Tips for securing the front door and avoiding burglaries: Protect the front door.

The front door is an extremely vulnerable exit, representing more than 39% of burglaries because it has many weak points:

• The number of closing points
• The solidity of the door
• The solidity
• The protection of the lock cylinder

It is, therefore, necessary to strengthen the entrance door against burglary with a solid and effective door security system.

Reinforcing the security of an entrance door or window yourself is a matter of a few hours. Latches, peepholes, locks, protective grilles, or electric strikes, the level of protection will depend on the models chosen, the condition of the original joinery, and the frame. Accessories such as a door opener or an eyepiece can complete the device or stand-alone.

Secure the door.

State of play, diagnosis, feasibility

• Check the solidity of the leaf and the frame. It will be useless to install a multi-point lock or other security equipment on a damaged door or frame.
• Use a knife or an awl to check the consistency of the wood and probe for holes and cracks. If the wood is too crumbly or has been repaired too often, it is better to replace the entire joinery.
• Check the openings between the sash and the frame and between the sash and the floor. If there is too much play, fill these gaps with hardwood boards firmly glued and screwed (after baring the wood).
• Take the opportunity to check the solidity of the hinges and their fixings.
• To install a protective grille, take the dimensions of the window’s outer frame to choose a suitable grille.
• Before drilling the masonry, check the nature of the support. For the sealed installation of a defense grid, it is necessary to drill the masonry over 8 cm.
• Be careful in the case of insulation from the outside to fix it well in the masonry and not in the insulation and to use suitable fixings to avoid thermal bridges.

Do you have solid doors?

• Invest in high-quality doors. You should replace your front and back doors as soon as possible if they are hollow. What’s the most reliable technique to detect whether your door is hollow? Knock on the door. The hollow doors are made of varnished cardboard and are hollow. All outside doors must be sturdy and constructed of one of the materials listed below:
• Fiberglass
• solid wood
• Varnished solid wood
• Metal (Note: Make sure you obtain a metal door with a security lock that is strengthened inside.) Otherwise, a basic crowbar may be used to twist the door out of its frame.
• Consider utilizing a fiberglass door that opens outward rather than inward if you’re replacing a door with a new frame (and don’t forget to use safety hinges). This kind of installation makes doors more resistant to break-in attempts.
• Replace all patio doors with doors without windows. For maximum security, make sure that you do not have windows in your doors. You should also avoid having windows near doors, as it is easy to open a door from the inside through a broken window.
• Suppose you have sliding patio doors, panels, or windows near the doors. In that case, you can protect the glass with a security grille on the outside or with a shatterproof polycarbonate plate on the inside.

Lock the doors.

Replace all patio doors with doors without windows. For maximum security, make sure that you do not have windows in your doors. You should also avoid having windows near doors, as it is easy to open a door from the inside through a broken window.

You may secure the glass with a security grille on the outside or a shatterproof polycarbonate plate on the inside if you have sliding patio doors, patio door panels, or windows near the doors.

• Install deadbolt locks. Except for sliding doors, all external doors must have a deadbolt lock in addition to the standard lock. The deadbolt should be of excellent quality (level 1 or 2, solid metal, no visible screws) and have a 2 cm outside lock (protruding section). The lock must be installed correctly. 
• Install a deadbolt lock. You’ll feel safer in your home with two locks. A deadbolt lock can’t be opened from outside. It is visible from the outside and protects the door against attempts to break in unless the criminal breaks the door, frame, or lock. This added security measure won’t make much of a difference if you’re away from home, but the visibility of the lock may deter would-be burglars from trying their luck.
• Secure your sliding doors. Installing key locks on the top and bottom of sliding doors is the best method to keep them safe. You can also purchase or make a bar that extends from the door frame to the middle of the door to stop the sliding door from sliding. Finally, place at least one heavy object (e.g., a log of wood) on the bottom sliding edge to prevent the door from opening outside. Whichever method you choose, it is always a good idea to reinforce the glass with a polycarbonate plate, as already indicated above.

Strengthen your entry routes.

Install cylinder guards at the lock (where you put your key). Burglars can sometimes remove or break locks or pick them open with a hammer or crowbar. Therefore, metal plates or protective rings must be installed on both sides of the door to protect the locks. To prevent criminals from unscrewing the metal plates, use round bolts. By securing the cylinders with detachable rings, criminals will be unable to squeeze the cylinder out using a pipe wrench. Some locks come with removable rings, but you can always acquire them if yours doesn’t.

Secure your exposed hinges. The hinges must be on the interior side of the door. If your hinges are on the outside, replace them or secure them with non-removable pins. Replace the two central hinge screws (on both sides) with non-removable hinge pins (available at any hardware shop) or double mason’s nails to accomplish this. 

Your door frames should be reinforced. Even if your door is of good quality and has properly placed locks, criminals can still try to break or distort the door frame to gain access to your home. Secure your door frames by securing them with several 8cm screws placed along with the door frame. The screws should sink into the wall itself.

Door peepholes

Install eyelets. The eyelets also called “door peephole,” allow you to see who is on the other side of the door. Install wide perspective grommets at eye level on all your exterior doors. Instead, try to find grommets with a cover that prevents people on the outside from seeing the inside, such as one-way peepholes.

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