Deadbolt: latch or key

[ellis4538]

Shore up the door all you want because I'm going to the nearest window and get in that way!  Put bars or reinforced shutters on the inside and I probably will leave.


Richard

[bodean87]

If your worried about it the best thing to do would be to remove the window. Then you would want a steel door with a steel frame. If your going to do that you mightr as well go for the fort look with steel bars on the windows and reinforced concrete walls.You ould always get an alarm system and a gun or hundred.

[tankerdad]

Back to the original question, yes, change back to the latch.  However, as already noted in different manners, the window next to the door is not secure. 

If you don't want to go through the work of replacing the glass and refacing the house at that location, you could think about iron bars used for decoration.  I know you've seen them, decorative curves and bends of welded iron.  That could fill out the space not letting someone get through the window or reach in to the latch, and still leave the window so you can see outside.

Thanks,
Tankerdad

[tombogan03884]

The "wrought Iron" grill work can be quite attractive while increasing security.

[tankerdad]

Thanks for the clarification Tom, I couldn't remember the proper name.

[Sponsor]

[kamaaina1]

If you have a double-sided cylinder because there's a window next to the door, you're only mitigating the problem, not solving it. The window next to the door also means that you have a weak door frame, since the frame itself is unsupported on the window side.

If possible, get rid of the window and put something solid in its place. If you insist on natural light by the door, reinforce the frame and replace the standard glass with glass or plastic block. Its much stronger and does lend some support to the door structure.

As mentioned, for safety reasons, a latch is preferable.

Stay safe,

Mike

  Thank you all for the advise!  I reinstalled the latch on the deadbolt.  Sidelight window (unfortunately) is part of the door frame.  Might change it out if & when we upgrade our door.
  Thanks again!!!
 
  My better half modeling our front door...

[Pathfinder]

FWIW, Kwikset locks ain't worth spit. My son locked my Kwikset garage deadbolt, and departed with the only key. It took the locksmith longer to walk the 25' from the alley to the door than it did to pop the lock.

[tombogan03884]

FWIW, Kwikset locks ain't worth spit. My son locked my Kwikset garage deadbolt, and departed with the only key. It took the locksmith longer to walk the 25' from the alley to the door than it did to pop the lock.

Be fair Path, bear in mind that he probably does it 20 times a day, same with vehicle door locks.
They get a lot of practice so they make it look easy. It was hard enough that you had to call  pro 

[TAB]

Trust me its not just kiwksets, unless you are willing to shell out hundreds for the deadbolt. Any professional can pick it with in 30 seconds.  Hell I'm by no means a pro and I can get in a couple of mins.


I've gone on and on about securing doors/windows. ( look up my posts on the subject)  reality, what happens when you secure a door with a good lock set and renfroce the casing is, when they kick the door in, the wall comes with it.  seen it, fixed it.

all a strong door really buys you is time. how much time depends on your wallet.  same with windows, how much time can you buy.

I kid you not I've done the complete secruing a house thing to tune of about 35k, they cut a hole in the wall and came in that way.



Now if you are really intrested in securing the door and getting real world costs and whats envoled I would be more then happy to talk with you about it.

just remember there is always windows.


edit just noticed the glass block deal.  while in some cases that is a good option,  but  you have to understand thats only a slmall improvment over temperd glass( which is what is there now)  There are several products out on the market that  are a "sandwitch" of glass and polycarb that are much better solutions.  just don't faint when you see the price.

[Michael Janich]

Yes, physical security measures are not a guarantee. As noted, they are primarily intended to buy you the time to take appropriate action inside the house. However, they also have the benefit of being a deterrent. If you take reasonable measures to harden your home and, in the process, all the other homes around you become easier targets, that's a good thing and can reduce your chances of being targeted.

The danger of "accepting" that all physical security measures can be breached with enough force or skill is that it encourages people not to do anything to improve their security. If you adopt the mindset that "no matter what I do, they'll get in anyway," you're already on the road to failure.

Stack the odds in your favor in as many ways as you can.

Stay safe,

Mike