- Upgrading Locks
Your front door locks are at the frontline when it comes to your home’s security. Lock's level of security can vary quite extraordinarily when it comes to your home’s security. For that reason, it is of the utmost importance that you do not use the wrong lock for your front door security. Choosing the wrong lock for the job is only one of the concerns. You also have to be aware of what your lock is vulnerable to. Does it protect against bump keys? Is the metal weak so that it can be broken with blunt force or drilled into? What steps has it taken to fortify itself against covert and violent entry?
- Using Security Screens
Security screens are an excellent protection add-ons. Realistically, Two doors are always better than one. To improve your front door security, we highly recommend putting another door in front of your main front door. Security screens are perforated metal barriers that have room for additional locks. They are built to open out toward the point of ingress, so kicking attacks that rely on pushing the door open are less likely to work. The additional locks are also more likely to discourage hidden entry, as you will have an additional deadbolt and keyed knob as part of your front door security. Additionally, due to the perforations, you will be able to open your door and see everything outside without placing yourself at risk of any awaiting harm. You will see more than you would through a peephole, while still being somewhat obscured to anyone on the outside.
- Use Interior Securing Devices
Interior security devices work by securing a locked door from the interior of the home. This can be designed at the base or along the middle of the door with barricades that fall into tracks or holders. There are also objects that work like propped up chairs that extend from the door knob to the ground. There were hooks that loop around door handles and onto something like the strike plate. Chain locks and flush door latch bolts are not as effective as the other products, but as long as you are not getting your security from Home Depot, chances are it will provide some decent protection.
- Protecting Lock Hardware
The hardware of a lock is everything that is inserted into the door. One of the weak points in front door security is where the lock is installed. This is because holes have been drilled close together, removing large amounts of material. If the removed portions of the door are not reinforced by the installed lock hardware, there will be a need for further protection. You will know how much you need to protect your lock hardware by figuring out what the overall quality is. Most importantly, you should know the amount of force your deadbolt can withstand.
- Monitor Your Door
A great way to improve your front door security is to keep it under close monitoring. There are two main ways to go about that: first, you can use some form of alarm/security system, or secondly, invest in a quality surveillance camera. The most important aspect of monitoring is that in the event of a break-in, someone who can intervene is immediately contacted. If the response time cannot be counted on from the intervening party, then monitoring is not providing much security. Though still, you can use your documented evidence to potentially find the criminal, prosecute them, have your stolen property returned, and learn more about the weaknesses of your front door security.
Conclusion
There are a lot of improvements that you can make to your front door in order to elevate its security. Even within these five methods, there are seemingly endless variations and approaches. Fortunately, this is not everything that you can do to protect your front door. There is always more that can be done and we hope that this article has given a basic sense of idea to where to start.
