Enhance Your Home Security By Starting With The Front Door

Posted on: 12 January 2016

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Before you install a sophisticated home security system, make sure that your front door guards you against a possible break-in. Burglars often try the front door first to determine if they can get into your home easily. If the front door is enough of a deterrence, the thief may pass your house by and try another home. Here are the items to consider to make the front door your first defense against a home break-in.

Choice of Locks

If the lock on your door tells the burglar that you're serious about home security, they may skip your house and move on. Make sure you use a deadbolt that defeats the most persistent thief. Have a locksmith show you their ANSI Grade 1 deadbolts that are made of hardened steel. These locks resist being shattered by a hammer or cut through with a saw. They are too much for a thief to break through quietly to get into your home.

Two types of deadbolts are available for your front door:

  • Standard deadbolt - This is the lock installed in most new homes. It mounts on the door with a metal bolt that extends through the door into the doorframe. This lock uses a knob on the inside to move the bolt in and out, and a key on the outside.
  • Vertical deadbolt - This lock uses two components to lock the door. One mounts on the door and the other on the wall next to the door. When the door is closed, part of the door component slips into channels of the wall component. The bolt is moved by a knob on the inside and a key outside. When the bolt is moved, it travels vertically up into the channels of the lock. This conceals the bolt from anyone trying to pry the door away from the frame enough to try to cut the bolt.

Enhancing the Door Frame

If the wooden door frame is weak where the bolt slides into the frame, a thief may try to force the bolt through the wood to get the door open. You can stop this attempt by using a reinforced striker plate.

The striker plate is the rectangular metal plate that mounts on the side of the door frame. A hole in the plate allows the steel bolt of the lock to move into the frame, securing the door. Have the locksmith, like those at ND Security Company, show you their reinforced steel striker plates with a metal box for the bolt. These plates have a steel box built over the hole to contain the bolt. The bolt can't be forced through this box and door frame, giving you extra protection from a break-in. When installing the reinforced plate, use extra long hardened steel screws to make the plate even more burglar-proof.