I never said that I would shoot through a closed door.   If I ever have a need to do that, it will be justified.

Thanks, just ordered.

I would do that for any other exterior door.  For the door that was kicked in you probably need an entire new frame.  I'd go to Lowes/Home Depot and get a steel clad door with a steel frame, predrilled for a deadbolt.  When I bought ours after buying this house it was around $300 per door.  If you want a fancier door your price will go up.

If you get a door with glass, make sure the glass has a security rating.  And if you want to go whole hog, get yourself a security door with a deadbolt mechanism that has multiple throws.  I've seen some with top, bottom and 4 additional side bolts that all work off one deadbolt lock.

eta:  Don't forget hinge reinforcement plates and door lock area reinforcement.

hinge reinforcement example:  https://www.lowes.com/pd/Door-Armor-Double-Door-Security-Kit-Satin-Nickel/50243313
Note the hinge reinforcement plates.  They can be bought separately.

Door lock area reinforcement example:  http://www.homedepot.com/p/Prime-Line-2-1-8-in-Double-Bore-Stainless-Steel-Door-Reinforcer-with-2-3-8-in-Backset-U-10539/202258426

I'm also rocking the Armor Concepts Door Jamb Armor.  They've been good people to deal with, and each time I've bought a house, I've put their stuff on every door.  It's something like a 40" strike plate, plus shields that go around the hinges.  My first house had double sidelight doors, and when my GSD would jump up against the window to greet someone, the door and both windows would shake.  The DJA attached it to both the top plate and sill plate.  Solid as a rock afterward.

Lowes stocks outswing steel entry doors - The Jeld-Wen 6-panel pre-hung model is about $170. Add a decent deadbolt & knob lockset, and you're still under $250.

The frame is wood, but is still a lot stronger than an inswing door.

If you've got a saw, hammer and a phillips screwdriver, you can install it yourself. I've done 2 so far, and I ain't a carpenter by a long shot!

What would one of them do besides hide?  People don't keep security dogs at pets, they keep friendly dogs as pets.  I had a single friend that had one.  If you knocked on the door it went nuts barking.  His house was broken into twice in the same week and the dog just watched the people steal things.  Others on this site have posted that their dogs were worthless during a break in.  

I wish we cold get a 20 minutes response time here.  Our sheriff spoke at a concealed carry class and flatly stated that in our county a 45 minute response time is the best we can hope for.  Then he told us about a story of the little old lady with shaky hands holding an intruder at gunpoint for an hour and how the perp was so relieved to have the cops show up and rescue from the situation.  "I was scared she was accidentally going to pull the trigger on that shotgun the entire time she was shaking so bad."

Check with building code and your insurance before you install a door that swings out.

Can't emphasize this enough. Needs to be the first thing you do.

While installing the front door get door jamb armor!!!

I always find it interesting when I talk to taxpayers about our response times to things and their misconceptions of how many cars and officers are patrolling the city.

Most think there are 5 times as many patrol cars out as there actually are. Even a well staffed agency will get completely tied up with one or two good cluster fuck calls.

I've seen in progress domestic assault calls hold for 20+ minutes waiting for Sheriff's deputies to come from the county because there were no available cars in the entire city.

Maybe
I was sitting on the couch in my apartment about 30 years ago around 3:00 in the morning in the dark drinking a glass of water when someone walked up, inserted a key into the knob and started turning the handle. The door knob was about 4-5 foot from my head behind me so I could hear it clearly. Anyway I got off the couch and ran to my bedroom to grab my pistol and out of habit hit the light switch on the way into my room.
Whoever it was quickly left as I heard a car door slam and screeching tires.
The bedroom window was visible from the front porch.
Glad I had stayed out late partying and sat down to drink a glass of water before bed. No telling what would have happened if I had been drunk and asleep.

Agreed.
Shooting thru a door is probably a bad plan.
After all you have the element of surprise when they do get thru the door.

that's what makes it tier1, bro.

how huge, like majority of the time?

Yep. You need MUCH longer screws. At the least it would've slowed them down some. Those screws need to go all the way through the jam and deep into the stud. Same for at least one screw at the hinges.

Dang, I'm in Cedar Park. I didn't think things like that happened in Pflugerville.

Glad you're safe.

This.
I remember one Memorial Day weekend night where we started off with only 3 cars and within two hours were down to just one. Me and my partner were showing up to in progress calls 45-60 minutes later. We were showing up to low priority calls over two hours later.

Swap short/shitty screws on deabolt in door frame with longer 3" screws

makes it harder to kick in a door

This is why all my doors have steel/aluminum security doors on them that open out.

When you get your next door + frame, make sure that you chuck the OEM screws and install at least one 3-4" steel screw per hinge and use only 3" steel screws that reach the framing for the strike plate.

I would look for extended strike plates that distribute the load over several feet like this:
Strike Master 2

Secure up your front windows too.

ETA, is that a real exterior door? It's hard to tell from the pics but it kind of looks like a 1 3/8" interior door with wood paneling/plywood stuck to both sides? A solid core exterior door is 1 3/4" thick and is much stronger.

