Are You At Risk Of Home Invasion Due To Inadequate Door Security?
How easy would it be for someone to break into your home through a door? Does your door security put you at risk of not even knowing someone has broken in until they are standing in front of you? Sixty percent of residential burglaries occur while the residents are at home. Are you at risk of home invasion due to inadequate door security?
There are four primary considerations in door security:
- The right door
- The right locks
- The locks in the right place
- The right burglar/intrusion alarm
First, you need the right door. This might be a high-security steel door. If you have a patio or balcony, you might want to install French doors or a sliding glass door. This would not present a door security risk if you are above the second floor of a building. On the first or second floor, you might need additional safeguards.
Second, door security depends on good locks. The better the lock the safer will be your home. Whether you choose a door knob or a door lever, this is your first step in door security. The greatest security comes from a door knob not operated with a key. You can choose combination code locks typed into a keypad and or locks that are operated by scanning a fingerprint. These are much more difficult to open.
In some cases you might need a three-point lock. These use a bar that runs vertically up the door. The locks are positioned at the top, the bottom and the side of the door to make it more difficult to break in. Three-point locks are ideal for French doors and other doors where additional door security is needed. Patio/sliding glass doors can be doubly secured with either a wood or metal rod that lies in the slide so the door cannot be slid open or with a patio door lock screwed into the bottom of the door preventing the door from sliding. These are generally operated with a key. A good deadbolt lock is usually suggested for door security. The best deadbolts are operated on both sides of the door with a key (which should be removed from the lock).
Third, the locks need to be installed in the right place for optimal door security. Installing a deadbolt just above the door knob/lever makes sense on a solid door. It is not however, the best place for a deadbolt on a door with large windows. It would be too easy for someone to break out a window and easily access both locks. The better choice in these cases is either a three-point lock or to install the deadbolt closer to the floor – low enough that it cannot be reached through the window.
Fourth, good door security requires the right alarm. Most alarm systems place magnetized sensors in the door and the door frame. These activate the alarm if the door is opened. But what if an intruder breaks out the windows and climbs in through the opening? Doors with a large window can be used without leaving you vulnerable. This is accomplished with a glass-break sensor. The instant the glass is broken, the sensor responds to the sound by activating the alarm. The glass-break sensor might be your first warning that someone is trying to enter your home. Activation of the alarm might be enough to scare off an intruder.
If you are thinking about home security, there are several aspects of security and security systems to consider. The first step is door security. By attending to these four aspects of door security, you can know your family is safe.
