When you go home, flip on the local news and see stories about armed robberies or home invasions, you may think to yourself, “That will absolutely never happen to me.”
You may think that to be the case, but the numbers don’t lie. Sixty-six percent of all burglaries are home break-ins, 2.5 million burglaries happen annually and in the United States, a home burglary happens every 13 seconds.
If you’re worried about your home getting robbed, there’s a simple solution for that: burglary-proofing your home. Depending on your preference, maybe that means adding video surveillance, alarm systems or some kind of integrated alarm system to amp up your security.
If you’re going to burglar-proof your home, one of the first things you’ll want to start with are your doors. When a burglar is looking for an entry point into your home, the front door is one of the most likely places they’re going to start.
For starters, let’s look at some of the ways a burglar may attack your door:
- Brute force: Most doors are made to withstand force, so when a burglar tries to ram or a kick a door, the door can withstand that force. The idea by attacking with brute force is to weaken a door’s support.
- Drills: The purpose of drill attacks is to destroy the core of a lock cyclinder. Doing this renders the lock unusable and can grant burglars easy access.
- Lock picking: This requires more finesse on the part of a burglar and can take longer to pull off. When it comes to robberies and break-ins, burglars are looking to get in, take what they want and get out quickly. That desire for quick entry and quick getaway doesn’t lend itself to using lock picking often.
- Lock bumping: This technique involves using modified keys to exploit vulnerable locks. But they are usually very specific and often don’t work on cars.
So now that you know what methods burglars use to try and get through your doors, let’s look at some ways you can burglar-proof your doors. If you’ve got the means, you can look into designer door hardware, picking out custom locks, handles, doors etc. With that in mind, let’s look at how designer door hardware can make your doors more burglar-proof:
- The right material: When it comes to door material, there are many materials available to help prevent attacks. You can choose steel, fiberglass or solid core wood to name a few. Having a solid door material will ensure it can stand up to force and make burglars think twice about testing it. You’ll want to make sure all exterior doors on your home are a solid core and they can also withstand weather.
- Door frames: Another important aspect of designer door hardware is the door frame. After all, this is what a door is fitted into and keeps the door in place. A door frame that’s improperly installed can leave a door open to being kicked in with hardly any resistance. Make sure to use door stops and to reinforce hinges.
- Door locks: Perhaps the most important aspect of designer door hardware is the lock because this is what burglars are most likely to test. Choose burglar-proof locks that work together with your burglar-proof doors; one of the best you can choose is a deadbolt lock.
- Other components: Doors and locks work great, but backing them up with other components is even better. Consider video monitoring systems, monitored security systems, automatic door systems, a door buzzer system and other elements to make your home even safer.
A harsh reality of the world we live in today is that home burglaries happen everywhere and they happen all the time. Rather than ignoring such a serious problem and leaving yourself vulnerable, take time to burglar-proof your home. Your doors are one of the most important components for warding off attacks and could be considered the first line of defense. By taking time to replace and reinforce your doors, locks, and frames, you’ll provide better protection for you and your family and make burglars think twice about trying to invade your home.