Saturday, July 30, 2011

Home Security Tips: How To Prevent Kick Door Burglary

By Mike T Cruise


Outside of having a home security system another great way to protect your home is to make sure that your front door is well fortified. Burglars are looking for homes that are easy to break into. Nearly 50 percent of all break ins are kick door burglaries. These are burglaries where the invaders simply kick the door in with a great amount of force. Burglars know that the doors on most homes are pretty easy to break down.

Along with having a home security system in place, you can also help protect yourself from dangerous home invaders by adding extra strength to your doors. Last year alone there were over 2 million burglaries and a large chunk of them were residential robberies so it is more important than ever to protect your home and family from home invaders.

The first step in securing your doors is to check what material your door is made out of. Most doors are just composed of hollow cardboard cores with any variety of veneers. So it may look sturdy on the outside but could be very easy to break right in half. The majority of homes and apartments have doors with cardboard cores unless another type of door is requested during the build. It is best to have solid wood doors or at least doors with a solid wood core. Metal doors are another good option.

The second most important thing you need to do is make sure you have quality locks. A great home security tip is to change out your locks when you first move into a residence. This way you can make sure that no one else has the keys to your home or apartment. The majority of home and apartment locks are not as secure as they should be. Contractors often use cheap locks during builds to save money. If there is a deadbolt lock installed it is probably a low quality lock. Make sure that you have a deadbolt lock that is made of solid metal and that is a grade 1 or 2. You should also make sure that you get a deadbolt with a long throw bolt. Most have short throw bolts, but you should have one that is at least 1 inch long.

The third step is to make sure your door frame is sturdy. Even with the most solid door a burglar could pry open your frame. Most door frames are just tacked on making them very easy to pry open. Make sure that yours is well secured with 3 inch screws all along the frame. If you follow these three tips your home will be that much more secure.




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