Front Door Security

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Navy87Guy

Navy87Guy

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The threads about the home invasion and murders in CT really got me thinking about my own home security. Sure, I have plenty of handguns in the safe in the bedroom with quick access, but I really don't have much in the way of real security where it really matters -- by the front door.
Here's my set up: we have a steel door (with peep hole) with narrow (6" wide) window panels running on either side of it. The lock is a dead bolt and I have a hotel room-style sliding catch (the metal loop, not a chain) near the top of the door -- primarily to keep the 4-yr old inside. Right next to the door on the right side (nearest to the front door handle) is a coat closet. The coat closet door opens toward the rear of the house.

Tonight I ordered a Homack electronic pistol box. I intend to mount it on the inside of the closet. Because of the way the closet is positioned, you can open the closet door and have full access to the safe without the closet door being in the way. I know Homack isn't high end, but it should serve the purpose and fit in the available space (and for $37 delivered, the price was right!) I'll probably keep my Ruger KP93 with night sights and 17 rounds (plus some extra mags) stored in there.

I'd really like to get a whole new front door (with no side panels), but for now I was planning to get plexiglass panels to replace the glass on either side. It looks like it's just one long piece that is held in place by a frame that screws on.

I've also read about (but not seen) some bolt mechanisms that you can install in the floor. They are recessed but can be popped up to act as a door stop in case someone tries to force the door open. (Any links to a good source for these would be appreciated!) I'd like to install one of those by the front door so you can crack the door open to talk without relying solely on your own strength or the hotel device to keep an intruder out.

We also have a sliding glass door on our deck. I have motion sensor lights installed. I also have the obligatory wooden bar in the track, plus a small eye-hook between the door and the frame (again, aimed at the 4-yr old!)

What else would you recommend? We do have a security system that is monitored but we don't typically set that until we go to bed. My other thought was some kind of intercom to avoid having to open the door to talk at all.

Thanks!

Jim
 
I'd recommend getting an Annunciator for the front and back entries. It can let you know when anyone approaches either door, with different chimes for each. Gives you more prep time.

Some can also take digital photos of anyone approaching and store them on a hard drive, so you can see who came up to the door while you weren't home.

Here's one website for example. I make no claims about their products, just an illustration.

http://www.hometech.com/security/optex.html
 
I am lucky... I live in a split level kind of situation. When you come in the front door you are in an entry way that has access to the garage door or two sets of stairs, one that goes to the first level and one that goes to the basement. You come through the front door loud and you have no chance of surprise that would give you any kind of advantage. I think that the screen door offers a little help to folks as well. I keep a "winter door" on as a screen door. Glass front not screen. It locks as well. Not much protection, but a barrier that needs to be removed before someone can kick in a door... Not much, but enough time for someone to at least get out of a chair. Most home invasion thugs are kick and rush fokers. Not adept in stealth, so they WILL make noise clearing a storm door. Of course you have a handgun on your belt when at home.
 
We keep a close eye on the local news, crime reports and police blotters plus the chief holds a quarterly public meeting of statistics and data. It's important to collect intel and keep street savvy as well as secure the home. We bought a set of door rams from Lowes and keep the front door locked and barred.

Also, our local criminals in Tacoma Wa. came up with a new ploy, that of FEDEX bus boy. Of course the victims overlooked the old clipboards and the fact that delivery drivers no longer use such arcane tools. Tell your friends and family never to send you UPS/FEDEX gifts or items without telling you.
 
threads about the home invasion and murders in CT really got me thinking about my own home security.
Click to expand...

+ 1 gazillion.

my question: what about sliding glass doors? i have one on the ground floor that leads to my backyard patio from the kitchen. it looks so easy to breach - a wild animal could probably do it.
 
Isn't there a safety product for doors and windows that makes them much more difficult to break through? I think it's applied like window tint; a roll of material, wetting agent and a squeege. While it might not keep an intruder out, it would probably give you a little more time to react.
 
I'd really like to get a whole new front door (with no side panels), but for now I was planning to get plexiglass panels to replace the glass on either side.
Click to expand...
Acrylic is relatively weak and brittle. Use polycarbonate.
 
I was watching a news cast back in Utah. Ex-con agreed to break into house rigged with cameras. Seriously he just walked up and threw a chair through the sliding glass door. They timed him, going off the average response time of the police in the area. He had to be out of the house 30 seconds before the cops got there. In like 4 or 5 minutes he had ransacked the house pretty good.
I can't vouch for any of these products, but you get the idea. Would work for those front panel windows, too.
http://www.diywindowsecurity.com/
 
Navy87Guy said:
...primarily to keep the 4-yr old inside.
Click to expand...

LOL... yeah mine just turned 5, the plastic door handle thing did not work, he's known how to open the door since he was 3 with that silly thing on the door knob, yet most adults cannot seem to figure it out.. LOL

We have chains mounted into the door frame via 4" screws, the house is made from true dementional lumber (old house late 1890's early 1900's) so it's actually solid (more like petrified) 2x6 & 2x8 construction....
 
Put security laminate glass in all of your ground floor window & doors. It has a polymer sheet on both sides and is nearly impossible to break through. It'll shatter with one good smack, but the glass stays in place. You could whack at it for ten minutes with a sledgehammer and not get in.
 
+1 on the 3M window film for the windows beside the door and sliding glass door. Also get a charlie bar (or just a length of wooden dowel) for the sliding door.
That window film is tough stuff. They can punch a hole through it with enough force but since it holds the glass together they'll leave a bloody mess for you to clean up when they try to reach through, and give you enough time to get plan B into action. It comes in different grades in case you are worried about someone setting off C4 in your yard (click play on the video on that 3M webpage) :p
A simple rod in the sliding door track or a charlie bar makes it a lot tougher to get the sliding door open.
 
Reinforced door frame

I do remodels, and you can remove the door frame and install 1/4 steel plate around the cased opening and hinge areas. You don't want the hinge pins to be out side. I put a commercial door in the frame. One door I did caught a thief trying to kick the door in. The alarm went off and the police saw a guy limping badly. He broke his tibia! The color on the door matched his shoe. That will slow down the "battering rams" too. :banghead: I use that and a locking closet with my "babies" in it. The 3M window film is a great idea. We have a cat, so dogs are out. There is also a company that uses tear gas systems if they go through a wall. A camera covering the door but mounted at 8ft will deter them. Driveway alarms tell you when they come up the road. A monitor lizard or a twenty ft python works.
 
you can remove the door frame and install 1/4 steel plate around the cased opening and hinge areas
Click to expand...

I'm not too construction savvy, but we put in a new front door last year, and I'm wondering which part you add the steel to? Do you have a picture? Just curious.
 
Take off the front door and reverse it so it swings out, not in. Use commercial hinges that have non removable hinge pins. Remove the sliding glass door and frame in the hole to take a standard exterior solid core steel door, again swing it out not in. All exterior doors on my home are solid core steel and swing out with security hinges that can't be messed with. The doors look nice as I painted them with automotive acryllic enamel tinted to match the color of the house, wax them once a year.:)
 
I've wondered if there is a quick release shotgun mount/lock thing somewhere.. I'd hope for something that uses biometrics and quick detaches the loaded shotgun, but keeps it locked and safe from kiddies. Anybody ever hear of something like that?
 
Slider has to go...

If I was going to spend any $$ on security for your house, the slider in the back goes first. They are notoriously easy to get into. Then lights and more lights. Then a paranoid dog, does not matter what size, just that it barks when things go bump in the night. My $00.02.
 
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