Securing house doors against being kicked in

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BiffTannen

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#271997 4-Jun-2020 21:19

Greetings, new amateur DIYer here. I'm wondering if there is any practical way to secure certain doors against being kicked in from the outside? The door I use to enter/exit the house is a metal door in metal frame surrounded by a wooden jamb.

Most of the door is glass. The glass is the toughened stuff that doesn't break as easily as normal glass but I'm still wondering if a burglar could just kick in the door? The lock is double key deadlock (no solid bolt though) and has the standard latch strike plate on the frame. From what I've read so far, metal doors are more resistant to being kicked in than wooden ones?

I'm also looking to do the same on a metal side door for a Versatile garage, same lock set up as above. I was looking to add a ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt to the door, but such a lock has screws for the strike/latch plate that apparently are 76mm long. The stud such a screw would go into is only 40mm across back to front, so the screw would presumably stick out the other side, so I'm not sure where that leaves me. I was thinking I could also replace the screws on the hinges with 3 inch screws as there is enough space in the stud side to side.

What are the thoughts and experiences of others with this?

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#2498558 4-Jun-2020 21:28

Is there any point when a hammer can get you into any house through a window? An alarm is a deterrent.

blackjack17

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#2498564 4-Jun-2020 21:39

It's a glass door. Tap it with a spark plug or window smasher or hell a brick and the person is in.

Locks keep good and or lazy People out.

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k1w1k1d

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#2498569 4-Jun-2020 21:53

You could fit an Amplimesh grill security screen door or similar, but as others have said if someone really wants in, they will get in. All you can hope to do is make it not worth their while.

ObidiahSlope

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#2498611 5-Jun-2020 00:10

Obsequious hypocrite

geekiegeek

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#2498629 5-Jun-2020 06:01

The only people I hear of kicking in doors are the Police. You don’t think you may be being a bit paranoid?

sidefx

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#2498630 5-Jun-2020 06:17

geekiegeek:

The only people I hear of kicking in doors are the Police. You don’t think you may be being a bit paranoid?

Actually a few years ago my folks place was burgled by some d*ckheads who kicked the door in (made a real mess of the frame) and loaded up their "loot" in the middle of the day in full view of the road. A neighbour even saw them doing it, called the police and and tried to park them in so they couldn't get away, but it was on an open suburban street so they just drove off over the footpath... Some folk are really brazzen\desperate I guess. A bit of extra security doesn't hurt TBH...

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Bung

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#2498633 5-Jun-2020 06:37

geekiegeek:
The only people I hear of kicking in doors are the Police. You don’t think you may be being a bit paranoid?

Might just need time to flush the loo ànd wash hands 😎

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#2498642 5-Jun-2020 07:42

You setting up a tinnie house or something?

The house is only as strong as it's weakest link, usually windows. Other than targeted home invasion (usually related to gangs/drugs) forcing a front door by kicking it in is incredibly rare; in my past life with 20 years in the Police I could count on one hand the amount of times this was done. Burglars do not usually want to draw attention to themselves so they would usually jimmy a window or just smash a smaller window to gain entry. I have seen steel panels and framing added to the inside of doors, but again...gangs/drugs etc, not 'normal' citizens.

If you are that paranoid about your personal safety I would personally look at setting up a panic room. If it's something of value then maybe a safe.

For your door, I would look at replacing with a solid steel or wooden one and get rid of the glass first. Make sure you have good quality deadlocks. There is little more you can do unless you want to turn your house into Fort Knox. Invest in a security alarm (monitored or with good neighbors) and security cameras.

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Bung

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#2498660 5-Jun-2020 08:05

When I was still at secondary school I had a part time job at a shop that had frequent break-ins. The owner had his engineer BiL weld grills over windows and steel plate the doors. One night someone set fire to the place trying to cut their way in. I had seen the flames and arrived at the same time as the brigade. After they heard how over the top the security was all they could do was hose down the neighbouring shops and the roof of the burning building. I was showing my US cousin around Wellington at the time. She had thought it was a bit boring till then.

Handsomedan

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#2498674 5-Jun-2020 08:52

I've only known personally of a door being kicked in once - and it was when I was living in South London (25+ years ago).

Flat below had the door kicked in - and wouldn't you know it...it was gang AND drug related.

That's when we decided to get a mobile phone...

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MileHighKiwi

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#2498756 5-Jun-2020 09:30

BiffTannen:

Greetings, new amateur DIYer here. I'm wondering if there is any practical way to secure certain doors against being kicked in from the outside? The door I use to enter/exit the house is a metal door in metal frame surrounded by a wooden jamb.

Most of the door is glass. The glass is the toughened stuff that doesn't break as easily as normal glass but I'm still wondering if a burglar could just kick in the door? The lock is double key deadlock (no solid bolt though) and has the standard latch strike plate on the frame. From what I've read so far, metal doors are more resistant to being kicked in than wooden ones?

I'm also looking to do the same on a metal side door for a Versatile garage, same lock set up as above. I was looking to add a ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt to the door, but such a lock has screws for the strike/latch plate that apparently are 76mm long. The stud such a screw would go into is only 40mm across back to front, so the screw would presumably stick out the other side, so I'm not sure where that leaves me. I was thinking I could also replace the screws on the hinges with 3 inch screws as there is enough space in the stud side to side.

What are the thoughts and experiences of others with this?

You must have a big grow room, Lol.

MikeAqua

7773 posts

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#2498764 5-Jun-2020 09:43

Consequences on the inside are the best deterrent. I've been burgled several times in life. Never while a dog was at home.

Obviously depends on the dog.

Mike

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#2498814 5-Jun-2020 10:31

If they want to get in, they WILL get in . Make it harder & they make more of a mess
You can get a lockable metal & mesh outer door to go outside the glass door (neighbour has one) , thats a bit more of a deterrent and means you can leave
the main door open & mesh door locked , lets cool air in & keeping bugs out .

I have a deadlock on my front door. I was shocked to see how easy it was to break off, 2 wacks with a hammer was all it took, then I was in (it had jammed locked so had to be broken off to get in)
Then theres the issue about just how ridiculously many locks are to pick , with zero skills (plenty of vids on the internet) .

dt

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#2498838 5-Jun-2020 10:56

DIY

add a much larger strike plate - something that will take 6+ screws, something that can take double dead bolt locks, longer screws that can screw the door directly into the door frame and not just the jamb, lastly a reinforcement lock - for best results it needs to go in the most likely place of impact which 9/10 is just under the door handle - add as many as your paranoia level desires

Also something that is commonly overlooked is the quality of the deadbolt - how easy it is to break or lock pick , do your research

examples - I cannot attest to the quality of these two products but you can spend the time looking into something respectful

strike plate

reinforcement lock

If you want to go all in, Ive just started a business venture where part of the requirements for the licence were that all external facing doors had to be able to withstand a bettering ram, we had to order these from the USA at $5000 USD each.. would rather not post what i have but you'll find many options online, you'll want something that has hinge side studs and a steel frame at a minimum

neb

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#2498912 5-Jun-2020 12:18

BiffTannen:
What are the thoughts and experiences of others with this?

Metal screen security doors, despite looking like you could stick your fist through them, are remarkably difficult to penetrate. In particular if you're worried about them being kicked in a security door will force intruders to look for an alternative point of entry. They're also great if you want to leave the door open for cooling/ventilation purposes during the summer.

Edited to add: There's a ton of videos showing how resistant these doors are, admittedly by the companies making them, but still:

Video 1

Video 2

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