Having a door and a lock for your house is often going to be not enough to keep out thieves. The particular choices you make in terms of doors and locks are going to have a major effect on how secure your home ends up being. That's why it's important to pay attention to the common mistakes people make when making security choices with door and lock combinations so you can avoid doing likewise.
Neglecting the Knob-in-Lock Dead-latch Mechanism
You want to make sure that this is heavy, and that it has a dead-latch mechanism. This means that when you close the door behind you, a dead latch will lock automatically. You won't have to worry as much about locking it every time you leave. If you forget once or twice to lock the door externally from the outside, or if someone else in your house does, a dead latch will lock anyway.
Deadbolts Too Small
A deadbolt isn't going to help overmuch unless you make sure that it's strong enough. That's why it's a good idea to make sure that the deadbolt is at least an inch thick. It's also useful to stay away from big box stores since they often make deadbolts of inferior materials. Instead, heading to a professional locksmith is often a better idea.
Forgetting Consistent Solid Core Quality for All Doors
A security approach is only as strong as its weakest link. That's why you want to make sure that every single door leading into your house from the outside is either a wooden door with a completely solid core, or a metal door. Having only one door like this is not especially useful. Thieves can simply go to a different door and try to break it down using force.
Doors with hollow cores aren't going to stand up to strikes with a foot or a different heavy object. Only a wooden door that's solid all the way through and made of a quality wood such as cedar or oak is going to cut it. If your door is made of something weak such as pine, then you're going to want to upgrade it and switch over to something a bit better by reinstalling a new door.
Other common issues involve failing to use a strike plate, not using wide-angle peep holes, and having issues with not having screws that stand up to punishment. All of these would constitute upgrades that will only enhance your security if you implement them.
For more information on keeping your home secure, talk to a professional like Tim's Alarms Service.
Share