If he told the dispatcher that they fled when he woke up and has cleared the house that call plummets down the priority list.

edit:  We would get sent to every assault/battery call when I was an EMT.  No matter the situation if it was for a fight we had to wait up the road for the police to show up first.  The longest I've ever sat and waited was one hour and forty five minutes on a particularly busy night.

20 minutes, very good, in my area at night looking at 30 to 40 minutes depending on location of Sheriffs, rural area.

As they say around here,
Have a problem at home, just call - 

The cops,
an amberlamps
a fire truck
a pizza.

At least you will have food for when the party starts.....

Glad everything worked out for the most part, as in, you weren't hurt and didn't have to kill anyone.

I have no idea what I would have done, but I'm inclined to think I would have been much more aggressive, for better or worse. I have a wife and a 1 year old to protect though.

When my backdoor had to be replaced due to moisture damage, we sandwiched an 8" flat mending plate into the frame screwed into 2 - 2x4's. The bolt from the lock actually goes through the mending plate. Not as fancy as the Home Depot thing, but it's like $2 - $3 to reinforce it, even if temporarily.

Why your house? Do you have something that someone wants? Did you anger someone?

Yeah I am out in bumfuck and it's still well under 10 and closer to 5 minutes around here 

This.

My SWAT buddy says different.  He says those bars are 50/50 meaning they work half the time and go sliding across the floor when they breach the door the other half of the time.  

We use them on our doors though.

I had to kick a steel exterior door, one donkey kick blew the bolt through the frame. The Master Lock floor brace slid and failed. They are iffy.

I may reinforce that door. Really need to think about it more.

Initially when I heard the crash, I assumed it was a car hitting my house. We have lots of dumb drivers around here...I didn't fully realize that:
1. It wasn't a car.
2. I hadn't just done something in the guest bedroom / forgot to turn off the lights the previous night. Saturday was a crazy day (birthday, church, hiking, and getting setup with a woman from church); I was exhausted.

Once I realized that someone actually kicked in my door, I got my but back into my bedroom with the longest shooting line (across master bedroom, out bedroom door, down hallway) I could get. I figured if someone was going to try coming at me, I wanted extra time to shoot them while I could see them.

Go to the hardware store and find a large eye bolt with a long threaded shaft.

Drill a hole the diameter of the eye bolt down into the floor on the door handle
side of the door right behind the door so you can use the eye bolt as a door jam.

At night you simply place the eye bolt into the hole and it will
slow down some of the most tacticool SWAT door kicking teams in the country.
Hang it up on a hook when not in use.

Just typed up everything I know and remember, and it was probably closer to 15 minutes for the police. I know I was on the phone with 9-1-1 at 4:34, and they had cleared the house by 4:56 (probably closer to 4:54).

Still trying to figure out what I could have done better. I'm thinking I'd like a "clapper" for my bedroom lights. After I saw the door kicked and retreated, it would have been nice to have my bedroom dark instead of leaving the lights on.

I'm going to be picking up some cheap doorjam-style alarms. I just want to make it faster for me to wake up after something happens, and more obvious to me (in my groggy state) as to WHAT happened.

---------------

Mostly typing this for my own records while it's still fresh in my head...

Roughly 4:30, at least two robbers kicked in the front door of my house. At least one entered the house. They moved my sofa (probably unintentionally bumped it) and knocked over a cushion. (They might have walked into my back yard; I found the side gate open after sunrise.)

I woke up when I heard the door kicked in and immediately grabbed a handgun. I wasn't sure what the sound was; thought it might have been a car hitting my house or a nearby car accident (Previously we had some kids hit my neighbor's tree at about 50 MPH).

At least one of the robbers went up the stairs. Robber opened the door to my guest room and turned on the light. I could see the light (under the door to my bedroom) and called 9-1-1. The guest bedroom has an overhead light that's above a fan, so it's a distinctive flickering light pattern.

I heard voices. I suspect the robbers heard me and decided to leave. (according to the police, it's normal for someone to stay outside to watch...he could have seen the light in my bedroom turn on).

I know I was on the phone with 9-1-1 by 4:34 AM. Saw that on a clock in my bedroom.

While on the phone, I exited my bedroom. Saw the guest bedroom door was open with the light on. Went around the corner (to my loft that overlooks the living room). From the loft I could see my front door was open, with pieces of the trim on the ground in my entryway.

Went back to my bedroom. Left the bedroom door open, got on the far side of the room and watched down the hallway (towards the guest bedroom).

Heard some voices. Looked out my bedroom window and saw two men (one in windbreak pants and no shirt, the other in basketball shorts and a undershirt) walking down the other side of the street. They pointed at my door and kept walking. I told the 9-1-1 operator. (Later I found out these were neighbors who heard the door getting kicked and decided to check it out)

The 9-1-1 operator was trying to keep me talking, probably to make sure I was still there.

