The City Annexed tons of Pflugerville.

I'm glad you are OK.

I hate Pflugerville.  It is a shithole. After they started gentrification in East Austin, they started moving up there.

Good to know. I use one in my garage exterior door. Its the other side of my house, furthest from my bedroom. I always figured it would cause a bad guy to to make a LOT of noise. Not actually stop them. Just give me time to prep.

I hate thieves & the door looks flimsy as hell.

Thank god your ok.

Check out Nightlock door jam as well. Never used one, but looks promising.

Give'm a call OP.

Damn. I'm in Pville too. Wouldnt happen to be in Sarah's Creek?

I'd say that is a very valuable metric to know, if you have to make critical decisions in the future.

Wait, what? Can you send me a link to that facebook page?

One of my coworkers (in Pflugerville also) mentioned another breakin the same day on the other side of town.

This.  If you look you will see that what failed was the door frame and not the door or locks.  The strike plate and door frame need to be reinforced.  

Make sure the screws that hold the strike plates are long enough to go through the frame and into the supporting structure that the frame is attached to.

Even so, unless the front door and frame are both steel they will still get through but it might take 3-4 kicks instead of one.   Still, that may be enough to discourage them.  Or they will just go through a window or another door.  In the end, your best bet is not to look like an easy mark.  Visible security cameras and stickers or signs about a home security system, perhaps a nice heavy locking screen door for the outside, a big dog, etc..  Anything to deter them before they start kicking.

This is why I have storm doors with glass and reinforced jambs.

I didn't read all 5 pages, but if your door is not yet fixed, I can send someone.

Also, I have an extra one of these that I am not using.  Yours for free if you'll come get it.  Email me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003P5KJJO

Just saw this, glad your OK. 

at the risk of sounding Monday morning qb-ish. Next time don't turn the light no in your bedroom. Not to keep from spooking them, but for two reasons:

1-it tells an intruder exactly where you are, and it silloettes you to that intruder should he be  armed and  decides not to run, makes you easier to shoot at.
2-it prematurely fucks your nighttime acclimation. It takes 30min to your eyes to adjust to darkness, flicking that switch just reset that process. Since it is rediculous to assume anyone has time to put on a night vision device during a home invasion, you need all the help you can get. 

Just something to to think about, your alive and nothing was taken, so you came out on top. 

When I had the intruder in my condo in 1998, it took the Dallas PD 35 minutes to get there plus I had to go downstairs to show them where I lived upstairs.

I've been doing a lot of the "Monday morning qb-ing" and came to the same conclusions.

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.

I just looked at the link. That was actually a different robbery on the other side of town during the middle of the day.

Same thing happened to us back in 2010.

Cliff notes and what I learned:

1)  Install door reinforcement plates on the door jamb and at least two hinges.  I used the EZ-Armor kit

2)  Check and possibly replace your deadbolts.  It wasn't until about five years after our break in that I had to replace a deadbolt and I was shocked at how small and fragile the original was, compared to the replacement I bought.  I immediately bought another for the other door.

3)  Our invaders walked right thru porch lights AND security lights, on both the front and back doors.  They were no deterrent.  

4)  We foolishly acted in ways that made our house look unoccupied.  Always make it appear someone is home.

5)  They did not want to run into homeowners.  They went to considerable trouble to find a house they though was unoccupied.

6)  Our original (flimsy) deadbolt and door jamb held up to the initial kick, then gave when they kicked it hard enough to literally shake the entire house.  Even after the second kick, the door was still held by a broken piece of trim.  I believe that small piece kept them from entering the house before they realized we were home. 

7)  My nieces were staying here and they were night owls at the time.  We thought it was them goofing around and I never even thought to grab my G19.  If you hear a bump in the night...grab your gun before you do anything else.

8)  It was six months to a year before every little sound at night didn't cause me and/or my wife to sit bolt upright in bed and ask "what was that?".  

9)  Expect to feel anger.....intense anger...the kind of anger that will have you begging for the opportunity to do things you never thought you were capable of doing to another human being.  The most striking aspect of the whole experience was how violated we felt.  I can't describe the feeling and it wasn't something I expected.  

10)  The next day, I learned that another home invasion happened at almost the exact same time on the other side of town.  That homeowner chased them outside and he was shot and killed in his own driveway.  Defend yourself but don't pursue.

All in all, it sounds like you did very well.  Much better than I did.  I was sick and doped up on Nyquil and maybe I wasn't thinking clearly but I also believe the Nyquil allowed me to keep my cool much more than I would have otherwise.  My adrenaline dump was pretty mild. 

Talked to a neighbor and found out a little more of what happened...

A neighbor (across the street and two doors down) heard loud pounding on their front door around 4:00 AM. These guys appear to have multiple families (or at least a husband+wife+baby, plus motherInLaw, plus coworker) living in the same house, with at least 4 vehicles (including two work trucks) parked in their driveway.

The motherInLaw looked out the peep-hole in their door (but did not turn on lights), saw someone, assumed the person was up to no good, and woke up the two men in the house. Those guys assumed someone was trying to steal their tools (they install floors for a living) and decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to check for trouble. Those were the guys who I saw from my window while on the phone with 9-1-1.

Sidenote: These guys told me I was silhouetted in the window. I really need to get a clapper for the lights in my bedroom...

AFTER they saw the light come on in my bedroom, they heard arguing and saw three people run for a black truck (possibly a chevy) parked nearby and then drive off. I suspect that "arguing" was just some of the thieves energetically notifying the other thieves that the house wasn't abandoned and to get out before the cops arrive.

These neighbors assumed that there was some kind of argument (domestic disturbance maybe) in my house because they saw the door left completely open with the interior lights on. At some point in all this (not exactly sure when) my neighbors also called the police. (This might also explain why the responding officers kept asking me if I had a significant other / partner who lived in my house, visited the house regularly, etc..)

Interesting update.  Glad the neighbors did not MYOB when they assumed it was a domestic.

First and foremost, glad you're ok.  It's pretty scary that people have the nerve to pull this kind of shit.  

Aside from all the suggestions for beefing up your entryways, something I do in the event I hear someone in the house is that I have just about every plug-in light hooked up to a remote.  You can get these at Home Depot (they have indoor and outdoor models) and I originally bought them for the lights on our Christmas tree.  I've found that they're really convenient for turning on lights that have the switches in inconvenient locations but the best part is that I can leave the remote next to my bed and if I hear something, I can turn the lights on from my bedroom.  The advantage is twofold: the intruder gets silhouetted and it's their low light vision that gets ruined.  If all the lights in the house turning on doesn't send them running, then my G17 is on one of those magnet mounts right next to the bed.

I'm over in Round Rock if you need anything.  

This is what I use:
Wireless Remote Control Kit