How to Burglar-Proof Your Front Door

Your front door can be the first defense against would-be burglars gaining access to your home. Did you know that over 80% of would-be burglars gain access to your home through your front door?

And while locking your windows and doors can go a long way to helping secure your property, there are other things you can do to improve security, starting with your front door.

What is the best security for your door?

You have many options for securing your front door, from entirely renovating the door to adding a security bar.

What is a security door?

A security door differs from a typical door because it is often reinforced with steel or aluminum.

Traditional security doors

These doors feature layers of steel sandwiched in-between wood, making them more challenging for would-be burglars to break. You can even purchase security doors that look like a regular front door if you want something that matches your current home style.

These doors aren’t just perfect for a front door. You can use them throughout the inside of your home to add protection to bedrooms.

Security doors commonly feature hidden hinges (inside the home) and hinge screws, making removing your door from the outside difficult.

Security screen doors

These doors offer double security protection. They protect your front door and can act as a secondary screen door. Security screen doors typically feature an aluminum frame with a mesh screen but can also be made from wrought iron or vinyl. Another option includes tempered glass with a mesh screen.

Read more about security doors: The Best Security Doors for Your Home

What is a door brace?

If you’re looking for a lightweight, affordable way to make your door inaccessible from the outside, a door stopper security bar might be for you.

You can install a door brace inside your home to help keep your door from being opened from the outside. A door brace can also keep your door closed if someone picks the lock from your home’s exterior. You can use door bracers in any home, even in rentals.

If you’re looking for the best door security bar for your home, there are four main options to choose from:  

• Security bars
• Flush deadbolts or half deadbolts
• Barricade bars
• Door jammers or stoppers

Security bars

A security bar uses the pressure of the door to stay closed. Often made from metal or steel, these bars can be an effective way to add door security to your front and back doors. You can even install a sliding door security bar on your patio door.

There are different ways you can install these bars, depending on the make and model. One kind of security rod slides underneath a doorknob to secure your door. Other bars may require you to drill holes or add the security bolt to your home's foundation.

Flush deadbolts or half deadbolts

You can only see and lock this type of deadbolt from the inside. Since there isn’t a keyhole or lock for a thief to pick, these locks are difficult to open from the outside.

You can install half deadbolts above a current deadbolt or at the top of a door.

Flush bolts are installed into either the top or bottom of the door’s frame.

Barricade bars

Barricade bars come with either one or two bar barricade brackets. They work by keeping a door from swinging in from the outside.

You can install barricade bars by screwing the brackets into either side of a door frame. Then, place the bar onto the brackets to secure the door.

Door jammers or stoppers

Door jammers work similarly to security bars, but they are more portable. Some small models use a bar that presses into the floor. Other models jam underneath the door with an extendable bar on the other end that you can mount underneath the doorknob.

You’ve probably seen a door stopper in a school or business. Security door stoppers are like these simple wooden or rubber models, but they are reinforced with steel or aluminum.

A security door stopped can be especially handy if you often travel since they’re lightweight, small and easy to slide beneath the bottom of any door.

How can you help protect your doors from break-ins with smart home security?

We’ve gone over a few different features of security braces and doors, so let’s go into more detail about how you can help make your door secure with smart home devices.

You can control or monitor these devices from virtually anywhere. You can even initiate an automated program between multiple connected devices.

For example, you can use your video doorbell to see who is at your front door and let them inside with your smart lock. You can even turn off your porch lights, activate your alarm system and lock the door—all at once—with the touch of a single button or vocal command with some home security systems.

Smart locks

Smart locks feature a numbered keypad where you enter a unique code to gain access to your home. Not only can it help give you peace of mind that you’ve locked your door, but you can also receive notifications whenever anyone uses the code to access your home.

What are some other benefits of a smart lock?

• For many burglars, it’s harder to guess a security code than to pick a lock.
• Never worry about misplacing your keys again. You can lock or unlock your home from virtually anywhere via your smartphone or tablet.
• Are you temporarily renting a room out in your home? Smart locks make it easy to assign a unique code to your tenant and delete it when they leave.
• Receive mobile alerts when your children’s tutor drops by or when your kids get home after school.
• If you ever think your security code is compromised, change the keycode at any time.
• Back-lighting makes it easy to access your home at night.

