How To Secure A Door From Being Kicked In (4 Ways To Do It!)

Your house should be a place where you feel comfortable and safe, which you always want to come home to. Therefore, you don’t want your entry points to be an easy target for burglars and vandals. After all, one kicked-in door is all it takes to make you feel unsafe in your own home.

Luckily, you can do several things to help prevent someone from kicking in your door. Replacing the deadbolt, strike plate, and hinges is a big plus, as is reinforcing your door frame and jamb. You can also install a security bar, and in some cases, it might be best to consider a new door.

Cheap, flimsy deadbolts and strike plates might feel good on your wallet, but they’re a cinch for thieves to bypass. It’s worth paying more money for a high-quality grade-one deadbolt. Typically, these locks cost about $30 to $60, depending on the brand and finish.

To put things in perspective, grade-one deadbolts withstand roughly 360 pounds, compared to grade-three locks that only handle about 150. Additionally, replace your strike plate with a steel-constructed box strike.

These strike plates feature a cup that the bolt slides into, instead of just a hole. Also, typically, many new strike plates come with short screws. If this is the case with yours, replace the screws with some 2 ½” ones. Note: If the screws you removed were shorter, use a drill to make deeper pilot holes for the longer screws.

Box strikes offer increased security and make it much harder for anyone to kick in your door. Plus, you can purchase one on Amazon for about $6.

Security locks and bars help reinforce your door from the inside, and you can usually install them relatively quickly. You can purchase a security lock for about $40. Typically, these locks have one part that attaches to your floor and the other to your door.

You simply slide the bar into place to reinforce your door from the inside. Follow the instructions that come with the particular lock for proper installation. These types of reinforcements can help give you extra peace of mind when you’re home alone or sleeping.

You can also install a horizontal security bar, which costs about $20 to $30. Install two lag bolts into the studs on either side of the door frame.

Note: Do NOT install the bolts into the door frame. If a burglar tries to kick in the door and breaks the frame structure, the bolts are rendered useless.

With the lag bolts in place, you can slide the horizontal security bar’s slots over the bolts. Another option is a security bar that fits below the doorknob and extends to the floor. You can purchase one of these for about $35.

Hinge bolts are mostly for doors that swing outwards; they add extra reinforcement. Otherwise, a clever crook could simply dismantle your hinges from the outside and open your door from the hinge side.

Place hinge bolts above and below each door hinge. Typically, you need 4 to 6 hinge bolts per door. Although, you can also install one above or below the top hinge and one above or below the bottom hinge. You can buy sets of hinge bolts for about $5 to $7 and easily install them yourself.

Locate your door hinges (on your door) and use a pencil to mark holes above and below each one. At the very least, if only using two bolts, mark either above or below the top and bottom hinges. These spots will be where you install your hinge bolts.

On the door frame, position the bolt plate, centering the hole with the mark you made for the bolt. Use a pencil to mark the top and bottom positions of the hinge bolt plate. Hold the plate in place and score around it with a utility knife.

Hammer the ribbed side of the bolt into the hole you made in the door. Repeat for each bolt. Make sure the smooth side stays exposed. Chisel out the area you scored on the door frame in order to fit the bolt plate. Ensure you do this slowly; don’t chisel too much. You only want to do just enough for the plate to sit flush.

Then put the plate into position and screw it into place. Repeat for all of the hinge bolt plates. Finally, open and close your door a few times to make sure everything lines up well.

It might go without saying, but if you have a glass door, it can break. If you are worried about safety, you can install a security grill over the door. There are also films you can purchase, so the glass won’t shatter if someone tries to break the door.

No matter what style door you go with, ensure you install a high-quality, grade-one deadbolt. Also, incorporate some of the other tips mentioned above. The idea is to make your entry so challenging, the thief gives up and moves on.

Related Questions

What are some ways to avoid a door kick-in that doesn’t involve the door?

One of the best ways to avoid a door kick-in is to make your home a risky target. Burglars usually select a home that presents little challenge. In other words, it’s dark, hard to see from the street, and doesn’t have cameras.Therefore, ensure you have good exterior lighting around your home. Obviously, you don’t want to keep your lights on all of the time, so consider motion-activated lights. If a crook walks up to your home and suddenly lights come on, he’s likely to keep moving. As for bold thieves that sneak about during the day, cameras are a good deterrent. At least, they provide you with some evidence to find the culprit if he succeeds. You can also get a product like the Ring doorbell, which provides a camera, motion-alerts, and more.Making sure your entryways are highly visible is also a good idea. If a burglar is fiddling with your lock, he doesn’t want to be out in the open. Therefore, trim bushes and trees, and move any other obstacles that block sightlines to your door.

Are smart locks more secure?

Smart locks aren’t necessarily more secure than traditional locks, but they do provide more convenience. Similar to regular locks, a lot depends on the quality of the lock you purchase. You get what you pay for, after all. Therefore, look for a smart lock that is highly-rated for security. Don’t get caught up in all of the unique features and bells and whistles. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that you only need to worry about physical threats with a traditional lock. Conversely, with a smart lock, an extremely determined thief could potentially hack it. Although, that is highly unlikely since burglars typically want fast, easy access to their targets.