Door Barricade Brackets for exterior doors

Blue Brick

Blue Brick

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Joined
Sep 23, 2007
Messages
2,158
Location
Pinal County, Arizona
What are your thoughts or advice? I was going to add these to the front doors. I am handy, but I am not a contractor or a carpenter. Any professional or Dad advice is welcome.

FxPO_TMXwAEkkQf.jpg



I was going to buy longer screws. How close should it be to the side of the door?

Screenshot_20230710-211206.png


^^^^^^^^ not my door/picture

Screenshot_20230710-211108.png
 
Couple things, I'd like heaver steel, brackets shown are only 1/8 inch thick. They also appear sized to fit a standard 2x4 which if mounted to the wall the door trim would not allow room for the 2x4 to fit in the brackets. The crossmember should be close to the door even if you need to drop a shim or wedge between it and the door to minimize chances of the door being forced open even a small bit.
Long screws preferably 3 inch going into studs close to the door as will work.
 
If installed like the photo they would be useless as the perp would just break the pane and remove the 2X. Quality double dead bolts with backing plates and sill plates with 3" screws into the 2Xs in the door frame work well...
 
Many ways to help a door stay put. Longer screws into all the door jams will help, more/better hinges, better locks spread out along the door, etc.

Less obtrusive than the 2x4 is the "door club"
The Door Club (White) - - Amazon.com
Upgrade to a better/steel door (if secured as above) will also help.

As others have mentioned, the screws/bolts have to go into solid material or it matters little.
If I was doing the 2x4 option I would look at running the bolts all the way through the wall (head/nut will need to be secured from removal).

As I moved a lot in the past I would drill a hole in the floor and drop a steel rod into it, simple door club idea. Wouldn't stop them in their tracks, but would slow them some and not hard to fill/fix when I moved again. Put it as close as possible to the door to slow momentum and on the opening edge to reduce leverage.

Hard to explain, but you could also put an eye bolt into each side of the door jam and run a length of chain/cable across the door using a snap link to fix it to the other side. Much harder to lift up/out especially if you use a locking snap link and less common so will confuse/slow a person a bit if they can get to it. Also, not as likely to break as a 2x4.

Not that the 2x4 idea is bad, just other options out there.
 
Have you updated your strike plates and screws on the door? These are simple safety enhancements.
 
Scrapiron45 said:
Couple things, I'd like heaver steel, brackets shown are only 1/8 inch thick. They also appear sized to fit a standard 2x4 which if mounted to the wall the door trim would not allow room for the 2x4 to fit in the brackets. The crossmember should be close to the door even if you need to drop a shim or wedge between it and the door to minimize chances of the door being forced open even a small bit.
Long screws preferably 3 inch going into studs close to the door as will work.
Click to expand...

It's slightly larger than 1/8 inch. It's 3.5mm, but I agree. I was going to test fit with double sided tape. A spacer sounds like a good idea.
 
hso said:
Have you updated your strike plates and screws on the door? These are simple safety enhancements.
Click to expand...

Yes. This is not for a Castle Grayskull level of protection. Like everyone else we have windows. This is just to give a couple extra seconds of readiness. I sleep heavily and live in a one story custom build with lots of twists and turns.
 
During my years working Uniform Patrol on the police department, I saw several door bars like these on drug houses.
I remember kicking one in one night. The guy that installed the steel brackets didn’t put the screws into the wall studs.
Most often these door bars will not match your home décor, which will make your wife unhappy.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
During my years working Uniform Patrol on the police department, I saw several door bars like these on drug houses.
I remember kicking one in one night. The guy that installed the steel brackets didn’t put the screws into the wall studs.
Most often these door bars will not match your home décor, which will make your wife unhappy.
Click to expand...


It was actually her idea/request.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
During my years working Uniform Patrol on the police department, I saw several door bars like these on drug houses.
I remember kicking one in one night. The guy that installed the steel brackets didn’t put the screws into the wall studs.
Most often these door bars will not match your home décor, which will make your wife unhappy.
Click to expand...


She actually thought of several ideas to cover them up when not in use. Married guys know.... Sometimes we just keep quiet about certain topics. Wiseman picks his battles carefully.
 
If nothing else, I've learned that Harrison Ford was a carpenter.

I had a similar setup for hurricanes at my old house. It was a 1/2" threaded rod with a washer and wing nut on either side. It kept the door tight against the weatherstripping, and kept the rain from blowing in. Nothing is impenetrable, but I think it would have taken more than one kick.

Do they make a version of that with a C bracket that would bolt at the top and bottom of the 2x4?

Does anyone make a brace for a door that opens out?
 
wayneinFL said:
If nothing else, I've learned that Harrison Ford was a carpenter.

I had a similar setup for hurricanes at my old house. It was a 1/2" threaded rod with a washer and wing nut on either side. It kept the door tight against the weatherstripping, and kept the rain from blowing in. Nothing is impenetrable, but I think it would have taken more than one kick.

Do they make a version of that with a C bracket that would bolt at the top and bottom of the 2x4?

Does anyone make a brace for a door that opens out?
Click to expand...
Put the hooks on the door and brace against the frame.
 
South Florida had adopted a hurricane code after Andrew and doors to the outside opened not to the inside but to the outside. It is much harder to kick a door and the frame in than just the small part were the lock is latching.
 
Within the first year I was in this house, I worked on both doors by replacing 1 or 2 of the screws holding the hinge plates (1 at the top, 2 ea. on center & bottom) with "grade 8" screws that were long enough to go through the door's frame and into the stud behind it. On the doorknob side, I replace all 4 screws on the two strike plates with similar screws, then put a 6" long, 1/8" thick, 1/4" wide piece of steel on the inside surface of the door's frame to reinforce those strike plates. A year later, I cut a piece of polycarbonate to fit over the three glass panels (6" V x 18" H) on the inside and put short screws every 4" around the edge. This had the double effect of making it harder to break the glass and reach the deadbolt on the inside as well as reducing some of the heat loss during the winter by creating a "dead air space" between the poly and outer glass panels.
As I almost never use the front door, I added 2 "hook & eye" latches to the inside surface of the storm door, each about 1/3 of the way from the top or bottom of the door. They won't keep somebody from prying the door open, just make it slow enough and noisy enough to give me the time necessary to "get ready". :evil:
 
PzGren said:
South Florida had adopted a hurricane code after Andrew and doors to the outside opened not to the inside but to the outside. It is much harder to kick a door and the frame in than just the small part were the lock is latching.
Click to expand...

I've heard that for years, before Andrew. And every house I lived in that built in the 60s and 70s had doors opening out. When I had a house built in 2004, the GC installed a door opening in. Turns out there was nothing against it in the code.

If the door opens out, it's probably quicker to pry it open than beat it in.
 
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