A resource for consumers, locksmiths, and security professionals
The front door is extremely important to a building’s security, so it would follow that you need some form of front door reinforcement. According to some very shocking burglary statistics, approximately 34% of all burglaries in the USA had the front door determined as the primary point of entry. Doors play a tremendous role in security overall, but your front door is most likely to be the first barrier a criminal will encounter.
A higher security door jamb is a great place to start. And after dealing with door jamb reinforcement, we can move onto the other ways to reinforce a front door. All of which a locksmith can provide what you need to achieve the peace of mind you are hoping for with your front door reinforcement.
The most popular way to improve the security of a front door is with a higher security door jamb. There are many products that you can get online that specialize in door jamb replacement. The Door Devil is a good example of these higher security door jamb products.
The price of many of these door jamb reinforcement products hover somewhere around eighty dollars, but whatever you are paying, you want to make sure the kit comes with several things. If you go through a locksmith for this type of purchasing, you can cut down some of the homework, but it is still important to ask your locksmith some questions to know if they are the right locksmith for your needs.
One of the most important parts of door jamb reinforcement is on the locking side of the door jam. This should be an extended piece of steel with a decent gauge that will provide strength without being thick enough to cause the door to stick. There should be some form of hinge protection as well that will provide door jamb reinforcement for the opposite side of the jamb.
The set screws provided for installation should be somewhere around three inches in length so that all of these items can secure into the stud. The real reason a higher security door jamb is so crucial is that the set screws provided for most residential locksets are only long enough to bite into the door trim.
Some people choose to handle door jamb reinforcement with nothing but 3-inch screws. This is a much cheaper solution, but in the world of security cost often goes hand in hand with protection. You are sacrificing quite a bit by not doing everything possible for your door jamb reinforcement.
It is important to know that this type of front door reinforcement is the most foundational to your door’s security. Most criminals will try to open a door with kicking or other similar bludgeoning and ramming attacks. For that reason, it is important to start your security with this type of front door reinforcement. Locksmiths are a great resource for having this important type of work done right. You will not know if your door jamb is properly reinforced until it is too late to have a professional’s insight.
Key Takeaways:
With good higher security door jamb taken care of, the next step is to secure your lock hardware. This is important to do as a second step because it is more important to undergo door jamb reinforcement, as that is the weakest part of the front door by default. But you cannot just invest in door jamb reinforcement and call it a day. With the strengthened door jam, the next step in front door reinforcement is to utilize a quality high-security lock.
This is recommended along with metal slipcovers that will reinforce the door around the holes that have been cut out and cross bored to fit the door locks. Both the covers and these types of locks add metal content, but strong lock really fill up the gaps with solid metal, whereas cheaper poor-quality locks will have lock hardware that is mainly hollow.
A high-security lockset is going to add even more strength to the door than a simple metal slipcover, and also offer much more to overall front door reinforcement. If you are choosing one of the best front door locks, the lock will also offer anti-drill protection. Drilling is a very popular type of forced entry method. And with hardened steel pins and other hardened steel inserts placed at the most common drill points, even the strongest drill bits will struggle to penetrate the lock to the necessary degree.
The bolts of the deadbolt should also be resistant to cutting, which is another likely go to form of destructive entry. Though kicking attacks can be significantly prevented from opening a front door with door jamb reinforcement, you still need front door reinforcement that deals with other forms of destructive entry.
A locksmith will be able to install these types of high-security locks properly. If these locks are not installed properly, it will greatly diminish the security they were meant to impart. More handy individuals will not have an issue with installation on standard doors. But much like door jamb reinforcement, in cases of non-standard door setups, a locksmith will be invaluable to handle installation in a way that will not compromise the intended protection of the device.
How a lock is installed can even affect their resistance to covert entry. A high-security will resist or even eliminate the concern of some forms of covert entry such as bump keys, lock picking, unauthorized key duplication, etc.
