Easy and Low-Cost Home Door Security Tips

Home door security is important because getting inside your house through a door is one of the easiest ways to break in. There are some low-cost ways to make sure all of your doors are secure.

No home is intruder-proof, but by following the home door security tips below, the chances of an intruder breaking into your home are dramatically reduced.

Why are doors So Easy to Break Into?

Many homes have doors that have glass or light plywood panels in them. It's very easy to break one of these panels, reach through and turn the lock. Some doors don't fit in the frame properly which makes it easier to pry the door open with a tire iron or a metal bar. Some home doors have pretty weak locks on them that are easy to pick.

Of course there are common sense reasons why doors are easy to break into. People forget to lock their doors, especially at night. They keep their doors unlocked on purpose because they're just going next door for a minute or they're expecting someone.

Some people will leave a key to the door hidden near the outside of the house. All of these reasons are just an open invitation for someone to walk right in and steal your valuables.

Check Your Doors

The first thing you should do when it comes to better home door security is to check all of your doors. Make sure they fit properly in the frames. If they don't, install some weather stripping around them to make your doors more secure. If you have the money, maybe you can buy better doors.

If you have the doors that have the glass or light plywood panels, then it might be better to buy metal or solid wood doors. This way, an intruder can't break a panel and unlock the door. If you want a cheaper solution, I'll discuss that later in the article.

If you don't have a peephole on your doors, install one on each of your entry doors. A peephole with a wide-angle view is the best type. The wide-angle helps you see to the sides as well as straight ahead. It makes it harder for the possible intruder to hide outside the view of the peephole.

Door Security Products

You can also buy a door security brace. You just install the brace under the door knob. This will prevent the door from opening, even if someone has a key.

There is also a door stop alarm that you can buy. If someone tries to open your door, the door stop alarm will sound. It will also wedge underneath the door to prevent the door from opening, no matter how hard an intruder tries to push on it.

Get Better Locks

If your exterior doors only have a single lock (key in the knob lock), install a dead bolt lock. The dead bolt lock is one of the best ways to ensure home door security. The dead bolt can't be forced open. Any tools that an intruder brings with him will be completely useless against a dead bolt. It is by far one of the cheapest home security methods you can use if you don't have the money to buy new doors.

Garage doors

Intruders like to break into a home through the garage door that leads directly into the house because they're hidden from view and can take their time working on the door lock. This door should be a metal or solid wood door. Make sure the hinges are secure and install a dead bolt on the door. Keep your garage door shut and locked as much as possible.

Sliding Doors

I read a news story about a couple who was killed in their home by an intruder. The intruder entered the home through an unlocked sliding door. If you have a sliding door, make sure you keep the door locked, even during the daytime and you're at home. It's easy to forget sometimes, but I don't want anything like what happened to the couple happen to you.

Even with the door locked, it's still vulnerable to break-ins. The locks or latches on these types of doors are not very effective to someone who is determined to get in your house. An intruder can easily break the glass and unlock or unlatch the door. The intruder can also lift the door off its track to slide it open.

A cheap way to keep your door from being slid open is to take a wooden stick like a broom handle or metal bar and place it inside the lower track in order to jam the door. Make sure the piece of wood or metal is measured and fits securely in the track.

Another inexpensive way to secure the sliding door is to insert screws into the upper track. This will prevent the door from being lifted off the lower track and removed.

Conclusion

Home door security doesn't have to be expensive. I gave you several inexpensive ways to secure your doors and lower the chances of your home being broken into. And I also gave you no-cost, common sense tips like keeping your doors locked even when you're home, using the peephole even when you're expecting someone and not hiding your key around the outside of your house.

I hope you found this article to be helpful in securing your home and keeping you and your family safe.