There have been a few burglaries in my area recently and on at least one of them, they just kicked the front door in (in broad day light!). I am mainly worried about this happening during the time where my wife and daughter are home alone. I have been looking into securing my door a little bit and was curious if anyone had any experience with these door jamb products: Strikemaster, Door Jam armor, jambrace, etc. Are they any good? Worth the price? Is there a better/cheaper solution to this that I can do myself? Thanks for any input!

You may also call your police department to see what the recommend.

They do free security assessments if you ask them to as well.

We had a Plano officer come to work a while back to tell us what we could do to make our homes more burglar proof. The coolest idea was to remove the red pull knob from your garage door b/c people leaned on the door and grabbed it from the outside with a coat hanger to release the garage door. Genius criminals.

I was looking into getting this:

http://www.asafehome.net/

Might want to check this out.

If you have the tools to drill a 3/4" hole in a 1/4 steel plate you can do what my folks did when they built their house.

Doors and deadbolts are easy to kick in because deadbolt only goes into the door jamb which is typically a low quality 1x6 board and it's near the edge too.

1) Remove the trim from the wall on the side of the door on the side opposite the hinges. You'll most likely find a gap between the door jamb and the studs and it's been shimmed @ the top and bottom. The other side will be mounted flush to strengthen the hinges.

2) Drill a 3/4" hole in your steel plate (say 3 inches tall 3.5 inches deep). You could also cut a slot. This hole or slot is where the deadbolt will go through. Also drill 4 or 5 holes for nails to pass through

3) Use the plate as a template and drill smaller pilot holes in your door jamb for your nails.

4) Insert the plate between the door jamb and your studs and shim it up so it's tight against the door frame.

5) Nail it in place using 12c or 16c nails. YOu want to make sure these go deep into the double stud behind your sheetrock. Take care that you don't hit them too much at the end or you'll warp the door frame out of square and you'll have to pry it back into place.

6) Reinstall the trim, caulk, and touch up the paint.

7) Replace all of the screws on your hinges with longer ones. If any of them seem a bit loose coat a toothpick in wood glue and break it off in the hole, then install your new screw.

A thief will break his ankle before he kicks that deadbolt out. Hell a cop with a battering ram would probably dislocate their shouldter.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Kenneth - I just found an online how-to very similar to what you posted. More work obviously, but a heck of a lot cheaper.

Kenneth's idea is good.

I have seen similar latch plates that would go on the outside then be installed with multiple really long screws. The screws (or nails - I would not use nails) and what they go into are the most important part.

A good solid glass storm door with a good lock is a decent additional layer. They have to break the glass there first.

I would get a very visible security camera mounted to be seen but hard to reach.

Cut back any large bushes in the front. You want the area to be open with no places to hide. Visible from the street.

Security system with signs (we just had to do this.)

motion sensor device that will pick up people walking up to the house and sound an interior alert. That way the people inside at least know someone is walking up and can prepare, look, push the panic button, etc.

Motion lights (not really applicable to the daylight situation you told) but a good deterrent. Large noisy dogs are good too - they even sell record large dog sounds you can put near the door.

From my experience it is all about making it a less attractive target. You can do all the stuff to the front door, and if they really want in they can go around back or to a window. So don't fixate on the front door alone.

Thanks, good thoughts.

Sorry to bump an old (but relevant) thread... Where's a good place to find 1/4 steel plate, and best way to cut it down? I'm thinking I might want to tackle this project soon...

Home depot, lowes, a scrap yard.

As for cutting I'd either have someone you know with a shear cut it to size, a gas cutting torch or use a grinder w/ cutoff wheel. Jig saw/recip. saw are options with a good bi-metal blade but I think that would take a long time.

I have the Doorjam Armor on my house. It wasn't too hard to install.

Shortly after I installed it, we a couple houses on our street get their front doors kicked. They attempted to kick in our door and it held like a champ.

I highly encourage everyone to reinforce their door if possible.

pnut

That is why I would find a commercially available option. Failing that, find some hole in the wall machine shop/welding shop type place locally and have them do it.