scythefwd said:
CHaoSS - I have kicked a door in. Split the frame out. Right down the middle where the deadbolt was. The chain, went with the half of the frame that split away and flew into the house. New external doors, with metal frames, are hard to do this to. Older external doors with wooden frames are easy. I have kicked doors off their hinges as well. Do you think 6 1/2" screws will old better than 2-3 1 inch screws? Those chains will break after the door has been kicked open. First kick releases the door, the second will break the chain. Another fun one is to kick a paneled door and break out the panel. That takes about 2-3 kicks to get it out. IF I am really serious about getting into a house, I am not going through the door anyways but if that is my only option, I am breaking hinge side, not deadbolt side. It is easier to strip out those screws than to push a steel bar through the metal frame. I haven't tried in about 12-15 years though.
I'd say those weren't installed very well. A deadbolt, while extending into some stronger wood than the tongue of a regular door lock, still don't have that much to hold onto. I've seen doors after the police have kicked them in (Well, probably used a battering ram, but whatever) and there wasn't a huge amount of broken wood. The chain can be installed with some screws that go pretty much all the way through the 2x4 frame, and those screws will break before being pulled out, and I know for a fact that getting them to break is no easy chore.
That said, I have yet to see one of the bar type locks on hotel rooms break. You can get those and they are much better than the chains. Use good screws and they will have a much harder time
Absolutely right. When I bought the peephole that I have in my door right now, I got one of those as well. I haven't installed that yet, I don't know why I didn't just do them both at the same time, haven't gotten around to it since, but there is much more metal than the thinner chains. If installed properly, you shouldn't be able to undo those without the door being closed all the way, which means that you can't get through them from the outside.
B yond said:
Many things LEOs are trained to do for their own safety make them appear to consider themselves separate from the community. This is why so many people think 'cops are jerks.'
I understand, but still think that, especially in a rural community, that kind of separation is counterproductive. A certain level of friendliness and closeness with the community could make an officer safer, thus it could be wise to sacrifice some tactical risk for some strategic safety. Besides, if you remain alert, and are aware of what
could be done to you in that scenario, you can ward off pretty much anything that could be done to you.
dogtown tom said:
Do not rely on a chain to offer ANY security to a door.
Thirty four years ago, (in college) I learned to open the little sliding chain lock using a rubber band tied to the end of a pencil. Loop the rubber band around the "slider", pull the door almost closed with the pencil and rubber band putting tession on the slider and you can pull the slider right out the door plate.
And that takes you what, 10 seconds at least? If you've kicked in a door, then an extra ten seconds, or however long it takes to give another good kick or three to get through a chain, could be the difference between life or death. If I've already opened the door to you, but with the chain locked, I'd like to see you try that with me standing there, it wouldn't be difficult to thwart.
No one is saying that this is going to stop people from getting in, but it is an extra layer of security that could give you a few extra seconds that could save your life.