Read more about smart locks: What Is a Smart Lock and How Does It Work?

Outdoor cameras

Outdoor cameras are a good idea for any home. They can help give you peace of mind about the people walking into your yard or onto your porch.

Other benefits of an outdoor camera:

• Wide-angle camera lenses make monitoring your porch, garage, and driveway easy.
• See who (or what!) is hanging out in your front yard at night with superior night vision.
• Two-way audio makes communicating with neighbors, dog walkers, or package delivery people easy.

Read more about outdoor security systems: The Best Outdoor Security Camera System

Doorbell cameras

Video doorbells help you monitor your front porch. Not only can you see who comes to your door, but these days smart doorbell systems even allow you to chat with guests.

Other benefits of a doorbell video camera:

• Capture video footage of would-be burglars at your front door that you can hand to the police.
• Night vision cameras make it easy to see who’s in your yard—even in low light.
• Monitor packages and use 2-way audio in real-time to ask the delivery driver to place the box behind a potted plant.
• Integrate your doorbell camera and smart locks and allow visitors access to your home when you’re otherwise occupied.

How can you protect sliding glass doors from break-ins?

The same glass doors that allow light to come into your home may also appeal to burglars. If you have clear glass with no window treatment or covers, anyone can take a peek inside your home.

Here are a few things you can do today to make your glass patio doors less appealing to burglars.

1. Add curtains or blinds to your patio door.

While this may not directly stop a burglar from entering your home, it may still prove to be a deterrent when used ‌with other methods. Shades make it difficult for a thief to see into your home, so they can’t assess whether you have anything worth taking, or even if you’re home.

2. Upgrade the patio door glass or add a window treatment.

If your patio door has glass panes, it’s a good idea to upgrade the glass to something ‌stronger. This includes window film, tempered glass or shatter-resistant glass.

Window film can be tinted or transparent. Window film creates an extra layer of security against breaking glass from both burglars and weather-related instances during hurricane season.

The film prevents the glass from completely shattering and falling into your home, keeping the shards in place.

Tempered glass or shatter-resistant glass is handy against burglars and can also be helpful during hurricane season. If the glass breaks, it cracks into a spider-web pattern but keeps its shape. This helps reduce injuries from shards of glass that might have otherwise fallen into your home.

3. Add glass break sensors near your patio doors.

If your patio doors have glass panes, glass break sensors can help you detect a burglary as it's happening. If your sensors are hooked up to a home security system, you can get notifications sent to your phone.

Glass break sensors add another layer of protection to your home and work well with motion sensors.

4. Install a deadbolt or security bar for extra security.

Many patio boors come equipped with sliding latches that someone can tamper with or break. Deadbolts can help make it more difficult for thieves to pry open your doors.

If you have sliding patio doors, they probably operate on tracks when they open or close. These tracks can be vulnerable to thieves who can use a crowbar to leverage the doors off the tracks. Consider adding a security bar inside your home along those tracks to make it more difficult for someone to tamper with the track system from outside.

Read more about patio door security: Patio Door Security: How to Secure Your Sliding Glass Door

6 Simple Ways to Make Your Door More Secure

When trying to make your home secure, it’s essential to do the best you can within your budget. Often that may mean a combination of things we mentioned within this article.

Here are six simple upgrades you can do today to help make your door more secure:

1. Upgrade the strike plate on your door to a sturdier model.

2. Replace exterior hinges with interior hinges.

3. Install a wide-angle peephole.

4. Upgrade older locks into newer, upgraded models or add additional locks or deadbolts.

5. Never hide spare keys under the doormat, under a flower pot or garden pot, on the doorjamb or inside the mailbox.

6. Observe the condition of your door’s screws, brackets and sliding rails and replace them if they are outdated or rusted.

A home security system can help prevent break-ins.

Adding a surveillance system to your home can deter criminals from breaking into your front or patio doors. They might think twice if there’s an outdoor security camera monitoring their activities.

Our security experts are standing by and ready to help you pick a custom security solution that fits your needs.