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Posted: 5/14/2014 9:40:31 AM EDT
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I had a recent break in, and have started trying to make it much harder for anyone to get in. One thing I have done is purchase an EZ Armor kit for reinforcing the front door, the jamb, and the hinges. http://armorconcepts.com/EZ-Armor/ From what I have seen, wooden doors splinter near the door handle and lock as the wood is thin there, so it includes two pieces for reinforcing that. I have a metal front door however, so I am assuming I don't need those. This kit has pretty good ratings from what I have seen, most of the complaints on Amazon were that it didn't work with their type of door, or it interfered with the weather stripping. One guy complained he couldn't find a drill bit long enough to pre-drill the holes, although I'm fairly certain a screw can handle that extra little bit.
On my doors into the garage and laundry room, which open inwards, and were the point of entry with a screwdriver, I installed a guard over the bolt so a screwdriver cannot be used to pop the lock, and the hinges are a security type which prevent the door from being lifted off the hinges when it isn't open with a metal piece that fits into a hole. The door into the garage has a window in the middle of it, so I am thinking I will need a deadbolt that requires a key from both sides. I will need one for the front door as well as there is a skinny side window there. I am also replacing hinge screws on all doors as well as the strike plates with longer screws to reach the stud. Short of security film for the windows, is there anything else I can do that I haven't thought of or don't know about for the doors? I would like to put security film on all the windows, but it will take time as it is somewhat expensive, and from what I am reading, I may need to replace the windows with thicker glass to truly prevent anyone from getting in that way. |
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Look into the Strikemaster II and a security screen door. Also look into security film for your windows, an alarm system and a big dog or two..
Layer your security. make your house a less attractive target to burglars. That's the key. eta As cheap as cameras are nowadays you might also consider getting a couple of those as well.. |
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About 15 minutes before my OP, FedEx delivered my Simplisafe alarm. I'm working on putting that up right now, but thank you.
That Strikemaster is very similar to what I got with the EZ Armor, which I put in earlier today. Waiting on my g/f to get home from work so I can go buy some normal hinges for the front door. I won't need the security stud ones that I guess the builder installed, as the hinges are on the inside, and the studs interfere with the hinge guards. My dog was in her cage during the process of being burgled, her cage is right by the entry point, and she would have been barking most likely, so either he heard her scraping at the cage or he didn't care about a dog. She wouldn't have done anything but bark though, at 50 lbs she's not very intimidating. She will be roaming freely now though and we will just clean up any mess she makes if necessary. Thank you for the tips. I plan to post a lessons learned post later. Maybe it will help someone else. |
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is there anything else I can do that I haven't thought of or don't know about for the doors? Medeco and others offer double cylinder captive deadbolts, basically the inside lock is a thumbturn key (for day and safety use) that is removable and then you have instant double cylinder locks. Bad guys might still get in but they won't be using that door for in/out bad guy operation. |
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