That's something that I really need to upgrade to, some nice solid wood doors.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned by anyone in this thread, is to not neglect the "hinge side" of the door. One of my neighbors' house was broken into recently, through the door at the side of their garage. The builders used a common pre-hung door, and when the burglar kicked it in, not only did the wood break out around the lock, but 2 of the hinges also sheared out of the door frame.
So, I guess it would be a great idea to pull out all those short screws that hold the hinges in the pre-fab door; and put in some long/heavy screws that will reach into the structural framing around the door.
Otherwise, if you've taken steps to reinforce the deadbolt/lock side of the door, it might literally "fly off the hinges" instead.

I've heard that it is recommended to replace at least one 3 1/2" screw at each hinge into the framing on the hinge side. I figured that two per hinge would work better! I added some 1 1/2 screws into the door as well (replace those 3/4" ones).

Most of the doors used in homes today are not very strong. There are some exceptions but you would generally have to either put those in yourself or spec them during construction if you use a contractor. Most of the "cookie cutter" homes won't have that good a quality door. Some commercial doors with steel frames would be good but probably difficult to get installed.

There are some great videos on the web that show you how to enter a building (firefighter forced entrance), that sort of make you wonder if it is possible to make your house really secure? Guess the plan is to make it harder for the lazy criminals so they leave your house and go next door!

Yah, we retrofitted our place with the solid doors. With the heavy oak door, it came with pretty beefy hinges, but as noted, you need to make sure you are using extra long screws screw securely into the frame.

That said, you also have to be realistic about how effective those long screws are. Even with the fairly beefy door and long screws, someone can beat their way through -- the screws will get pulled out of the softer wood used for framing, or will simply break out.

But someone is going to have to come with appropriate tools and make some noise and work for it.

-john

You guys lock your doors?!?

You guys got doors???

If the BG broke in through a window or a back door wouldn't a double cylinder lock pose the risk of trapping the BG inside the house if you surprised them too?
I would rather they ran out the front door than have a violent confrontation.

p.s. It is quieter to just kick most doors in than it is to smash the window out. People seem to hear glass breaking more than wood breaking.

In all honesty, I don't really see that happening. First, if I walk into my house and it looks tossed, I see someone in there, or something just feels amiss (biggest one would be the dog not coming to greet me), I'm turning right back around and running to my car and/or to a neighbors house, where I can safely call the police to come clear the place.

It's the same thing if I catch someone in the house unknowingly (say in an upstairs room), I'm turning right back around and heading to the nearest reasonably safe place. Be it back outside, or a room I can barricade myself in, call the police, and possibly arm myself.

Either way, it doesn't really matter what kind of locks I've got on my front door. (Unless I'm the one being trapped inside, but that's the same as the fire scenario.)

On the opposite side of things, most burglars you find act either one of two ways when discovered. They're just want to get out as fast as possible and want nothing to do with you unless you get in their way. Or, their motive changes (say from burglary to robbery) and they've already made up their mind to come after you. Again, either way it doesn't really matter what kind of lock you've got on your front door. The first guy is going to find a way out any way he can, as fast as he can. The second guy is going to come after you regardless.

A few years ago the shed behind our house was broken into so I started looking at the security of our house. I bought a new steel front door and took the steel front door that was there and moved it to the back of the garage to replace the old wooden door. I had to widen the frame so while I was in there I replaced the door hinge screws with bolts and nuts through the two 2x4's framing the opening then 3" screws holding the door frame to the 2x4's. On the deadbolt side I drilled a hole through the two 2x4's and the next stud over and drove a length of pipe in so the deadbolt went into the pipe rather than just a small striker plate on the door frame. If someone kicked that door they would break their leg before it went down. I then locked up and chained down all my tool boxes in the garage so if someone still broke in that back door they didn't have easy access to tools that could be used to get into the rest of the house.

That's one nice aspect of the wireless sensors for alarm systems. It's just as easy to monitor an outbuilding as anything else. Provided that it's not too far away.

Audible alarms on entry points. A panic button in the bedroom near your bed is nice to have. And a short response from local police. 99.9% of would be burglars will turn tail the moment the siren starts going off. Oh, also be sure to put a nice "Washington Alarm" sticker on some doors and windows so maybe they'll see it, and reconsider boosting your house in the first place. I know one guy who put a Smith & Wesson decal on his, although I'm a little troubled by the implication, and its an advertisement that you have valuable weapons within. Talking to my wife, there are meth heads who will take a chance of breaking and entering to get resaleable guns, and its usually not too hard to figure out when someone isn't home. Audible alarms...

Thanks!