5 Easy Ways to Fortify Your Home Doors

It should be no surprise that doors are a favorite entry point among criminals and thieves. In fact, 34% of home invaders use the front door, 22% use the front door, and 9% gain entry through the garage door itself. This is why the first thing we tell our students is “Fortify your home doors”.

In our Home Defense Series, we’re going to give you some easy ways you can fortify and secure your home right now, starting with five easy ways you can secure the doors of your home:

#1 – Replace the screws in your strike plate

Your strike plate came with these itty bitty screws when it was first installed. Those screws do nothing to fortify your door against the most common form of brute entry: a good, swift kick.

Replacing those screws in your strike plate with 3-inch screws will increase the strength of your door 10x’s. Unlike the screws in your strike plate currently, three-inch screws are able to go through the door frame and into the studs of your wall.

This is where the additional strength comes from.

The intruder isn’t just kicking against the screws and the frame, they have to contend with the strength of your wall studs. The studs make it harder for them to kick in your doors. The additional noise creation gives you more notice that someone is trying to break into your home, buying you time to put your personal and home defense plan into place.

#2 – Add reinforced door locks

These are in addition to your regular deadbolt and doorknob. These reinforced locks attach along the door and provide an additional level of security from brute force entry. They can either be added along the sides of the door, such as the one we have listed down below for you, or they can be mounted to the floor in front of the door.

Different design, same results: preventing unwanted intruders from gaining entry.

#3 – Add Deadbolt Locks

There may be some doors in your home that only rely on deadbolts for security. However, deadbolts can be fairly easy to pick, so adding a deadbolt flip guard prevents a would-be intruder from entering your home by picking your lock. The flip guard fits securely over your deadbolt. When an intruder picks the lock and tries to turn the deadbolt, the flip guard prevents the deadbolt lock from turning.

#4 – Chains and Latches

There’s a reason hotels use chains and latches for their guest security. Adding one of these methods is a great way to increase the security of your door, but still allow you to open the door if you need to.

If an intruder tries to barge in, the latch or chain will catch the door. This gives you the precious seconds you need to put your home defense plan into place and escape back into the room where you’ve decided to take up your defensive position.

#5 – Don’t forget your Garage Door

It only takes a criminal 6 seconds to break into your garage door, and what’s the number one door that most people fail to lock at night? That’s right, the door between the garage and the house.

One way you can mitigate this risk is by installing a Garage Shield. It’s hung on your garage door tracks so that a criminal can’t access the release latch via a coat hanger or some other piece of material used to grip it.

To learn more about personal or home security, you can check out our mini-course, Developing a Personal and Home Protection Plan. You can also learn more about our CCW class and tactical courses.

Previous Post: 5 Areas of Your Home You Need to Fortify RIGHT NOW

Next Post: 5 Easy Ways to Fortify Your Home Windows