It may seem obvious, but having a secure door is important for the security of your home. The door is often a favored point of entry for burglars, especially if it is not secure. Taking a few steps to make your door burglar-proof would help you to go a long way in protecting your assets. Here are a few of them:
Have a Strong Door
The stronger your door, the harder it would be for an intruder to break it down forcefully. You should install a door made of solid wood, fiberglass, or metal. These might actually be more affordable than you think, just check with a good door producer.
Pay attention to door hinges
Even with a solid door, your home is still vulnerable if the door hinges are exposed. To counter this, take measures to strengthen the hinges. These include: putting a setscrew in the hinge; placing crimped pins on either end of the hinges and employing safety studs.
Install a deadbolt lock
A deadbolt lock is a basic way to make your door stronger. In addition to the deadbolt you should also have a strong metal strike plate with long screws and full extension from the latch to the lock. Reinforce any existing door locks you have with cylinder guards to prevent burglars from prying the lock loose.
Install a peephole
It usually isn’t safe to open the door to someone you cannot see on the other side. The minute you open the door you are vulnerable to unwanted entry. Therefore it is a good idea to have a peephole installed so that you can get a good look at who it is before you open the door. You can also have a lock or chain attached to open the door partially.
Fortify the backdoor
The backdoor is often neglected, but it is still a potential point of forced entry for a burglar. Many back doors are designed to be sliding so securing it is not as easy, but there are ways. You can install key locks at the bottom of the door or have rods fitted in the door tracks to prevent them from sliding open.
Have good lighting
This may not be directly related to improving your door but it always helps to have proper lighting at night. If your home is under surveillance, light can make this clear to a would-be burglar. There are various options such as motion-detection lighting, dummy camera lighting, and door devices connected to your wifi.
Keep your home safe by fortifying your main point of entry. Often there are good and strong doors that don’t need to be replaced but simply need new locks, new lighting, and a proper peehole. The easy fixes go a long way.