Security Products
Door Reinforcement

NO security products are guaranteed to prevent any crime - but will likely serve you well if combined with the guidance in Home Security.

Pittsgrove township isn't accustomed to violent crime. Last night, two armed men broke through the back door of a home. 68-year old Bernie Meyerfeld and his wife, Effie, were asleep at the time. ... There was another incident on March 10th. As the owners watched TV, two armed men kicked in the front door. 71-year old Umberto Bifulco put up a struggle and was shot in the leg. Last Wednesday night, two men kicked in the front door of the Mooneyham house.
Excerpted from WPVI TV6 Philadelphia – 29 May 2003

Lyndon Chandler had left the house to visit a friend at the hospital. His wife heard a knock at the door and, thinking it was her husband, opened it. A stranger grabbed at her; she pulled free and slammed the door. It was 3:30 a.m. ... Javaris woke with a start, hearing his mother's frantic voice and something slamming against the front window. He ran out to the dark living room and saw his mother screaming as a man, cursing and muttering, threw a bicycle at the window. ... The stranger began turning the doorknob, intent on getting in the home. Javaris ran to his parents' bedroom and loaded two guns. He ran back to the living room as the intruder kicked in the door and jumped into the living room. "I didn't want to hurt anybody, so I fired off a warning shot," the ninth-grader said. The intruder didn't leave until four shots later.Excerpted from The South Florida Sun-Sentinel – 25 May 2006

A LOCKSMITH TEST

A National Locksmith laboratory tested door hardware security products using a standard residential steel-clad door, frame, and rough frame. The burglar tools used were those any homeowner or burglar would have. ... As expected, doorknobs were ripped off with a pipe wrench in about eight seconds. Inferior brands of deadbolts were destroyed with only a couple of hits with a hammer. ... They found the very best security products to be the Schlage B660P deadbolt, a MAG 747 High Security Box Strike Plate, and a Don-Jo reinforcer that fits around the deadbolt to stop the door from splitting. ... The deadbolt withstood a two-minute hammer beating, attacks with a screwdriver and hammer and a pry bar, and a series of kicks – all the way up to a level 9 reading on the Richter Kick Scale. One tester (a 300-pound martial artist) ran 20 feet, jumped up and kicked the door with a Karate kick that would have crushed most any door. Nothing happened. ... Next came a forklift, blades up against the door, applying gradual pressure until, at maximum speed, the spinning wheels burned through the floor tile and into the cement. Finally, the door crashed open. ... The strike plate had split because the doorframe cracked. In a home, drywall and wall-studs [especially a beefed-up doorframe] may make the entry even harder.
Excerpted from "The National Locksmith" trade publication.

Fortify your doors with these security products: Schlage Grade 1 Single Cylinder B660P Deadbolt, MAG 747 High Security Box Strike Plate, and a Don-Jo Deadbolt Wrap-Around. They total less than $100 for top-notch security products. All your exterior doors should be this strong (especially secluded doors).

A standard residential steel-clad door has 24-guage steel with a wood lock-block core. Stronger steel-clad doors have cores of solid-wood (Calamine) or corrugated metal bracing, or 12-gauge steel cladding. If you prefer a wood door, make sure it’s 2-inch thick solid hardwood with no recessed panels (they're too weak - you can add decorative trim that looks like paneling). Your door should have a:

• Peephole – a wide-angle viewer (fisheye lens) to reveal who’s outside before opening your door. Locate it about five feet high inside. Keep a stepstool nearby so kids can use it. Insist that all family members always check the peephole before opening the door. (Some criminals hold a hand over the peephole hoping you'll open anyway.)
• Deadbolt Lock (with a "1" grade-rating, hardened steel, minimum 1-inch throw and five-pin tumbler) inserting into a heavy-duty strike-plate (in doorframe) and strike-guard (wraps around both sides of deadbolt to prevent door splintering).
• Heavy-Duty Doorframe – reinforced on both the lock and hinge sides. Remove the molding and insert wood shims in the gap between the doorframe and the (wall-frame) studs. Then drive 6-inch screws through the doorframe and shims and into the studs. Insert the screws 8 inches apart (4 inches nearer the strike-plate). Use 4-inch screws on the hinges.
• Intercoms for your exterior doors let you talk with a visitor (or just listen) without opening your door and risking a Push-In. Easy-to-install wireless models are ideal security products (especially when using a peephole as well) and a fun convenience - see www.smarthome.com. ... Additional intercom units throughout your home let you talk to visitors at your door from anywhere in your home. You can also talk to another family member in another room – say from a second story bedroom to the basement. See www.smarthome.com. Many other intercom models are there as well – some with cameras so you can also see who’s at your door, again from anywhere in your home. ...