A few minutes later I saw two police officers run down the street, in the direction I had seen the neighbors go.

9-1-1 operator asked me to put down my gun because the police were there. I put it in my bedside safe but left it unlocked.

I heard voices at my door. (Turns out they were the police.)

I heard a yell of "Police! Police!". I responded by yelling I was the homeowner and where I was in the house. Police told me to wait. I put my hands up, put my cellphone on my bed.

Heard voices downstairs. Turns out these were the officers clearing my living room, kitchen, pantry, study, and bathroom.

Police came up stairs. When I saw an officer I told him I was the homeowner. 2nd officer went into my empty bedroom. 1st officer went into my guestroom. Both officers had handguns up.

1st officer came into my bedroom. Asked for my phone number and ID. He deliberately blocked me from leaving the bedroom (handed me my wallet so I could get my ID. Gave him my drivers license and CHL).

The officer asked me some questions, then walked through the house with me to see if anything was missing. Asked about any enemies, other people living in the house (or regularly visiting), etc.. Nothing was missing.

Officer asked me to wait at the kitchen table while he talked with his supervisor. That was 4:56 AM (per the clock on my microwave).

Talked with both officers for a couple minutes. They gave me a case number. Showed me a footprint in the dust on my front door. Told me the two guys I saw were neighbors. Officers had knocked on a few doors; one guy heard a vehicle drive away after my door was kicked in, but they weren't sure if it was related. Officers said it was probably an "opportunistic robbery". Robbers probably thought no one was home since the lights were off and my truck was in the garage (instead of the driveway/streel like most of my neighbors park). Officers left.

Damn

This thread is why I will have reinforced doors with steel door frames for all external doors at the very least when I get settled.

Door jamb armor would reccomend.

You're the 3rd one to ask. OP?

Habit from when I lived in apartments.

It's not locked when I'm home and mostly just to make sure small stuff (wallet, keys, etc) doesn't bump into the gun. It's more of an organizer for my table than any type of security device.

And since someone asked earlier, there's an size-XL (yes, I have a big head) ACH about 8" below that handgun, and a GG Minimalist plate carrier with an AR15 mag, 2 pistol mags, an IFAK, leatherman wave, some kind of tactical flashlight (Fenix TK12 R5 if I remember right) and a Safariland ALS holster (in a MLS mount) about 4" below the helmet. I didn't even think to grab any of that stuff. Once I had a handgun and phone in my hands, I wasn't about to put down the gun to play around with armor.

Security has been greatly improved today, though it's probably going to be an ongoing project for the next month or so. Got a recommendation on monitored security from a woman I know from church.

I've had a 3-hour response time for a break-in that I came home to.  Said the same thing to 911, don't know if anybody is in the house or not.  3 hours!!  People in the suburban areas really don't understand that a 2 minute response time is just not going to happen in much of the country.

Shit, OP, I saw your post earlier today before I went to sleep (I work nights). I'm in p-ville myself. Kinda behind Tinseltown. I haven't heard of any break-ins where I live, but it's not necessarily the 'nicest' neighborhood. I like my little house, but your post does have me a little worried.

I may want to look into reinforcing the strike plates on both of my doors (front and back).

Glad you're OK and nothing too bad occurred.

Not so much the locks (they worked fine, burglars never noticed them) but the screws.  Your door frame is 1x4 of the crappiest fingerboard, well, at least it isn't OSB, but it's thin junk.  It gets framed in against a 2x4 which one hopes is real wood.  

Those two itty bitty screws that "held" the striker plate when they kicked your door in?  Yeah.  Replace them with some 3" screws that also grab the 2x4.  Do the same with the hinges.

That doesn't help you now, so for now mix some sawdust and wood glue together and stick that 1x4 back together.  Then get the big ass screws and anchor things to a 2x4, as described above.

Why you no haven lock?

OP, do you have your outside lights on a motion sensor? I have one at the front of my house, but the door is along the side. It's pretty well lit now that I put up some LED light stripping under the overhang. Used to be dark as fuck, but the LED lights really light it up.

I need to verify the motion sensor is working... lights coming on should be a decent deterrent to break-ins. I'm also thinking about getting a door sensor (I have a home automation system) so that if the door opens and the lights are out in the house, they'll all come on automatically. If I'm not home, I can have my HA controller email me.

This!

These door knob jam bars work well

That's a sweet HD setup. Funny how adrenaline changes things, jumping for the pistol. Also, hard to use a phone carrying a rifle- who ever thinks of that ahead of time, funny how it's the little things. Need tactical telemarketer headset for the ACH lol.

IDK how you're house and property is laid out, but a harbor freight driveway alarm lets me know if anyone tries to go around the back, only one way. Something like $10 and dead easy to setup. Just don't have it point at anything that can move in the wind.

Someone else posted the same experience I had, I kicked a steel exterior door that had one of those against the knob. One kick, bolt blew through the wood jamb and the jam bar slid on the floor.

The ones that have a corresponding hard floor anchor work, but that's intrusive.