How secure are your doors?

I recently learned a few things about home security. Some of the highlights are

* most doors can be busted open with one solid kick
* deadbolts offer little additional protection against kick ins
* 99% of deadbolts can be drilled through in under 2 minutes
* most deadbolts can be sawed through in a couple minutes
* a blunt instrument (hammer) and a screwdriver can quickly defeat cheap deadbolts
* most deadbolts can be picked in less than 2 minutes
* average time to break into a house is under two minutes
* two categories of burglars: skilled w/tools, and opportunists

If the burglar is skilled and has tools, he will get into the majority of houses within two minutes. Short of spending thousands of dollars on security, there is little you can do to prevent it. However, what you can do is make sure your house is secure enough to keep out the opportunists for at least two minutes. By doing so, they’ll continue down the street looking for an easier target.

According to Consumer Reports, “Nearly two thirds of all burglaries involve forced entry, and they succeed partly because of flimsy door locks and mounting hardware.” In doing tests that involved kicking, drilling, sawing, hammering, and other attempts to defeat locks, they found that simply replacing the screws provided with cheap door locks with 3″ screws “significantly” strengthened them. I suggest also replacing the screws in your door hinges with longer screws that will penetrate at least 1″ into the door framing.

It makes good sense that you should use screws long enough to go through the prehung door frame and into the framing. However, if you really want to raise the bar, then spend $10 for a M.A.G. Security Strike-3 Deadbolt Frame Reinforcer (747-B). Next to using longer screws, this delivers more security for your dollar than anything else. I bought them for all three of my entry doors. It takes a bit of drilling and chiseling to install but I am considerably more confident in my doors now.

I had embarked on my journey of door security because our existing locks were rude, inconvenient, and annoying. Upon insertion of a key, they were loathe to return it. I was also suspicious of their integrity. Last, they were not keyed alike. I’d often be unable to get in the nearest door because I didn’t have the right key. Those combined to inspire me to replace them all. Unable to find a decent set at nearby retailers, I went online and started searching.

I found useful information from a couple homeowners insurance companies, Consumers Reports, and The National Locksmith. Both CR and TNL had nice pictures of busting down doors and how they fail. After replacing my deadbolt latches with strike boxes, the next weakest link was my locks and deadbolts. Thankfully, CR tested enough locks to make that choice easy; pay $160 each per deadbolt for the top of the line stuff, or $25 for second best. Second best is good enough for me. The only challenge was finding them. The better lockset makers only sell through locksmiths.

Replacing the deadbolts is quite an easy job, easily within the grasp of anyone with a screwdriver and the ability to read. However, what can be a bit more challenging is adding a deadbolt to doors that don’t have them. In my case, the entry door between the garage and house did not have a deadbolt. I chose to add one because I had noticed that someone attempted to break into my garage while we were at the hospital for Lucas’ birth. A few days later, I was chatting with my neighbor who was repairing his garage door after an attempt had been made on it as well. Both our garage doors were good enough to dissuade an opportunist.

I learned that a significant portion of burglaries that are not forced entries are the result of entering through unlocked garage doors. If someone does get past my garage door, I want to stop them there. I used my drill and Rotozip to cut a round hole through the steel door and installed a deadbolt on that door as well. Now we actually use the lock on that door since it has a matching key. This is a very important aspect of home security. If using the locks is a pain, they won’t get used. If they aren’t used regularly, they are no better than not having them. Now we have three doors, with five locks and 1 key.

I also looked into keyless locks as well, using a variety of mechanisms. All the keyless locks CR tested were lacking in basic security. The more I read, the it appears that there is not a good residential grade keyless lock available. Even the best offer less security than a good $25 deadbolt. The Mythbusters guys did a nice set of experiments on the best of the biometric locks and were able to defeat every one of them quickly and reliably. While they are convenient and appear high tech, they offer less security than the basic keyed lock at a much higher cost.

The last product I learned about is the door wrap plates. They are C shaped brass plates with pre-drilled holes for your deadbolt and lockset. The plates wrap around your door and you mount the locks through the holes in it. The plates are a reinforcement for the door itself. They add security by making it significantly more difficult to bust the door and thereby defeat the locks. They only cost $15 each, the challenge was finding a place to buy them. I’ve had them on order for three weeks now. Should they ever arrive, I’ll take a few photos of the results.

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