Effective Ways to Secure Your Front Door

If you’ve just built a new home or purchased a previously owned property in London, one of the first things to consider is how to make it to make it safe. Finding the best way to secure your door is a key part of your home’s security. There are different ways to make your door a fortress that will defy the breaching skills of even the best burglars. This starts with improving the type of door and by installing hardware products that makes it more secured.

How Can I Make My Front Door More Secure?

You could basically start by replacing your front door lock, but that is just the first step in achieving greater home security. The fact is, most criminals hardly ever bother to pick locks, and prefer to enter through an open window or unlocked door. Some simply kick in the front door. Therefore, if you are looking to increase security for your front door, here are a few options you might consider:

Secure door hinges

If your door swings outwards and the hinges are exposed, you’ll need to secure them. A door’s hinges are its most vulnerable point, and an experienced burglar may try to take them apart if they are exposed. You can improve security at this weak point by making use of safety studs, setscrews in the hinges and fast-rivet (crimped) pins. This method makes it impossible to remove the hinge pin and lift the door up and out.

Use security screens

Adding another door in front of your front door is a great way to secure it. Security screens come with perforated metal as a semi-permeable boundary. They serve as a more secure peephole, because you can see everything outside without opening yourself up to potential home invasion.

There is also the possibility of installing an extra set of locks. Some front door security items can also be applied to the security screen. Anyone looking to gain entry to the property will then have an additional layer of security to go through. In addition, the security screen can discourage potential burglars from even approaching a home, because of the obvious message it sends that you take your security very seriously.

Replace hollow doors

Hollow doors should never be used for exterior entryways. They are only suitable for interior spaces, so if your front door is of the cheap, hollow core type, you should consider to replace your door with a solid wood or metal door. Although solid wood doors are a lot more expensive, they are certainly stronger than the hollow core models . Pine doors are affordable and can also be used, but you can’t go wrong with hardwood. Steel doors are the most secure option and also are rot resistant. They do come however with a higher price tag. For optimum protection, hurricane-rated models are the best choice.

Add conspicuous lighting and security

Installing a motion detecting LED light over a doorway is one way to improve home security. Visibility should make one look at your front door be all it would take for potential burglars to walk away. Making visible the security measures for your front provides the impression that breaching your door and burgling your home is more trouble than its worth. Therefore, provide sufficient lighting and make it clear that your home is under surveillance. There are a range of security options to choose from.

Hi-tech devices that enable remote monitoring by connecting the front door to Wi-Fi enabled devices is one of the options. Dummy blinking security cameras can also be very effective. Even though they are fake, the blinking red lights will still deter snooping eyes from trying to spy on your home. The Skybell Wi-Fi Doorbell is another example of a connected home security product. As soon as a visitor rings your doorbell, the unit sends an alert. With an iOS or Android device, you can then see, hear and speak with whoever is at the door.

How Can I Reinforce A Door?

Even if you’ve installed a high quality door, your home may still be exposed to a potential breach and other unauthorized intrusions. Instead of purchasing an expensive new door or complex security system, there are some inexpensive solutions you can carry out to reinforce your door.

Replace the deadbolt strike plate

A strike plate is a small metal piece that catches and holds the lock latch. Most of the strike plates are not actually strong enough to prevent a forced entry, as their main function is to hold the door shut. To reinforce your door, replace the strike plate on your door with a stronger one that has longer screws and a strong metal enclosure that the latch will lock into. Doing so will improve the door’s ability to withstand a few strong kicks.

Reinforce the Door Jamb

Reinforcing the jamb of your door is another simple, but effective way to ensure maximum door security. The jamb is the vertical part of the frame holding the door in place and is one of the most important aspects of the door. Without a jamb, a well-placed kick would certainly bring the door down. It is harder to separate the door from its jamb when you reinforce and improve the way the jamb connects to the door.

An effective way to do this is to add an extra connecting material to the door jamb. This could be a piece of metal or wood screwed securely into the frame of the door. This material provides an additional layer of resistance. It reduces the chances of the door being breached through blunt and direct force.

The first step in reducing the chances of a breach to your door, is to make sure your door is in good condition. Unless it is, any additional appliances won’t be as effective. Therefore, ensure proper upkeep and maintenance of your door, so that all the components work well together to form solid, impregnable doors.