All exterior doors should be at least this secure (and have a peephole viewer):

A man answered a knock at the back door of his house, thinking it was a relative. He was forced back inside at gunpoint by two unknown men. The victim was struck repeatedly and forced to crawl from room to room as they demanded the whereabouts of any money or jewelry.
Excerpted from WNBC-TV4 NY – 11 October 2007

For stronger doors (especially on a door leading to an unsecured basement or attached garage where a burglar can hide while attacking your door): use two deadbolts – one shoulder high and another hip high, or have a locksmith install a vertical deadbolt (drop-bolt) or a Multi-Lock deadbolt that inserts into all four sides of the doorframe.

If you must have a window, make it 96 square inches maximum, and located further away from your deadbolt lock than a tall man’s arm can reach (36 inches). Or use shatterproof glass - see Window Reinforcement.

• Keyless Touch-pad deadbolts are very convenient security products for many situations. Kids can pop in and out without the worry of losing a key and temporary access can be given to repairmen, etc.
• Keyless Fingerprint ID deadbolts offer more options for your security products needs.
• Double-cylinder deadbolts are not wise for exterior doors because they require a key to exit as well as enter thus might hinder your escape in an emergency (or block an intruder’s escape). Instead, use a regular deadbolt (see above). However, a double-cylinder deadbolt is ideal for a Safe Closet (described in Safe Rooms).
• Padlock – get a minimum 3/8-inch stainless steel double-locking (heel and toe) shackle, and a brass keyway with a five-pin tumbler. File off key code numbers on the back. ... No padlock is any better than the hasp or chain it secures. Hasps must be hardened steel attached with tamper-resistant round head carriage bolts. Chains must be welded-link, hardened steel – the thicker the better. Or get a locking-cable.
• Hinges must be hardened steel and preferably mounted with longer, 4-inch steel screws. If mounted outside, attach with tamper-resistant round head carriage bolts.
• Mortise bolts: sliding bolts in a cavity hollowed out in the wood (a.k.a. flush bolts). Use on all four sides of the door. These security products can be used only from indoors, but are tamper-proof from outdoors.
• Barricade Bolts are bars placed horizontally across doors that engage strikes on both sides of the doorframe. These security products can be used only from indoors, but are tamper-proof from outdoors.
• Door-brace: (a.k.a. police brace or buttress lock) leans diagonally against the door. These security products can be used only from indoors, but are tamper-proof from outdoors. See www.smarthome.com.
• Chain-locks (a.k.a. Chain Door Interviewers) allow partial door opening, but are far too flimsy to stop an aggressive Push-In. Instead, use a peephole and an intercom - excellent security products to communicate without risk. See www.smarthome.com.
• Doorstops (a wedge under the door) won't stop a Push-In or a kick-in. But when traveling (or in a school dormitory), a hotel/motel doorstop alarm from www.magellans.com will at least slow unwanted entry, alert you, and maybe scare off an intruder.

Westboro MA – A sleeping woman was raped in her apartment. Police said the rapist lifted a locked sliding door off the track, and entered.
Excerpted from The Associated Press – 15 August 2003

• Patio-doors (a.k.a. sliding-glass-doors, wall-doors, or arcadia doors) often have flimsy locks and frames that can be pried away. Reinforce them with one or more of the following security products:
1. Laying a sawn-off broomhandle in the bottom track prevents the door from opening. Lay it in the innermost track to help prevent it from being lifted out with a coat hanger from outdoors.
2. Replace the original screws with 4-inch screws.
3. Insert extra screws partway into the upper track – just far enough to allow the door to slide back and forth, but with enough screw protruding downward to prevent the door from being lifted out of the track.
4. Close the door, drill several holes through the inner panel (where the panels overlap) and halfway into the outer panel, then slip a bolt into each hole. Slant the holes downward so the bolts won’t fall out if jostled.
5. Most patio-doors have tempered glass (3-7 times stronger than sheet glass) that resists a glasscutter or bludgeon. Consider replacing that with even stronger window materials described in Window Reinforcement.
• Double-doors (a.k.a. French Doors) need a deadbolt lock (and related hardware - see above) and mortise bolts (see above) embedding one inch into the top and bottom centers of a reinforced doorframe (see above). Use an astragal shield over the lock to span the gap between the doors (mounted with tamper-resistant round head carriage bolts). Fortify Windows and add Alarms (or see Simple Home Electronics), or cover with folding grills.
• Dutch-doors (divided horizontally so that the lower or upper sections can open separately) need deadbolt locks (and related hardware - see above) on both sections – along with all the security products described above for exterior doors.

See Alarm Systems

See
• Security Products - Overview
• Home Security - Product Buying Guide - Intro
• Safe Room
• Door Reinforcement (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE)
• Window Reinforcement
• Garage & Yard Reinforcement
• Simple Home Electronics
• Alarm Systems
• Flaws in Electronic Security
• Apartment & Dormitory Security
• Pepper Spray & Devices

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