Key Takeaways:
Certain security vulnerabilities may be more pressing than others, and budgets can vary quite a bit from person to person. And similar to door jamb reinforcement, there is a cheaper way of handling the issue, though it is likely to not be as secure. At times where the clearest present threat to your door is some form of covert entry, getting a locksmith to re-pin the lock can be a fast and economical solution. What is happening when a lock is re-pinned is not necessarily the same as rekeying a lock.
Re-pinning is a process that can still have your current key work with your existing lock while still elevating the security. The standard pins in your lock can be replaced with security pins of the same size. Security pins are one of the several ways to prevent lock bumping. And based on the complexity of the security pins and the quality of the installation, this type of front door reinforcement can also do wonders to prevent lock picking.
The type of security pins that you can take advantage of will depend greatly on your locksmith. You might not be able to get something as complicated as a pin in pin set up for your lock, but there is a chance that you could request threading or counter milling in the pin chambers of the lock. This will make the security pins more effective.
You can also get some level of anti-drill protection out of re-pinning. Not because security pins are drill resistant, but the front pins in the keyway can be replaced with hardened steel pins. Hardened steel pins will effectively deter anyone trying to drill through the keyway of the lock. It will not protect all the drill points on a lock, but it will provide an increased level of protection from the pre-existing security.
Key Takeaways:
There are many different types of door security products on the market. Some of these products seem to have a good reputation simply because they are popular. This can muddle the reality of a security product’s effectiveness. Whether it is door jamb reinforcement or general front door reinforcement, the selection of available products can be quite overwhelming.
And with security devices, it is rather difficult to receive a recommendation from friends or family. Very rarely is there a person in your life who has the market knowledge or even real-world experience with device failure or success.
A locksmith is ideal for helping you to select the perfect type of front door reinforcement. A locksmith is often requested to replace or fix security products that have failed. By dealing with the failure of these products, locksmiths have developed a very practical knowledge about the types of stresses certain items can withstand.
Locksmiths not only know the reputations of brands from first-hand accounts, but they also interact frequently with people in similar lines of work within the security industry. This insight also allows you to get recommendations that you would not have been aware of. You will be made aware of all of the possibilities and be given the information of what will be best for you.
Even if the locksmith does not sell a product, they are still likely to tell you about things such as window security film that may appropriately fulfill your security needs. Front door reinforcement can be rather difficult if there is a pane of glass on it, but even this can be secured. Security film made for glass is made by several different companies, and some do not provide the same level of security as others.
Similarly, locksmiths will likely be able to recommend a good strong door. If you have already invested in door jamb reinforcement and protected your door against all the other threats, it is likely that your front door security will be compromised by the door itself breaking. That is unless you use a high-security door.
Key Takeaways:
A great way to go about front door reinforcement is to reinforce all your efforts with consistent maintenance. It is important that you do not do something like door jamb reinforcement and then wash your hands of ever worrying about the security of your front door ever again. You need to plan to check back on the devices you have installed and the security measures you have invested in.
Without proper maintenance, things will fall into a state of disarray. The nature of things is to fall apart and stop working, but checking up on these things is a simple way to make sure you still have adequate front door reinforcement.
So how do you know what type of maintenance is going to assist with your front door reinforcement? That is where a locksmith can really help you out. It is true that a locksmith can also perform the maintenance tasks you will need, but their expertise is also ideal for finding the troublesome areas that need attention. And at the same time of recognizing a potential issue, they can also diagnose the best cure to prevent it from becoming a catastrophic failure in your security.
For example, even if you know that your door jamb reinforcement device has come loose, you might not be able to fix it in a way that keeps the problem from recurring. There are ways to assess your home security like a professional, but sometimes even a DIY assessment can lead to the realization that more seasoned eyes are required.
Key Takeaways:
Everything’s better with a locksmith. It isn’t said enough, but there are many times where having the work done by a professional ensures the work is done right. And when it comes to properly installing higher security door jambs, and generally handling the many aspects front door reinforcement, a locksmith is the proper professional to call. Don’t wait to handle your door jamb reinforcement, and after that is done, take on the other tasks that will provide even better front door reinforcement. Call a locksmith today to reinforce your front door.
Category: Crime, Residential, Safety & Security
