Reinforcing Doors & Hinges

Burglars tend to attack the weakest point of entry in your home. That could mean an unlocked window or garage door, or a flimsy lock on the front door. The way your doors are actually installed and kept in place can also be a factor. Here are a few quick tips on improving the security of your sliding or regular doors.

A simple stick is all you need to improve home security. No, you don't wave it at someone when you're feeling threatened. You insert it in the bottom track of your sliding patio or balcony door, between the door and the frame. A stick that's been cut to the right length - as tight as possible so the door doesn't have any give - will make it extra difficult to open.

Jamming the door closed isn't a replacement for locking it; it just gives you extra peace of mind. In addition to (or instead of a stick, you can also install a bar that swings down across the door and tightens into place. You can pick one up at your local hardware store.

To make it even harder for those sliding doors to open, drill a hole in the metal sliding track and install screws. The screws shouldn't be placed firmly flush into the track, leave the screw head showing a bit.

The idea is for the screws to be deep enough to let the glass door slide, but protruding enough to prevent the panel from being lifted out of the tracks - which is one of the favourite tricks used by housebreakers.

How is your exterior door hung? You say a door is a door is a door? Wrong. Sometimes doors are hung with the hinge or hinge pins on the outside. That means anyone can knock the pins out and lift the door right off its hinges - whether or not the door is locked. Make sure the hinges and pins are on the inside, where only you can get to them.

A screwdriver, some screws and about 15 minutes is all you need to help burglar-proof your entrance-ways. Use longer, heavy-duty screws in the door frame. They should be three inches long or more - long enough to penetrate right into the framing stud. It will make the structure much more rigid, and the door that much harder to kick in.

Some people like the protection of a double-cylinder lock that requires a key to open it from the inside. A word of caution - what you gain in personal safety you can lose too. In a fire or other emergency where you have to get out quickly, what happens if you've misplaced the key?

Bolt cutters can quickly shear through the padlock you keep on the door of your tool or utility shed. Now there's a shield on the market that covers your doors, gates or boxes, including the hasp of the lock (the hinged metal clasp), which protects it from those nasty bolt cutters.