for burglars. 34% of burglars twist the doorknob and walk right in, making it the most important point of entry to fortify.
Most homes will come with a deadbolt and a doorknob that has a separate lock on it. This is a great start, but you should take additional steps to make sure that your front door deters all unwanted guests. Below are steps that you can take to upgrade your front door security and protect everyone that is living in your house.
Securing Your Door Knob & Deadbolt
Most doorknobs and deadbolts are installed with the screws that come in the packaging and are usually ½ to 1 inch long. This means that the plate that is screwed to the doorframe is barely secure and will make the doorknob and deadbolt less effective. Someone could pretty easily kick that door in with a few decent kicks and would have access to your house within a few seconds.
To solve this issue you should install 3 inch long screws in place of the small screws that come in the packaging. You can take the small screws out of the plate one at a time and replace them with the 3 inch long screws, making the plates much more secure. The screws will go through the door frame and the studs, which will make it much harder to kick in the door.
You can also look into buying a larger metal plate so that you can have additional screws and a larger area to absorb the force of a kick. The Prime Line Door Strike is inexpensive and will be a great replacement for the existing door strike. This can be installed in minutes and will be worth every penny if there is ever an attempted break-in.
Upgrading Your Door Hinges
Another piece of the door that most homeowners do not think about are the door hinges. Most door hinge installation for exterior doors include at least 1 longer screw, which makes them a little sturdier. It is still worth investing in 3 inch door screws and upgrading every door hinge so that three sturdy screws are holding each one.
We have seen the ¾ inch screws that come with the hinges slowly come out of the doorframe over time because of use, which definitely means that someone could rip them out with some force. By upgrading the door hinges and the strike plate, you have secured the hardware that is holding your door to the rest of the house and are making it a lot harder to kick the door in. This leads me to the next tip, which is buying a solid door from the start.
Investing In Solid Doors
Most newer homes are built with sturdy doors that do a good job of keeping heat/air conditioning in the house and also keeps burglars at bay. If you buy an older home, one or more of your exterior doors may not be solid. If the door is hollow it may be easy to break through, even if it is made out of metal.
You can get a metal or wood door as long as it is solid throughout. It is actually better to get a wood door because it allows firefighters to break through the door with an axe, but it still keeps unwanted visitors out.
Decorative Windows
You are going to want to figure out if the look of decorative windows on your doors are worth the decrease in security. Glass is obviously easier to break than wood or metal, but it will increase your curb appeal. You will also need to think about this if you want to add windows to your garage. It will make the door slightly easier to penetrate, but if you live in a safer area there isn’t a huge risk to these decorative windows.
Stop Lockpicks & Bump Keys
After upgrading the screws in the strike plate and the hinges, invest in a solid door, and decide if you are willing to trade some security for an increase in curb appeal by opting for decorative windows, you should feel confident that brute force will not get your door open. The only other way that someone can break in is by picking your lock(s) or using a bump key to get in.
Add a lock that is only able to be opened from the inside. You can use this lock whenever you are inside the house and leave it locked if it is a door that is not used frequently. We have a single-sided deadbolt for our side and back door because most of the time our family enters and exits the house through the front door. On our front door we have a normal doorknob with a lock and also have a keypad deadbolt that allows us to enter the house without carrying a key.
An alternative to a single-sided and keypad deadbolt that can be easily installed is a chain or a latch. These are usually found on a lot of apartment doors, but do add additional security for your home. I think that it takes away from the aesthetics of the door when looking at it from the inside, but if it is something that you and your family are okay with, it can be installed in a few minutes and will last a lifetime.
Adding a Permanent Barricade
Another piece of security that you and your family can utilize is a permanent barricade that can only be removed from the inside. We think that the Nightlock Security Lock Door Barricade gives you the most bang for your buck if you have enough space between the bottom of the door and the floor to install it. This guarantees that no one will be able to take advantage of weak points on the door when they try to kick it in. Installation of this will take around 30-60 minutes depending on your DIY skills.
Install a Video Doorbell
On top of adding security measures that will slow down or stop someone from physically breaking in, you should also use technology to deter people from even trying. Video doorbells continue to grow in popularity across America and are now a common fixture to the front door of most houses.
We currently have a Ring Doorbell 3 after upgrading from the original Ring Doorbell and it is definitely worth the money that we spent on it. We are able to see when deliveries are made and record anyone that is walking on our property. Having this on the front of your house will be the first line of defense because burglars are looking for the easiest target and they will be afraid of the video recording capabilities. A video doorbell will go great with the additional security cameras that you can set up around your house.
Install Additional Security Cameras
In addition to the video doorbell you should look into adding security cameras around your home. This will be another deterrent and will allow you to have recordings of most of your property. There are a bunch of systems that you can install that record video, but the sole fact that you have them mounted on the house should scare away most, if not all, intruders.
Execution
You should not be paranoid because the odds of someone trying to break into your house are very low. By following these steps, you should be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that you have done everything you need to do to keep yourself and your family safe.
You should act on these steps as soon as possible and once they are complete, you should not have to worry about front door security until you move houses or want to help others keep their loved ones safe.
