Armoring Your Doors and Windows

My house is my fortress. And fortresses should be equipped with strong doors.

The doors on many homes offer very little protection against forced entry. A determined intruder can easily kick in the door and enter your home in a matter of seconds.  You can however improve the security of your home by reinforcing your doors and windows. 

The exterior doors to your home should be solid hardwood or metal. In Russia, many homes have a steel security door in addition to the main door to the home. (What’s Behind the Russian Steel Door Culture?) These security doors are important and should be installed on your home, but it is also important to reinforce the primary door to your home as well.

The first step in securing the door to your home is to be sure that it is equipped with a strong deadbolt lock, with a bolt with at least a one-inch throw (the length that the bolt extends from the lock into the door frame). The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Builders Hardware Manufactures Association (BHMA) subject all locks and components to attacks by hammers, saws, wrenches and other tools. They then grade the locks according to their ability to withstand attack: Grade 1 (best and toughest), Grade 2 or Grade 3. Most locks you find in home centers and hardware stores are Grade 2 or 3. Some Grade 2 locks may list Grade 1 components on the package, but that doesn’t give the lock a Grade 1 rating. Grade 2 is still an OK lock for residential use, but a Grade 1 lock will increase the security of your doors at little increase in overall price.

A good lock to be effective must be strongly mounted to the door and the bolt must extend into a reinforced frame. A product called ‘Door Armor’ (formerly EZ Armor) lets you reinforce your door, making it very difficult to kick-in. A video showing the effectiveness of Door Armor can be seen here on YouTube.

Once you have reinforced your doors, consider the security of your windows. Any windows within reach of your doors should be reinforced, as should any picture windows, sliding glass doors, or windows that are located where a burglar might break them to gain entry to your home. Installing 8 Mil Window Security Film will keep your windows from being easily broken. A video showing the effectiveness of Window Security Film can be seen here on YouTube.

Neither Door Armor nor Window Security Film is particularly expensive, and as we have seen these products will substantially increase the strength of your doors and windows, and thus the security of your home.