Reinforcing an entry way.

[ericire12]

I don't know why I didn't think of this before... if you guys have any real world questions about how to go about securing a door, feel free to ask me.  This is something I do for a living.

Start a thread for that.... I'd love to read your thoughts on the subject

[TAB]

Start a thread for that.... I'd love to read your thoughts on the subject

In general, unless you beef up the structure, your wasting your time.  I've done all the stuff like renforced strike plate and longer hardware.  Do they help?  yes, but very little.  What happens is when they kick the door in they take part of the wall with the jamb and door.  One thing that works very well is a "new york bar"  You just have to have a good solid anchor point on the floor for it.  If you really want to make a door that they will not be able to kick, bend over, its going to cost you thousands.( last one I did was $7800) As much as I would love to take your money, I will advise you that its just not worth it.  There are plenty of windows they can get in.  If you think the door was expensive, you don't even want to know how much it will cost to replace all your windows.( starting price for just  the window is about a grand.  fire codes are a bitch. )



With a decent lock set( they start at about 150 and I'm not talking about the fancy stuff that the hd/ lowes sell) and a new york bar, it will be very hard for even the professionals( LEO, firemen, guy with BFH/ ram) to "kick in the door"   

[tombogan03884]

Thing is, with so many Mobile homes nowadays you reinforce your doors put grills over your windows, at each step spending the kind of money TAB is talking, no short cuts. You have zero security. The metal or vinyl siding can be cut with any decent knife The aluminum siding is .032 inches thick, then insulation and paneling, I have cut all of these with a swiss army knife.

[TAB]

There is nothing you can do to a building that a circular saw and the right blade can't whip.

[ericire12]

All the stats say that the vast majority of entries are through the door

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

There is nothing you can do to a building that a circular saw and the right blade can't whip.

Even Masonry can be gotten through.

[TAB]

Even Masonry can be gotten through.

Its why god made 14" cut off saws with diamond blades       

I've used mine with a metal cutting blade to open safes, it takes longer to get every thing set up then it does to open them up.

[SIG229DAK]

"There is no problem so large,
that it can't be fixed with the proper application of High Explosives."
 

[ericire12]

Start a thread for that.... I'd love to read your thoughts on the subject

Hey, I stated a thread without even starting the thread 



...... BTW this is a nice read by Janich on reinforcing an entry way:

http://www.downrange.tv/bestdefense/article1-ep2.htm

Many home invasions begin with the criminal simply kicking in your front door. This can happen so quickly and so suddenly that you have very little time to react and nobody outside your home really notices. The best way to prevent this type of entry—and a great way of establishing your home as a hard target—is to harden your front door. First, choose a sturdy, solid wood door or a steel-sheathed door. It should be hung with heavy-duty hinges installed with extra-long screws (like three inch deck screws), not the short ones that typically come in the package. To further strengthen the hinge side of the door, at least one screw in each hinge should be replaced with a steel nail or pin that extends about 3/8-1/2-inch above the surface of jamb side of the hinge and “nests” into the matching hole in the door side of the hinge. This reinforces the hinge joint in the closed position and prevents the door from being removed—even if the hinge pins are taken out. If you don’t want to “roll your own,” purpose designed “hinge studs” of this type can sometimes be found at locksmith shops.

Don’t settle for an ordinary door knob lock for your front door. These are weak and can be easily defeated. The security of your front door should only be trusted to a high-quality, name-brand deadbolt lock. The interior side of the lock should be a knob style; it should not be double keyed. Removal of the internal key could prevent you from being able to leave your home in an emergency, so stick with a knob. If you do not have a steel-sheathed door, the area of the door around the lock should also be reinforced with a metal door reinforcement.

In order for a dead bolt lock to do its job, it must anchor solidly to the door frame. The typical strike plate included with most locks is not up to this task. Instead, you need to invest in an extended, high-security strike plate. These strike plates are typically about 8-10 inches long, include multiple holes for mounting the plate, and include extra-long screws that anchor the plate solidly into the structure behind the door frame, not just the wood of the frame itself.

With a solid door properly installed as your front door barrier, your next step should be to ensure that there are no weak spots around the door that would compromise its function. The most common example of this is a window located immediately adjacent to the door. Although this window does offer the positive function of allowing a view of anyone standing outside your door, by simply breaking the window, a burglar or home invader could easily reach through and unlock the door.

The presence of a window adjacent to your door frame also means that you do not have a solid structure around the entire frame. This weakens the overall structure of the door and compromises its function as a barrier. Ideally, it should be eliminated by having a competent contractor “fill in” that area with a solid wood structure. If this is not possible, you should at least prevent someone from being able to access the lock if he breaks the window by covering the interior of the window frame with a sheet of strong Plexiglas® or Lexan® plastic, screwed firmly into the wood.

If filling in the window near your front door limits your ability to see someone standing outside the door, make sure you install a peephole in the door or a convex mirror that allows you to see that blind spot from another window.

Obviously, if you have any other ground-level or easily accessible exterior doors in your home, you need to take these same steps to strengthen them. Criminals will seek the path of least resistance, so don’t leave any weak spots in your defense.

Sliding patio doors should also be strengthened to keep them from being a weak link in your home defense. The traditional broomstick-in-the-track method of blocking these doors is a good start, but many criminals are wise to this and have figured out how to “rock” the sliding door to overcome this barrier or create an opportunity to pop it out of place with a piece of wire. A better solution is a purpose-designed security bar that can be wedged between the door and the frame above floor level. This creates a much stronger barrier and cannot be dislodged or overcome as easily as a dowel rod or broomstick. If you want to use the sliding door for fresh air, but don’t want to leave yourself vulnerable, these security bars are adjustable to you can open the door far enough to allow air—but not a person—to come in.

Ground-level windows or easily accessible second-story windows (like those with a balcony or adjacent roof area) should also be evaluated as potential weak points. Although strengthening glass is always going to be a challenge, it can be done. The best way is the addition of 3M Scotchshield®–a reinforcing film that transforms ordinary glass into a form of safety glass. The underlying glass will still shatter, but it the window remains as a barrier in the window frame. A cheaper alternative is to replace the ordinary glass with shatter resistant Plexiglas®.

Finally, you can consider adding a true barrier, like steel bars or an ornamental grate; however, you must make sure that you do not compromise your own safety in case of a fire. Make sure that any window you might need as a fire exit remains functional if you need it.

[ericire12]

I just made the 3'' deck screw upgrade to my doors and dead bolt plates. Its laughable how small those original screws were.